Abide in Me

The week of teacher inservice always seems like a mad rush to get everything done, and to have everything perfectly set for the coming arrival of our new students.

But in the midst of running here and there trying to find just the right nameplates for the tables, or the right color for the shelf I want to repaint, the perfect journal in which to record the trials and triumphs of a new schoolyear, there’s a quiet voice inside, calling to me:

Abide in Me

It’s easy to feel like abiding in Christ is just for a quiet weekend morning when we have time to linger over our prayer and Bible reading, or for the all-too-rare evenings when all that’s left of our to-do list is to sit on the porch and watch the sun sink low on the horizon.

For those in a busy season, whether work or ministry, caring for young children or elderly parents, it can seem like abiding in Christ is something we’ll do later, when we’re older or less busy. But the truth is, abiding in Christ is not just for the elderly or retired, it is not just for our moments of leisure, (although it is for those times). Abiding in Christ is something we are to do every moment of every day.

Whether we are running errands or changing diapers, setting up a classroom or working a desk job. No matter what your season of life may be, abiding in Christ is for you.

Jesus said,

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” (John 15:3)

You and I are branches. Have you ever noticed what happens to branches that are separated from their vine or trunk?

They wither.

It’s extremely simple, but in the busy times it is ever so easy to forget to abide, to keep closely connected to Christ, our Vine. (John 15:4) When that happens, we wither.

I found myself beginning to wither on one day in particular this week.  As problems cropped up and pressures squeezed in, I could feel the stress and anxiety building. That same quiet voice reminded me to abide in Christ, and yet I didn’t feel a bit like taking time to stop and spend time with the Lord, and so I ran from problem to problem, letting the pressure squeeze stress into my heart and mind –a heart and mind that should be filled with the peace and joy of the Lord.

Finally, God sent someone to put me face-to-face with God’s truth about one of the problems I was facing. All that stress and anxiety made it hard to listen at first, but the truth of God’s Word gradually began to wash over my heart, cleaning out the stress and pressure. No wonder Jesus said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)

You see, abiding in Christ is sometimes hard because we don’t feel like submitting to what God says is true. We often just want to wallow in the hopelessness of a situation which God has already planned to work together for our good. To abide in Christ requires that we submit to His truth and love.

“If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” (John 14:10)

What will you be today: green and flourishing, or withered and dry?

The choice is yours.