Abide in Me

The Lord is calling us to abide deeper with Him. We must lay down our desires and idols at His feet.

He desires to know us so much deeper than the current half-hearted standard.

What is our purpose here on this Earth? Is it in our goals, achievements, our futures, growing in life, finding happiness, or just living day by day and hoping everything works out? As life goes on, I find that days come and days go, troubles arise and troubles disappear, the sun rises and goes down all the same. It seems that according to the book of Ecclesiastes, everything that occurs under the sun is complete vanity.

There is little to no reward in striving and the burdens that are casted throughout each day, lead to endless toiling. You can choose to live a life based on what you see and experience through your mind’s eye, or you can live a life of abundance and purpose.

We bring nothing with us into this world and take nothing with us when we leave, regardless of how hard we worked; our earnings get passed on to the one after us. Our lives are fleeting but what God says and does, lasts forever.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 “I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.”

This world is full of distractions; we are taught to focus on vain labels such as fame, careers, worldly acceptance, sexuality and more. Although, these hold no weight because all of these things perish; they come and go quickly. Satan’s goal is to distract each and every one of us until we pass from this Earth. But once it’s too late, it’s too late. Choose this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15). According to king Solomon, after he avidly searched for meaning solely on this Earth, he found none. Instead, his overall conclusion was, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (Ecclesiastes 12:3).

This Earth is a horrible place to trust in. Put your faith in Jesus. Life on this Earth may be fleeting for all, but living for Jesus is the only thing that truly lasts.

We were created for no other reason but to worship God and live according to His ways. All else is a counterfeit Christ. Living to satisfy your flesh always leads to dissatisfaction and a feeling of emptiness; always wanting more. This way of living is useless, this is because God made us for Him and His purposes. That is why all else fails to fill our souls. Nothing else is meant to take the place of God in the lives He gave us.

This is why the world struggles so much, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. Most people are seeking after the wrong God. There is only one God, but a lot of people overlook Him, to chase after the wind in sights of what’s in store for themselves. It’s no wonder why this vain approach leads to ruin.

Hear this truth; nothing else matters except your relationship with God. If you’re still not convinced, go to a grave yard and stand there to ponder the lives of those who are no longer here. Think of loved ones who have passed on, life still goes on without them, as if nothing has changed.

The voice of the world is deafening to those who abide by it, but the voice of the Lord is as running water into a quiet stream.

This day and always, abide in Christ and His living Word. He will show you the way of everlasting life. The more you seek Him, the more you will discover who He is. Put your identity in Christ and who He says you are, not the labels this world creates as a substitute. “For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity” (Solomon 2:23).

You are made in the image of God and are fearfully and wonderfully made. Abide In Christ and He will abide in you.

Every day holds a conscious decision to seek Christ. Every day you need God to fill you with His undeniable presence and lead you into eternal life. You must walk every day in accordance with His Word. Seek Him and He will give you everything you need in return. Including your purpose for being on this Earth. Every single person was specially designing with a purpose to bring Glory to God’s name.

If God can trust you with a little, He will know He can trust you with much (Luke 16:10). In order for you to truly understand what God’s undefiled will is for your life, you must first be emptied. You must empty yourself before the throne of grace and receive the atonement of life everlasting. He will show you all things pertaining to His will for your life if you are willing to seek His face. This must be done with a pure heart; in both action and deed.

The emptying comes to lead us closer to the Father of Love. Sin separates us from God. That is why Adam and Eve were removed from the garden once they received the knowledge of good and evil. A holy, perfectly righteous God does not tolerate sin of any kind. Sin, once in effect, grows and feeds the desire of the flesh. Therefore, the Spirit is muffled. It is difficult for the Spirit of God to be heard when the body and its desires are being manipulated by evil. One must repent and renounce sinful behaviors/tendencies in their lives in order to flee wickedness and be changed by God. The transformative power of the Holy Spirit in your life comes from surrendering to His will in all your ways. The Holy Spirit gives those who love God holy desires. The evil is replaced with good.

“All that Christ accomplished for me on the Cross is accomplished in me.” – Oswald Chambers

Now this is the will of God:

Hebrews 13:20-21

“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

It can be hard. We might try to run from the calling that God has placed on our lives. Although, it will always be waiting – sitting quietly in the center of your spirit, stirring; just waiting to be acted upon. The Lord awakens us to His holy awareness if we are still enough to listen. That is why spending time in God’s infallible Word is so important. Reading the Bible daily will spiritually refine you and create in you a life that bears fruit. (Hebrews 4:12).

The purpose of you being here is to simply love God, and love people. By the grace God has given freely to you, you are to give to those around you. Even the undeserving, just as Christ did for all humankind.

Although God has placed this general purpose in Christians, He has also imparted specific gifts into the lives of believers for them to nurture. Every person has something they feel called to, something they’re good at. This doesn’t have to be limited to singing or preaching. It could be specific qualities about you that God can use. He can use your defined organizational skills for God’s Kingdom or even empathy to touch the lives of people at your workplace. God can use you.

