Abide

If you were to describe your relationship with God right now, would you say that you are working for Him or resting in Him? To be honest, it is easy for us to do the former instead of the latter. After all, it is January. It is a brand new year. New this. New that. New me. New you. New dreams. New goals. New habits. While there is nothing wrong with these new things in and of themselves, we can get preoccupied with them, all the while forgetting to rest in Him. While doing so, if we are not careful, we can start worshipping our will instead of His. Ultimately, we forget that He is God and we are not.

We are not meant to do this life alone. If that were the case, God would not have given Adam a helper in Eve. Nor would we go out two by two. There would also be no trinity. God is a God of relationship. He is also a God of dependence, but without Him, we are nothing. On the contrary, with Him, we have everything because in Him, through Him, and to Him are all things.

John 15:1-8 (NKJV) states, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this, My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so that you will be My disciples."

Maybe God gave us January also for the very reason to slow down, to pause, to reflect, and to lean in. After all, this world and its very people are haggard and harried. When we try to do life on our own, we can become busy for the sake of meeting our own needs, instead of being busy with the things of God. We end up losing sight of who we are and who God has called us to be. We become foolish instead of foolproof. Joyless instead of joyful. Hateful instead of loving. More importantly, Godless instead of Godly. Maybe God gave us January as a reminder that this world is not our home, but that Heaven is.

Again, as it begs the question, where is your relationship with God right now? Are you abiding in Him or working for Him? If it is the latter, come to Him. After all, He is a loving Father who willingly holds out His hand, beckoning us to draw near and beckoning us to abide.