Back to Abiding

Day 79

  Back to Abiding

Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.

1 John 2:24

~~~

W

 e probably thought we were embarking upon a program of physical self-improvement when we sought the Lord’s help with health and self-image, but for the most part, these first eleven weeks of devotions have addressed issues of the heart and spirit. We may have become bogged down with the weight of all we have discovered as we’ve delved the depths of our own hearts and souls. Our focus may have been pulled away from the goal of drawing nearer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

God has led us to acknowledge and release heartaches and wrongdoings that have separated us from His peace; we have been released from many burdens the enemy would use to freeze us into immobility. It is time now to return to the strategies of abiding in the Lord that we practiced during the first weeks of this effort to love Him first and most. When we abide steadfastly in Him, we are freed from sin.[i]

Walking in the darkness of sin corrupts fellowship with our fellow human beings, especially with our loved ones. But when we allow what we have learned of Christ to abide in our minds and then entrust our hearts to Him, the hope of being transformed into His likeness purifies us from sin.[ii] This is how we abide in the Son and in the Father: we place our focus on His word and entrust our hearts to His care.[iii]

We don’t need distraction from our stress; we need deliverance from it. We can have respite in the midst of storms if we will abide in the Lord. We will find a sweetness that is astounding in its joy and peace; only we must not withhold ourselves from Him. As we return to a fast from the world’s comforts and a commitment to find all our needs met in Him, we can trust Him to provide what we need. We will find rest and peace, but also strength we did not think we could attain. In fact, we do not obtain strength, we are given it: strength that is promised us for all our days.[iv]

Pray:  Dear Lord, I have no confidence in myself to obey, but I can abide in You. Enable me to obey. I have no confidence in my strength, but I trust You to strengthen me because Your word promises that You will. Please grant me Your strength. Help me to remember, bank on, and act upon the truths You have shown me: that I am loved, that I am not alone, and that You haven’t given up on me.  Help me to shut out the world’s influences as I focus upon You. Help me to abide in You, and may Your word abide in me. In Jesus’ Name, amen. 

~~~

He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Isaiah 40:29

---

[i] 1 John 3:6

[ii] 1 John 3:3

[iii] See 1 John 2:24

[iv] Deuteronomy 33:25