Abide in Me

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself , unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. John 15:4

These past days I have been waiting for some great insights to share with you, but it dawned on me yesterday that my walk with God is spent more in the valleys and climbs than on any mountain top where I feel jolted by God's greatness.

Instead, I have been reminded that our walk with God should be a daily occurrence, a daily "plugging in". I am realizing that the act of plugging in is not just an act of daily devotions, but an act of centering ourselves on God.

I remember when I first came to Nigeria and was teaching English at a Lutheran seminary in Yola, Adamawa State. One assignment I gave was for students to write a paragraph to share the first things they do each day.

I was amazed that the replies were almost 100% uniform: "Sit up (while still in bed), thank God for seeing me through the night and ask him to be with me in the new day, wash my face, get dressed, greet my family and neighbors."

Meeting God from the moment we open our eyes to the time we close them again at the end of our day is what it means to abide in me.

Throughout the day that means reading His Word, seeking his will in decisions big and small, living out our faith when we connect with our children, spouse, family members, colleagues, people on the road, in the store, at school, on the phone, as we decide what to watch on TV or listen to in the car...etc. Centering ourselves in God's will starts with us meeting God one on one in prayer and reading the Bible, but most of our time is spent in our daily activities. How we carry ourselves in our daily activities is the true test of whether or not we are abiding in Him.

I pray that as you abide in Him you can remember that, as great as those mountain top experiences can be, we live down in the valley and it is there we live out our faith and testify of His greatness to those we meet along the way. We need the constant source of encouragement, comfort and guidance that we gain from abiding in Him to get through each day So let us meet him first in His Word and again and again in our prayers of thanks and our petitions for encouragement, comfort and guidance so that we can stay on track throughout the day. Then, when those mountain top experiences do occur, we will treasure them even more because we will have a better understanding of all aspects of what it means to abide in me.

Dorthea