Abide
Over the last few weeks I've had a number of friends sharing their "word of the year". Choosing a word for the year is a great opportunity to reflect on areas we'd like personal growth or ways we'd like this year to be different from the past year. I had every intention of choosing a word for this year for me, but hadn't gotten around to it, or if I started to think about it I just couldn't come up with a word or theme.
It has been a few days since I cracked my Bible open. We had some sickness, birthday festivities and the excuses go on as to why I just couldn't find the time (but oh the countless Sudoku games I played on my phone instead!). This morning after breakfast the boys were playing pretty contentedly and I had a hot cup of coffee I needed to drink before I could take a shower so I decided to go back to bed and open my Bible to where I'd left off and start reading. I've been reading between Genesis and John in the reading plan I am on and I breezed through a few chapters of Genesis before moving onto John. Much of these passages I have read a lot in the recent months or years through various studies or sermons series at church, and so they can get easy to skim instead of read. Kind of feel like "old hat" or "been there done that". I know that isn't how we should react to the living breathing Word of God, but I know I am not alone in that ho-hum approach to my Bible reading some days. I realized this was where I was headed and forced myself to grab a pen, slow down, and really let the Scripture sink into my heart.
There it was in John 15. It about jumped off the page at me. Abide.
Last year's words were Be Still.
I learned that, Oh, did I ever. Through the biggest storm of my life, where I had zero control over everything that was happening to me or around me, where nothing I did changed the force or the direction of the storm, I learned. I learned what it is to be still because unless you are still, you miss out on the One who is controlling the storm, The One who is holding you in the midst of the storm. The One who keeps you in the midst of the storm so you can learn in the storm.
I watched. I learned. So much of last year feels like me looking in from the outside. Being a silent observer of my life. So much of it is me seeing the storm rage all around me but learning to find my footing, strong and sure on an immovable Rock. The wind and waves crashed around me, I was wet, I was cold, I was hurt and many times afraid, but I wasn't knocked down. And I stood still and sure. And I learned to depend on a strength other than my own - because I had none. Be still, and let Him. Be still, because you can't. Be still, and see what He does for you.
As I began to read further in John 15 I felt like the Lord was saying to me, "You've learned to depend on me when you had no strength to get up and fight for yourself. You were forced to be still because of your circumstances, and you learned how good being still with Me can be. You are stronger now. You like to not need Me. Will you choose to need Me still? Will you abide here in this place with Me? Will you learn to put down your own strength that has been refound and put Mine on instead? Will you abide in My everlasting love for you? Let Me give you new joy, and let Me make it full. "
I don't know what 2016 will bring. I don't know how much will be good, how much will be hard, how much will bring joy or how much will bring pain. I'm choosing to hope. And today, I am choosing that no matter what comes, to abide is better than to face it on my own. To remain and continue this course with Him is to learn Him, to find fullness of joy, and to find peace.
It has been a few days since I cracked my Bible open. We had some sickness, birthday festivities and the excuses go on as to why I just couldn't find the time (but oh the countless Sudoku games I played on my phone instead!). This morning after breakfast the boys were playing pretty contentedly and I had a hot cup of coffee I needed to drink before I could take a shower so I decided to go back to bed and open my Bible to where I'd left off and start reading. I've been reading between Genesis and John in the reading plan I am on and I breezed through a few chapters of Genesis before moving onto John. Much of these passages I have read a lot in the recent months or years through various studies or sermons series at church, and so they can get easy to skim instead of read. Kind of feel like "old hat" or "been there done that". I know that isn't how we should react to the living breathing Word of God, but I know I am not alone in that ho-hum approach to my Bible reading some days. I realized this was where I was headed and forced myself to grab a pen, slow down, and really let the Scripture sink into my heart.
There it was in John 15. It about jumped off the page at me. Abide.
Last year's words were Be Still.
I learned that, Oh, did I ever. Through the biggest storm of my life, where I had zero control over everything that was happening to me or around me, where nothing I did changed the force or the direction of the storm, I learned. I learned what it is to be still because unless you are still, you miss out on the One who is controlling the storm, The One who is holding you in the midst of the storm. The One who keeps you in the midst of the storm so you can learn in the storm.
I watched. I learned. So much of last year feels like me looking in from the outside. Being a silent observer of my life. So much of it is me seeing the storm rage all around me but learning to find my footing, strong and sure on an immovable Rock. The wind and waves crashed around me, I was wet, I was cold, I was hurt and many times afraid, but I wasn't knocked down. And I stood still and sure. And I learned to depend on a strength other than my own - because I had none. Be still, and let Him. Be still, because you can't. Be still, and see what He does for you.
As I began to read further in John 15 I felt like the Lord was saying to me, "You've learned to depend on me when you had no strength to get up and fight for yourself. You were forced to be still because of your circumstances, and you learned how good being still with Me can be. You are stronger now. You like to not need Me. Will you choose to need Me still? Will you abide here in this place with Me? Will you learn to put down your own strength that has been refound and put Mine on instead? Will you abide in My everlasting love for you? Let Me give you new joy, and let Me make it full. "
I don't know what 2016 will bring. I don't know how much will be good, how much will be hard, how much will bring joy or how much will bring pain. I'm choosing to hope. And today, I am choosing that no matter what comes, to abide is better than to face it on my own. To remain and continue this course with Him is to learn Him, to find fullness of joy, and to find peace.
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