On Abiding

This past week was tough. I was not in the best of shape physically and to make matters worse I had agreed to support a family member in some spiritual exercise so I had to be on my A-game. Unfortunately, I was just weak, physically, spiritually and mentally. I did not feel like pushing, in fact, all I could think of was giving up. I thought of my word and how dishonouring that would be to give up now, me who loves to talk about not giving up. I thought of the people I know who are resilient and wondered what they would do if put in my shoes. I also thought of Jesus and what he would do if put in my shoes but that didn’t last long. So, I did what I could muster enough strength to do and that was crying out to God. I kept asking the Lord for strength and I pushed myself to focus on work which helped for a bit. The first three days of the week were a constant battle and struggle. By now, I know you are wondering what exactly was the spiritual exercise I was engaging in and it is simply prayer and fasting. It is by no means the first time I do it, and I did not want to give up because I was hungry, no, many things were going through my mind and my expectations were not being met so they led to frustrations. Adding the health challenge and the body exhaustion, you get my predicament. Thankfully, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and he answers when we call on Him. So, He answered me. Not by healing me or taking my difficulties away but He walked through those with me. I realized that when we invite God in our struggles, He truly accompanies us and helps us in it. The Lord is indeed so faithful that His promise of never leaving us nor forsaking us is true. As you continue to read, I hope you learn to cast your cares on the Lord because He truly cares (1 Peter 5:7).

On Saturday morning, I was hit by the verse of the Day in the YouBible app which said to “abide in me and I in you” (John 15:4). I thought, how funny that this theme keeps on repeating itself lately. The Lord was clearly trying to get me to understand that truly apart from Him I could do nothing. I realized how empty I am without the Lord, how lifeless I am without Him, how weak I am without Him. Literally, without the Lord I am nothing. I started seeing how the grace of God has carried me and carries me every single day. You could say I was humbled this week to a level I didn’t think I needed to get to. Nothing that I do is my accomplishment, nothing that I am is my accomplishment, all that I produce is the Lord’s. He is the one who enabled so many things, He is the one behind the scenes who orchestrates things to go as they do, I just enter the play and read the script. To tell you the truth, I thought I would have given up last week and the fact that I did not give up is only a testament to the power of God. It is definitely not me. As a result of last week, I thought I would share with you what I did that helped me see the hand of God and endure. First, I did not depart from the Lord. I continued to be in the word of God. I read it, listened to it, meditated upon it. Even though it was difficult and hard to do, I did it. I knew it was the right thing to do, I knew there was life in the word so whether I felt like picking up my Bible or not, I did it. I did not back down from the set time I have with the Lord. I may not have spent it as passionately as I usually do or it may not have been as long as it usually is but I stayed. Second, I prayed. These were not long and elaborate prayers or prayers of deep adoration or contrition, they were just me pouring out my heart to my Father. I was praying for the strength to get back up, praying to have a change of heart and attitude, praying to be more like Christ. Third, I did not neglect the gathering of the saints or meeting with brothers and sisters. I continued to engage in spiritual activities with the brethren. Doing things that were helping me focus on others, rather than myself was powerful as it helped me carry on. Truly, the best way to look outside of yourself is to serve others; to be in a situation where the needs of the other person are your first focus. Fourth, I listened to and sang worship songs. As I am reflecting on this I realized that I was doing what Paul encourages us to do in the book of Colossians: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16, italics mine). These simple spiritual activities helped me stay the course. However, what I find absolutely incredible is the fact that towards the end of the week, I was a different person. The Lord gave me the privilege and joy to rejoice with brothers and sisters celebrating their engagement. A difficult week turned into a joyful week. As I ponder upon it, I am flabbergasted and I cannot believe how much emotions play a role in how one is doing, the situation is usually not the issue rather the emotions are. At least that was my case. By the grace of God, my joy was quite full by the end of the week and I could not help but praise the Lord and thank Him.

What this week taught me is that when we abide in the Lord, when we come near to the Lord, He draws near to us (James 4:8). The Lord is really able to take our weakness and use it for His glory. We should not just throw in the towel because He does not do that for us. You see, God Himself, came into the world in Jesus Christ and died in our place so that we would become His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:17). This righteousness came at the high price of Jesus’s blood on the cross. Jesus’s sacrifice was done on our behalf while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). This does not just show the level of suffering Jesus had to endure for people who did not love him yet but it also shows the depth of the love God has for you and I and the great length he is willing to go to for us. Indeed, this kind of love is unwavering, it can be trusted, it is everlasting. I pray you get to bask in that love. Jesus is calling you today so if you do not know him, he is extending the invitation to receive him. For those of us that know him, let us remain in his love, it is the safest place and the best place to be. I pray we grow in our love for the Father to the point that nothing in this world satisfies us but His presence. Amen.