John 15:4, 5 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.
What does it look like to go through each day without getting short-tempered or discouraged, afraid or worried? Is it possible to do that? It must be, or else God wouldn't have given us the instructions that He did:
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?
As far as I can tell, the only way to live this way is to Abide in Him. Here's the definition of abide, according to Dictionary.com:
–verb (used without object)
1. to remain; continue; stay: Abide with me.
2. to have one's abode; dwell; reside: to abide in a small Scottish village.
3. to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship, etc.; last.
This is being constantly aware of Him. Not concerning ourselves with anything, but talking with Him about all of it. Being aware of His presence during the most menial tasks during the day (If you haven't read it, check out Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God). It amazes me that He cares about all the details of our lives, but His Word assures us that He does. This is the intimacy with God that I long for. This will make us unshakable, steady and calm in any circumstance, knowing the heart of our God and trusting that His hand is working.
And, like Paul said, "I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward." (Phil 3:13, 14)
Who's with me?
This is being constantly aware of Him. Not concerning ourselves with anything, but talking with Him about all of it. Being aware of His presence during the most menial tasks during the day (If you haven't read it, check out Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God). It amazes me that He cares about all the details of our lives, but His Word assures us that He does. This is the intimacy with God that I long for. This will make us unshakable, steady and calm in any circumstance, knowing the heart of our God and trusting that His hand is working.
And, like Paul said, "I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward." (Phil 3:13, 14)
Who's with me?
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