Abiding in Him

Recently I’ve been wondering about abiding in the Lord. Am I doing it? Are you? If we abide in Him, are we aware of it or is it like breathing, it just happens. In this time of computers, iPads, 4G cell phones, social networks, flat screen tvs that let you watch 6 screens at once, how can we possibly find time to abide in Jesus?

The first conclusion I came to is that in order to abide in Jesus first you have to belong to Him. So, if you haven’t invited Jesus into your life, you should take that step first. After you are sure that you have made Jesus the Lord of your life, then you should give Him permission to change you. When you do that, slowly you’ll realize that your life is being refined for the better. What used to be important may not be so important. Your priorities will begin to line up in a more workable fashion. The old will fad away, the new will come.

When you think about the word abide, what does it mean? I looked it up just to make sure I knew myself. Sure enough it means to stay in, to continue firm in, and to continually reside in. In order to stay in and continually reside in Jesus what must we do? Do we sit and think about Him? Do we contemplate a picture of Him? Do we meditate on Him and what we know He did from the Bible? Maybe. Any of those things would be good to do.

But what does the Bible say about abiding in Him? 1 John 3:24 says, “And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us by the Spirit whom He has given us.” Okay. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him. So what are those commandments? 1John 3:23 “And this is His commandment, that we: (1) believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and (2) love one another, just as He commanded us.”

John goes on to say in 4:12 “...if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.” That’s pretty clear then. Love one another. Not always easy to do. But it’s not a suggestion from Jesus. It is a command. Therefore, we need to take heed and be obedient. It doesn’t mean that we should be all warm and fuzzy about everybody. It means that we should want the very best for whomever we’re trying to love.

Here’s another good thing that John has to say about abiding. In 1 John 4:15 he says, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God.” Does that mean confess this when you’re first saved and then never again? No! It means confess Him all the time–every time you get a chance.

How do we know that we’re abiding in Jesus? 1 John 4:13 says, “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” When you hear someone say something that you know is evil, does something inside you reject it? That’s the Spirit speaking to you. When given two choices between good and evil to do, and something in you tells you to pick the better way, that’s the Spirit speaking to you. When you go somewhere questionable and you get an uncontrollable urge to get out of there, that’s the Spirit speaking to you. Stop wondering if you have the Spirit in you. If you only pay attention to your thoughts and your urges, you’ll realize that the Spirit in you is talking to you all the time. All you need to do is slow down long enough to pay attention to Him.

If you abide in Jesus Christ, there are many, many benefits that are yours. More than I can list here. But Jesus Himself tells us plain and simple what the greatest benefit is. “If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7) Whoa! Wait a minute! Whatever I wish? But you may say, “My mother always told me that God provides for my needs but not for my wants!” I’m sorry to tell you but your mother was wrong. These are the very words of Jesus Christ. If He says “ask whatever you wish”, He must mean it. He doesn’t lie to us, His children.

Let the truth of what Jesus said then and keeps saying today soak in with you. It is an important thing to abide in Jesus. It is simple. Maybe not easy but simple. Believe in Him and love one another. Abiding is another by-product of being in a relationship with Jesus, like salvation, healing, eternal life, sonship, etc. It is there if we pay attention to it. We need to slow down from time to time and examine ourselves to see how we’re doing. Try to be aware of your priorities and your love. Learn to abide in Jesus. When you do, the benefits are greater than you can imagine.