God's Plan: Abiding in Him

It's interesting when you think about it that Jesus' first greeting to the disciples was "follow me," so that He could go on and teach them how to be true fishers of men. He did not give them a 10 step plan, a calendar, or a survival guide of the weeks ahead. They didn't know that He would die on the cross for them or that He would rise again. All they had was his simple, open invitation and amazingly they took it. Maybe it was the novelty, maybe it was a disinterest in their work, but probably it was something tugging on their hearts. They had faith in Him and what He had come to do. But that's just an assumption.

Jesus says a lot of things that are oft quoted and just as often taken out of context. I like to call these little snippets Bible bites. However, there is one  call He gives I do want to acknowledge right now. In John 15 He goes through the analogy of the vine and the branches. His call is to abide in him -- to remain in him so that we may bear fruit.

Again the disciples do not have our foresight. He is closer to being betrayed, crucified and then rising again, but they don't know that. They don't know that most of them will be killed, persecuted and ridiculed for their faith. There only reference point is to abide in Christ. In reality that's all they need to know to bear fruit for the sake of His kingdom, but that is so very easy to forget.

It makes me think of when God reveals himself to Moses in Exodus and simply says I AM WHO I AM. He doesn't need to say more than that. He doesn't need to explain himself and we could never fully hope to comprehend him. He is the great I AM and that is enough. In the same way since He is the I AM we can take solace in knowing that if we follow Him and remain in Him, He will lead us on the path that He has for us.

We say that God is so often silent and absent and yet it is interesting that sometimes it seems so crystal clear that God is giving us an answer. It's just not what we want or what we were expecting. So often if their is a dichotomy in my a life, a fork in the road between what I want and the other way, God seems to suggest the other path. Doors so easily get shut, doors that I thought I would be walking through. There's the cliche voicing that when one door closes another one opens. It's true, but does that really act as comfort?

Again, I must keep reminding myself to abide in the I Am because He is enough. As it says in Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."

Even reading this verse just now inverts everything I have been thinking. Maybe it's not so much that one door closes and another opens. Those doors in essence do not matter. All that matters is that we let Christ in after hearing his voice. We have to open the door to him not vice versa. If we let Him in and remain in him, that is all that is necessary. His plan for our lives is the perfect plan because I AM WHO I AM and He will do what He will do.

Maybe that does not make the here and now any easier, but it certainly takes the sting out of one door closing. I already let Christ in through the door of my heart so what continues is the still arduous task of following Him. I trust that He has my best interest in mind and I can already attest to this being true.

All Glory to Him.  

For Better or Worse, Through Sickness and in Health

It amazes me how easily I can be knocked off my game. A little sickness for a couple of weeks and it throws off my schedule, the time I spend in the Word and the time I spend with the Lord. I spent the last couple weeks feeling like I should write something and yet when I thought about my days my mind was relatively blank. There were no new thoughts or insights to be had, because the reality is I wasn't really learning anything. I still listened to sermons, led bible studies and the like, but there was nothing new that I was learning in my own individual time.

For some it might seem like a strange analogy but my relationship with Christ is rather like a marriage, in fact Christ is even equated to the bridegroom and the Church is His bride. That means that our relationship with Him continues for better or for worse, when we lack faith or need grace. It means that our relationship with Him continues still when we are sick as well as when we are healthy. There is never a break from relationship and that can seem daunting and even stressful. But shouldn't it be the opposite? Should we not find rest and comfort and peace going to the Lord through all the trials and tribulations that make up the human existence?

I have no scripture or quotation to go over because the reality is nothing has really stuck with me recently. However, I will say in this season of Valentines and talk of relationships we already have the most relationship that we could ever ask for. It's so easy to forget that sometimes though.

I pray that I may walk by faith in the calling that the Lord has for me in all circumstances and that I remember I do not have to pick myself by my own bootstraps to do better or work harder. I just need to constantly remember to abide in Him because His mercies are new everyday and He truly delights in me. Thank you for that Lord.

All the Glory Be His.