Abide

Something that has been on my mind and heart recently is the concept of abiding. Jesus talks about this in John 15. He says, "I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

I was first introduced to this idea of abiding two years ago while I was in Branson, MO for Discipleship Focus. I must admit that the following ideas are not my own but belong to a man named Will Wyatt who developed the D-Focus program and wrote the Discovery Bible study.

The word "remain" in this passage can also be translated as "abide". So what does it mean to abide? What does abiding look like? I was able to discover the answers to these questions at D-Focus but recently the Holy Spirit has been reminding me of these truths. I looked up the dictionary definition of this word and it says that to abide means:
1. to remain; continue; stay: Abide with me.
2. to have one's abode; dwell; reside: to abide in a small Scottish village.
3. to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship, ect.; last.

Besides the part about the small Scottish village, all of these definitions can be applied to our relationship with the Lord, especially point 3, "to continue in a particular attitude, relationship." Another way to look at the concept of abiding is this: "Abiding is being aware of God's presence, being available and obedient to Him, and trusting in His resources instead of our own human abilities." When we abide, we are simply saying, "Lord, I know you are there. I know that I cannot do anything on my own. So here I am for you to use, mold, and lead in any way or direction that you want." This abiding relationship with the Father is more of an attitude than anything else. When we are in an abiding relationship with God, we will bear fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. Without God working in our lives, we cannot bear this fruit. Jesus says, "apart from me you can do nothing." We cannot do anything spiritual without the Lord pruning us, but we must remain in the Vine in order for this to happen. And we remain in the Vine when we are aware and open to God's leading and rely on His resources, not our own.

I desire to have an abiding relationship with the Father. I desire to continue in an attitude of openness and awareness of His leading. I desire to continue in my relationship with God and remain in Him. I desire to abide. I have nothing, I am nothing, unless I abide. E.