ABIDE IN CHRIST
What does it really mean to abide in Christ? That was the question that came from my quiet time with God early one morning. For over a year God had been working in my heart and life about my priorities and the importance of rest. Without knowing it, I was beginning a journey of finding out what is really means to abide in Christ.
Due to some health issues, I spent most of 2019 with my focus on rest and I had made progress, so at the beginning of the new year I was praying about what goals I needed to set and asking for a “THEME” for the year. What came to be the answer was surprising…….ABIDE in ME.
Abide? What does that mean?
I went to the dictionary and looked up the meaning of ABIDE.
to act in accord with. to remain; continue; stay:
to submit to; agree to: to abide by the court's decision.
to wait for; await:
to abide the coming of the Lord.
to remain steadfast or faithful to; keep:
to accept without opposition or question:
Abide in Christ
Rest…..really….STILL…..really??? This made me realize I still have a lot to learn about resting. Not just physical rest, most importantly spiritual rest, soul rest.
How to Abide in Christ
I learned that in order to do this I had to make three things a top priority and I have to fight for those things every day.
Feast on His Word
God wants to give us rest by being in His word daily.
Matt 11:29 I will give you rest for your souls.
Exodus 33:14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
TAKE ACTION: Decide on a bible reading plan and stick with it.
Some of my favorite digital resources for this is the Bible app. You can choose a yearly reading plan or a topically study. For deeper bible study the Logos app is an amazing resource.
Another app I find encouraging is the Jesus Calling app.
Have an Active Prayer Life
When we learn to abide, to stay stedfast and faithful to our prayer life we begin to fill rest for our souls. Knowing that God hears us and cares about every detail of our lives.
Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Being intentional with your prayer life starts with knowing how and what to pray. Praying to our Heavenly Father is where the power is!
TAKE ACTION: Do a bible study on prayer. Make prayer a priority. Schedule it and bible reading into each day. Make a prayer journal.
Some of my favorite resources for this would be my digital prayer journal, the books Praying the Bible and Fervent along with the 31 ways to pray bookmarks.
Mindset
Hold every thought captive, control your mind and make sure that you aren’t letting your thoughts rob you of abiding in Him.
Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Letting your own mind spin constantly out of control until you don’t even know how to calm it. Can you relate? Do you evening know how to calm your mind? I did not…..my mind was not resting! My mind was racing on 100’s of thoughts constantly and it was robbing me of rest even after I started listening to my body and physically resting.
You see I was so keyed up all the time that I had no clue how to rest in the Lord and to be really honest…..I didn’t see other christians doing it either. So I loaded an app on my phone called Abide and another called Headspace and have intentionally started practicing how to calm my mind and boy does it make a difference in my emotional state. It is really hard to make your mind behave. LOL!
Have you ever tried to meditate? Do you even know what it is? It is a biblical word.
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night,
Genesis 24:63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.
Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
TAKE ACTION: Hold you thoughts captive. Allow you mind to settle and rest. Learn to meditate on God’s word.
One of my favorite resources for this is an app called Abide. Another resource I like is a secular app for learning to calm your mind called Headspace.
Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
I want to leave you with this simple truth. You are not loved because you are valuable. You are valuable because you are loved – value comes from God’s love – ABIDE IN HIM~~~
Here is a list of tools and resources for getting in the word, praying and meditating.
- You Version Bible App
- Logos Bible App
- Abide Mediation App
- Head Space App
- Jesus Calling App
- Fervent by Shriver
- My Digital Prayer Journal or learn how to make your own
- Navigates 31 ways to Pray