First, we must understand what it means to Abide.

The Greek word for abide used most frequently in the New Testament was menō – μένω. This word is translated much the same as the English definition: “to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), thine own.”

To abide is to stay near.

John 15:4-8

“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. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

The beloved book, Secrets of the Vine by Bruce Wilkinson shares a great deal of wisdom regarding the topic of abiding with Jesus. It reveals the patterns of our walk with God and the intentions of our hearts concerning Him. Jesus is the True Vine and our Father is the Vine Dresser. This process requires discipline and pruning when walking towards the truth of God. Take heart, the Lord disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6). He does this to make us more like Jesus.

“More abiding means more of God in your life, more of Him in your activities, thoughts and desires.” – Bruce Wilkinson

When we abide in Jesus, we are filled with His Spirit and power; we carry His Holy Spirit with us wherever we go.

“If we really abided in His love, we would come away feeling so nourished, so cherished, so liked, that we would rush back to Him whenever we could.” – Bruce Wilkinson

To walk in the presence of God, we must tangibly take the Spirit of God with us and invite Him into every aspect of our lives. This leads to an all day attentiveness of His presence.

Making Jesus your first love is quite literally the best and most meaningful decision you could ever make in your life. With it comes satisfaction beyond measure and a life led by the One who truly loves you. He makes that clear by the sacrificial agony He bore on the cross. The greatest purpose lived out is living for the One who made you. He knew you before you were created and knit you together in your mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:13-18

“For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.”

Beautiful, huh?

It’s incredible that a God like Him, would choose people like us.

Growing up in a church going home, I heard a lot of talk about God speaking to people. Young me assumed God was physically speaking in an audible voice. After experiencing the truth of God in late 2019, I realized how little I actually heard God in my life. It wasn’t until I surrendered my will in exchange for God’s perfect will that I realized how He speaks.

He often speaks in a still, small voice. Not normally audibly. Although He can do that too, if He decided to. In the life of a repented Christ follower, He speaks through impressions in our spirit, the Word of God, other people, circumstances, nature (ex: the burning bush), etc. The Lord is not limited to any human standards nor physical bounds when He speaks.

Although, He speaks primarily through His Word. The Word of God is a spiritual blazing fire, casting off all works of darkness from among you. It will cleanse you from the inside, out.

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly”

The Lord is persistent, He communicates personally, He brings peace, will challenge you, exudes truth and speaks with authority.

Understanding our weapons are not carnal, but mighty through God by the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4), we must be well equipped with the full armor of God. The enemy wars for the soul of human beings. We are to be vigilant, always aware of the enemy’s schemes. In order to combat the attacks of the enemy, The Lord has given us power to trample over serpents (Luke 10:19).

He gave us His Word and the ability to fast to gain spiritual insight. Fasting sharpens your spiritual senses, allowing you to hear God clearer. You forgo physical food in order to taste the goodness of God through prayer and studying God’s Word.

In the book, Knowing God Through Fasting by Elmer Towns, he explains, “When you surrender yourself to Jesus and come to Him, you will not be concerned with the loss of your life, or the abandoning of your ambitions. For you have everything to gain. You are acquiring an unspeakable privilege of knowing Jesus Christ and intimately abiding in Him.”

The goal of fasting is to ultimately have God on the throne at the center of your heart.

We must lose ourselves in God to find ourselves. We must give up our lives in order to find life and purpose. This is a holy exchange.

We are unable to do anything without Jesus. We need His guidance to help us through every day of our lives. Coming to Christ means dying to ourselves. God calls you to pick up your cross and follow Him regardless of the hardships that might come. As one of His children, He will discipline and refine you, but it is always for your good regarding what will be revealed for your future.

Here are some essential scriptures on abiding in Christ to meditate on:

Colossians 3:1-3
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

John 15:2
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

1 John 2:6
the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

Romans 8:9-10
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

1 John 2:27
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

1 John 4:13
By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Let’s pray

Holy Father, I pray on behalf of Your sheep that You fill us all with absolute contentment in You. Nothing comes close to Your unadulterated love for us. It truly exceeds all. Your love and truth is above everything and person that tries to exalt itself above You. Nothing comes close to Your greatness and nothing ever will. Thank You Father that we have You to lean on. May we rest in the peace the Holy Spirit brings and be satisfied by all You are. It remains true that if we seek first the Kingdom of God and all its righteousness, all else will be added unto us (Matthew 6:33). Thank You God that You are enough. I plead the blood of Jesus over all Christians all over the world and pray that You continue to reveal to us more of Your resounding Truth and wisdom. May we come to the realization that all we need is You. Help us to seek You fervently in all Spirit and in Truth. Cause us to stay in Your Word, learn from You and pray diligently. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

The Lord is coming back soon. Prepare your heart for the coming of Christ.

Copyright © 2023 Sierra Aaron. All Rights Reserved.