What does “abide” mean to you? Even though I know what it means to abide, I asked “Siri” out of curiosity to see what it said. Here are the 3 meanings I saw: 1)Accept or act in accordance with. 2) Be able to tolerate. 3) Continue without fading or being lost. So how does this relate to our daily lives? As a Christian I am called to abide in Christ. John 15:4- 5 says, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (NKJV)
I see these verses so actively present in my daily life. To apply the definition to life I “accept and act in accordance” by choosing God every single day. Joshua 24:15 says, “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” (NLT) (emphasis added) Everyday we can choose Jesus. In the things I say, do, write etc. I can make a choice to glorify God in those things. Recently I had a Literary Agent ask if I only wrote for a Christian audience. I responded, “Anyone can enjoy and relate to my writings. While I don’t write primarily for Christians, my faith in Christ is so deeply rooted in me that it shows up in some form”. She respected my answer. I must abide, apart from Jesus I am nothing.
Another aspect of the abide definition is to be able to tolerate. Let’s think on this for a minute. As long as I’m “connected” to Christ, I can withstand what may come. Why? He is the source of my strength. When I reach the end of myself (being pulled by all sides from people. Having peoples expectations that I can’t meet etc.), His roots run deep to fortify what I lack. Trust me, I lack a Lot, however Jesus enables me to continue standing (to tolerate) and gently teaches me to “Be still” and let Him work it out.
The third part of the definition is to continue without fading or being lost. This I can so relate to. How can we do this? We can continue growing with resilience as we “let go” of things that we are holding on to. Sometimes I “hold on” to things that aren’t in themselves bad but God has something else in mind for me to experience. In order to move on, we sometimes must “let go” and move forward in faith. I recently stepped back from the homeless ministry we have been involved in for a couple of year.s. It was amazing and stretched me in incredible ways. I was honored to be asked to share the devotion each week. That stretched me in ways I can’t explain. The preparation was time consuming but I learned transparency in front of people, to be able to share my weaknesses and how God works through those things. (If you are reading this blog and have never head about my experience, I live with vision and hearing limitations.) It was time to step back and see where God leads. I believe there is confirmation in this decision because for the last two weeks during the time I would usually be ministering with the homeless, God has had me minister to a friend with dementia who has been showing up at our house. I’m open and listening to see where God directs.
Back when I released my memoir “Rooted by the Water”, Jeremiah 17:7-9 was instrumental to the title I chose for my book. Jeremiah 17:7-9 says, ““Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” (NKJV) This is such a beautiful metaphor of a life of resilience, abiding in faith in Christ. That is my daily goal in life, to be deeply rooted and sustained by Jesus.
We can’t see what’s coming and are often blown from all sides by life, but when we are abiding in Christ, deeply rooted in God’s Word, we can withstand what may come. It’s a life of faith. Indeed the abundant life is walking by faith not by sight. So we press on to continue on this journey, rooted in all God calls us to be.
Be encouraged to abide in Christ. He is always faithful and always there. Be blessed. Check out my new website my son Joshua created for me.
http://www.shannonkenleyhinson.com
rootedbythewater.blog 