Abide

“Jesus doesn’t participate in the rat race. He’s into the slower rhythms of life, like abiding, delighting, and dwelling—all words that require us to trust Him with our place and our pace.”

Lysa TerKeurst, “Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely”

I read Uninvited the summer of 2017. Lysa’s words really catalyzed my evaluation of a multitude of areas/events in my life, and I have kept them close to me since then. They’ve repeatedly come up– in fact, one of my devotions that I taught weekly this past summer revolved around this very quote from her book, Embraced.

My word for 2018 was “delight.” (There’s a connection here.) I started thinking of what my word for 2019 would be. I don’t make resolutions– I have no negative thoughts of them, but instead I try to focus on something that I can apply to every aspect of my daily life. I made a list of words, but the first word I thought of, and that I keep coming back to, is “abide.”

Abide. Definition – continue without fading or being lost; remain in. Ever thought about how abide and abode are similar? (You live in an abode.)

I chose this word because life is full of so many tasks that require our attention. I love to serve God. But what I had to remind my volunteers this summer was that serving can be exhausting if you don’t spend time with God. He wants us to slow down and just be in His presence. Before you start your day, take a moment and just talk to Him. And listen. Worship Him in your room, in the shower, or in your car. Pray to Him when you wake up. Read His Word. Just spend time with Jesus.

We live in a world where we are constantly being drained and accomplishments aren’t what will fulfill us. The only thing that can truly fill us is God. Isaiah 40:31 says that those who hope in the Lord will have their strength renewed by Him.

Last year, there were large quantities of time that I didn’t spend with God. I want to change that this year. I want to abide in Him. I want to make sure that I take time to be with the One who gives me this intimate invitation every day.

Because the more time you spend with God, the more you grow and the brighter your light for Jesus shines.