Jesus said in John 15:4-5 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
The word “abide” means to remain, to stay put. In other words, as true believers in Jesus Christ, we are to keep our faith in Him, to follow Him, and to obey Him. We could also use the terms “hold to”, “conform to”, “act in accordance with” etc., to what it means to abide in Christ. We are to hold to what His Word teaches, conform to the life He demands of us, and act in accordance to His commandments.
When we learn to abide in Him, and we put it in practice in our lives, we bear fruit. Now, what does that mean? Well, it’s just like anything we plant in the ground. If we plant tomato seeds, we’ll get tomatos, etc., If we abide in Christ, and plant Him and His Word in our lives, we’ll live a life that is pleasing to Him. Our lifestyle and behavior will be what pleases and honors Him. We will make the right choices and decisions, and we will know true joy and peace.
It’s not always easy to abide in Christ. In fact, we can’t do it apart from Him. So, we must choose to set our hearts and minds on Him and His Word and allow them to be the focus of our lives.
Here are several things that will aid us in Abiding In Christ:
1. Have a Strong Determination to Abide – “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
We can only truly come to know God when that is the most important thing to us, when it is more important than anything else in our lives!
2. Meditate on God’s Word – ” I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you….I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.” (Psalm 119:11, 15-16)
What we spend time thinking about and meditating on will determine who and what we are. If we want to abide in Him, we must meditate on Him and His Word!
3. Learn to Trust God – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
When we begin to abide, we must understand that God doesn’t work the way we would. His plans are perfect, and no matter what – we have to trust Him.
4. Know that God Alone is Our Strength – “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
No matter how difficult it may be to abide, we can do it as long as we lean completely upon Him alone for our strength.
5. Have Courage to Obey God – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)
The more we learn to trust and obey, the more we will make the right choices and decisions in our lives, and we will be successful at whatever God wants us to do.