I'm in a season where I've lived a little life but still have a long journey ahead. I see people in my life farther down the road that I aspire to be like. I have questions like how have you stayed faithful to the call on your life for 40 years? How do you continue to fight for your spouse day after day, especially on days when you don't feel like it? How do you trust God when things are out of your control and the situation looks hopeless? It could seem like the answers to these questions should be quite complex but what I have been learning is that the answer is simple: abide in Jesus.
What does abide mean?
: to endure without yield, to remain stable, fixed, to continue in a place and pay the price, to remain steadfast and faithful
So how does one abide day after day? It's easy on days when the spotlight is on you, when the breakthrough comes, and when circumstances seem to go your way. But to abide means to remain steadfast through each and every day. On days when you have to actively choose to abide because breakthrough seems impossible and apathy is all you feel.
John 15 says to abide in Jesus that His joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. This is a promise which means on the days when apathy is your closest companion, joy to the fullest can still be yours. But how? Showing up. Bringing your heart to every day and not running away. Vulnerablity. Refusing to disengage, check out or resort to hopelessness. That's the easy route. Yes, spend more than a few seconds on this planet and you'll find countless opportunities to choose hopelessness, legitimate, real, heart-breaking reasons. But the story was never intended to end there.
For greater is He that lives in me than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Jesus is the author of hope, the righter of wrongs, the justice to what is unjust.
Just today my friend reached out in a moment of weakness to ask for prayer. I was both humbled and challenged by the courage it took to reach out. What is easy is to hide in your pain until the breakthrough comes then share about it. But courage is letting people in when you're in the middle of your pain....when you don't have answers or "aha" moments.
What does abiding in Jesus look like and why does it matter? We hear all about high profile infidelities, massive ministry fallouts, and inexcusable injustices to the vulnerable. It's easy to say, "How could they ever do that? I would never." It all starts with small compromises. We must humble ourselves to realize that it only takes one turn down the wrong road. As an old song says, people never crumble in a day. When black and white turns to gray. It's a slow fade.
We must choose integrity when small compromises are easier. We must make our weakness known when it's easier to hide. We must keep our heart open when isolation is more comforting. We must bring our fears out in the open without excuses. Look you don't have to have it all together. Make mistakes but own them. Take risks for love even if you fall down. Your identity is already secure in Christ. Make your needs known. There's love to cover you. There's people around you that love you and even if not, you are never alone for our God cares for all your needs. He sees and He is able.
They don't need perfect. They just need you.
Be brave. Abide in Jesus.