Abide

 Abide. 

This word is not commonly used in the modern English language. I usually do not share with someone I am "abiding" at my home. I simply say that I "live there." This lack of using the word sometimes causes us to fail at understanding the full meaning.

In recent months, the Lord has taught me much about this word. I always find it so interesting how the Lord gives me a word to meditate on and learn from each year. When I was asking Him to show me this year's word late last fall, I did not want to let go of the word He had given me from last year - TRUTH. I wanted to stay in that and continue to learn and grow. I wondered if I could just continue growing in truth. 

That is when His still small voice told me, "Abide." 

I felt comfort in that because it meant He just wanted me to stay in searching for truth from His Word. I knew enough about "abide" from John 15 that I actually took that word for granted. I was almost "disappointed" that such a "common" verse was going to be where He settled me for this year, as I always love to explore new truths in Scripture. Little did I realize how much more He would show me! 

In my previous post on "Wait," the Lord was already working to grow me more deeply into Him. He was beginning the process of showing me more of what abiding truly means.

When I researched the word abide, I found that it was an Old English word meaning: await, remain, lodge, sojourn, dwell, continue, and endure. In Greek, the word means "to remain." 

Of course, I already *knew* all of that for the most part. I guess I was expecting to have an epiphany of newness to emanate from the word itself. I then began to settle into John 15, and that is when the epiphany began - from the WORD Himself.

John 15:4-5

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so 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, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Let's sit with John 15:5a for a moment - I AM the vine, YOU are the branches. 

Guess what, I am NOT the vine. But many times in life, I seem to think I am.

JESUS is the VINE. The life support. The strength. The ability. The power. He is I AM.

Me? I am just a branch clinging to the vine for that support, strength, ability, and power. Just as a branch can fall off a tree and die, if I am not abiding in Him, I will be fruitless, broken, and deteriorate spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and even physically. 

When I depend on HIM, abide and remain, I will have the ability and strength to produce much fruit for HIS glory. I can do nothing without Him. I will have the strength to say "no" to Satan and fight the spiritual battle before me, the ability to overcome any circumstances, or just rest in HIM and His timing or purpose.

But all of those cannot happen without me ABIDING in HIM.

Over the years, the Lord has shown me how I have a strong tendency to want to control life and circumstances myself. That is putting myself as the vine - and I can never be that because within my human self there is no SOURCE for anything good. I have released so many areas of that "controlling" part of me to the Lord. Unfortunately, I know I am in constant need to stop the pride of my fallen and sinful nature that wants to take over and solve the problems myself. 

For 45+ years, I have dealt with a "thorn in the flesh" - an OCD behavior that has been debilitating at times. I have repeatedly prayed and asked the Lord to release me from it and just take it away. He never has. He has shown me ways to relieve some of the severity, but has never allowed me to be free from it. It has been my "self-soothing" for hard times, thinking times, or even times of experiencing "boredom." It has been "the help" for me as I have problem-solved and tried to walk through a hard season. I would cling to the OCD instead of fully abiding in my Savior to give me strength to overcome whatever I was facing. It became my "Jesus + the OCD because I know there is no "cure." I allowed it to be the first step to my comfort or a way to solve a problem. 

As I have meditated on "abide" this year, I have begun to realize that it is the way I can overcome my OCD behavior. I know that I will never get "rid" of this behavior, as it is a mental battle every day. Some days are easier than others, while other days leave me downright battle-tired. However, the Lord showed me in such a clear way this year that by abiding in HIM, I can fight that battle with His strength and rest in Him. My strength could never stop it, but His strength has now given me repeated success. I have learned to say "abide" when the urge to become obsessive begins. I cling to His strength and power to stop the behavior and settle into Him. It has even now transferred into other areas of my life that I had already been giving to the Lord, but now with deeper meaning. I will have to do this for the rest of my life, but that is what the Lord desires. 

He wants all of us to abide in HIM by: 

• dwelling
• resting
• sojourning
• lodging
• continuing
• enduring 
• remaining

When it is easy. When it is hard. When we are happy. When we are sad. When we have success. When we have failure. 

What is your need today for abiding in the only One Who can give you all that you need? What have you still been trying to control?

ABIDE in Jesus.