Unyielding Messenger

This week, God had a theme of treasure for me to unpack.  Does he ever do that with you?  You read a book, He communicates an idea that encourages your heart.  But then you forget it 10 minutes later.  You go out for coffee with a friend, and the same idea is uttered in their spirit led heart.  “Do you hear me, daughter?”  You turn on the radio, and it’s there too.  “I really want you to get this.” You open your Bible, and every verse, even if you are in some obscure book, relays the same concept.  “LISTEN TO ME!” He does this often with me, and even when I was not faithfully in the Word, He would find such obscure ways to speak to me. 

That’s been my week.

So, in the study on 1 John, I was digging into the word “Abide”.  Go figure, right?  John really runs with that idea, which probably stemmed from Jesus as the vine, telling us to abide in Him.  What the heck does that mean, though? 

According to Merriam Webster, it means the following:

Definition of abide

transitive verb

1a: to bear patiently: TOLERATE cannot abide such bigots

b: to endure without yielding : WITHSTAND abide the onrush of the enemy

2: to wait for: AWAITI will abide the coming of my lord.— Alfred Tennyson

3: to accept without objection will abide your decision

intransitive verb

1: to remain stable or fixed in a state a love that abided with him all his days

2: to continue in a place: SOJOURN will abide in the house of the Lord

abide by

1: to conform to abide by the rules

2: to accept without objection: to acquiesce in will abide by your decision

Let that sit with you for a minute.  Because, not only are we asked to “abide”, but He also promises to abide with us, when we “abide” in Him.

Ok.  Now, in the context of John 15, we have the vinedresser.  If you read my last post, you will observe that this vinedresser concept has come up a few times for me.  Here is the purpose of the vinedresser though.  He’s going to cut out the bad, and nourish the good so that we bear fruit.  Not just any fruit, fruit that endures.

Back to 1 John 2, and verse 28.

“And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.”

He is bearing patiently with us.  Enduring without yielding.  Accepting us without objection.  Remaining stable, and fixed in a state of love.  Continuing in place.  Why?  So that, while we bear patiently with him (his processes), endure in His love, without yielding, Accept what He is doing without objection, and remain fixed in a state of love, and in a state of BEING loved, we will be transformed.  We will bear fruit.  He will present us, holy and blameless… so that we don’t have to “shrink from him in shame”.

Another devotion I read today because it had a flashy title, had to do with Joseph.  I hated this article with my whole heart because it focused so much on this reality that “God made everything alright for Joseph”, “He showed His faithfulness by putting him in a place of power.”  No.  God does not promise that everything will be made right in this lifetime.  We may literally never see any tangible fruit in our circumstances that make the pain feel justified.

BUT, He will make it right.

He will make us more like Him. 

We will experience the fullness of what it means to abide, and bear lasting fruit for the glory of His name.

Friends, it will be worth every tear. 

As I prepare to say a lot of goodbyes within the ministry, I am reminded that human relationships do not abide.  They are driven by waves of life, and are of mutual benefit and encouragement.  But not many are of this abiding quality.  That’s ok.  Because it reminds me of the Savior Who paid the ultimate sacrifice to abide fully with me, in a stable, patient, unyielding, way.

Why do I ever doubt Him?