Abiding in Chirst is such a precious place to be. Thankfully, the word “abide” has a lot of depth to it. As I stated in the last devotional, the word “abide” has vast meanings based on Strong’s Concordance. Below are a couple of more meanings that are important for us to consider as we read John 15 and meditate on “abiding” in Him.
In reference to a state or condition
We are to abide positionally in Christ. There are times that the adversities of life throw such a blow that we can’t think straight. Everything that seemed settled a day ago now is questionable. It is in those times that we have to abide in God’s truth, and remind ourselves of what God has said. We don’t want to damage our relationship with Jesus because of confusion, offense, hurt, or disappointment. We can’t afford to entertain thoughts that God doesn’t love us or doesn’t care about us. We must remain in Him regardless of how much it hurts and how confused we may be. His word reminds us of the truth. We need to have a resolve to believe what God says even when we don’t feel it is true at the moment.
In reference to time
Time is another factor that can challenge us in abiding in Christ. This is especially true when it comes to fruitfulness but it can be true in other areas as well. The teenage years are a good example of this. We think we’ve had enough of our parents’ protection and advice and now it’s time to chart our own path. The reality is that without our parents we wouldn’t have most of the things we owned in our teenage years, but we don’t see that part of it. We’re just focused on, “it’s time to move on”.
In this season in my family, we are going through the transition of my firstborn becoming an adult. While he was home during the summer there was a pushing away as if the time had come for him to move and not look back. Well, in the last couple of weeks that he has come home from college for a short visit, I have seen a big shift in his attitude. He is more rested and appreciative in being at home. He is not in a hurry to leave the house or find some friends to hang out with.
Spiritually, we do the same thing. We can get restless in our relationship with Christ. There isn’t anything going on out there that can match, or be better than abiding in Christ. Sometimes other people and things have taken the place of Jesus, so our restlessness is not because of Christ but it is due to misplaced abiding.
As the branches in the vine of Christ, we cannot afford to say.” I’ve had enough; I don’t see fruitfulness, so I have to move on”. We have to continually remind ourselves that without him we can do nothing. We cannot produce good fruit apart from Christ. So even when it seems like it’s taking too long and nothing seems to be happening we truly don’t have a viable alternative except to stay in the vine and allow Him to do what He desires to do. It is no surprise that Jesus used the analogy of grapevines to speak about abiding in Him. Generally grapevines don’t produce fruit the first year. The fruitfulness comes in the second and sometimes the third year. Just as it takes time for a vine to be fruitful, so it is with our spiritual life.
Are there areas that you struggle abiding in Christ? Ak Him to show you the hindrance. Those hindrances will take away the life and supply of Christ in our lives. We want complete flow of the life of God in us.
Lord, take away any hindrances in abiding in you. We want to abide in you completely and be lost in you! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.