#6 We Can Choose NOT to Abide...
Thank you for joining me for this mini series on Abiding. I could write, teach and speak about Abiding in Christ until the day I die and never tire of it! It is so important yet so often not understood.
If you have been following my blogs these past six weeks, I pray that it has gotten you thinking.
What does this word “Abiding” actually mean to you?
Were you able to identify something that might be keeping you from a relationship with God?
Do you believe that God has more for you in the life you’re living than you are presently experiencing, something abundantly good?
There was a time when I considered making the choice to NOT abide anymore and walking away from a close relationship with God. Just over 10 years ago, my brother, Scott, had been battling lymphoma. My other brother and I were told we were Scott’s best hope for his cure IF one of us were the right match for a stem cell transplant. We were tested for compatibility. I sent out a mass of prayer requests asking people to pray for a match. I knew that if our blood type wasn’t the correct match God could fix it so that it was. I had prayed so hard that I really believed God would miraculously make it work. He didn’t.
For a few dark moments after learning the news, I wanted out of this abiding “thing”. I was heartbroken and angry with God and sent out emails to all who had prayed saying, “You can pray if you want. I’m done.” That night, I had no desire for any kind of intimacy with God. And I considered what walking away from an abiding relationship with God might look like.
I didn’t want to follow a God who doesn’t fix things when they hurt. Yet I knew there is no other person or thing which compares in power and knowledge to God. I had walked with the Lord long enough to know there is nothing I would rather choose to place my trust in. He is God and I am not. I would not know where to begin to try and be my own god and rely on my own limited understanding and abilities.
The thought of stepping away from the only One I know to be faithful and true and never changing feels hopeless to me. God made me and He is good even if I don’t understand why things work out the way they do.
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is the shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2-3”
In crazy times like this, with the scare of the uncertain effects of the Coronavirus affecting the entire globe, I will choose to put my trust in the One who holds this world in the palm of His hand. We all have a choice. Do we desire to follow God and trust Him in everything?
So my intentions when posting the first in this mini-series on abiding was to offer you practical ways to help you enjoy a close relationship with the Lord. I thought I could “do it in six” yet I really have only gotten started. If this is your desire to walk more intimately with the Lord and to enjoy Him in a real and personal way, then I hope you will consider reading my book, “Abiding in Christ - What is it Anyway?” If you don’t mind, I’m going to keep sharing with you on the topic of abiding and next week we’ll look at what abiding looks like in the midst of raising Brady, my son with Down syndrome. It’s been an interesting ride!