One of the most challenging aspects of my faith has not been to encounter God…It has been to remain in that encounter as a part of my daily life. When you read John 15, Jesus declares a profound statement, that if I will abide in Him, then He will abide in me, and I will bear much fruit…for without Him, I can do nothing [John 15:5]. In some translations, the word “abide” is replaced with the word “remain.” I believe to “remain” is to live in constant communion and awareness of God every single day.
In Psalms 16, it says that in “His presence is the fullness of joy, at his right hand are pleasures forevermore” [Psalms 16:11]. If his presence is this good, why don’t I desire to be in it more!?! These are the kind of questions that run through my mind all the time. If eternity is going to be filled with overwhelming joy completely due to God and His amazing presence, then why is my life consumed with so many other things than Him? How do I remain in God’s presence and stay connected with Him all the time?
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul declares how the outward man is wasting away, but the inward man is being renewed day by day [2 Corinthians 4:16]. What an amazing statement! Paul is saying that our relationship with God is one of “day by day” development! I believe this is one of the KEYS to remaining with God and knowing Him more fully. Every day we must step in to God’s invitation to know Him more. Every day we must spend time reading His word. Every day we must spend time learning His heart and exploring His love!
What’s cool about God is that you don’t always have to be talking out loud to connect with Him. How annoying would it be to have a relationship with someone who ONLY talked and NEVER listened? We read in John 16 how the Holy Spirit literally takes the thoughts of God and declares them to us [John 16:14]. The point is…We can have constant communication with God any time we want! We have been given access to His heart and His thoughts through our intimate Helper and Counselor, the Holy Spirit. This invitation is far more romantic than a one-time encounter, but it is one we can remain in all the time!
My desire is that I would learn to live in intimacy with God, to step into a deeper friendship with Him than I already have, to honor Him with quality time, to be still and listen to His thoughts, to be attentive to the leadings of His Holy Spirit, to worship Him for who He is, and to serve Him as Lord of my life! Let us answer His invitation to live lives of constant communion and awareness of His presence in and around us! Let us learn to “remain.”
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This post and all the other posts have really blessed me. I related to everyone of them, which I know is because we all listen to the same God.
I have a testimony that I believe adds to this. Earlier this month I had been struggling with some sin that had never been a temptation in my life until now. I’m twenty-one years old and I’ve always felt seperate for God, but when I got into my very first relationship I began to struggle with lust. I didn’t see the pitfalls before they came, because I blindly thought that it would never happen to me. Instead of following wisdom and guarding my heart against even that which is incredulous in my mind; I fell hard into a pit. I had been going up and down, good days and bad days. I love God, and my boyfriend loves God, but both of us had a chain that needed to be broken. One evening I was walking to a pier to fish with my family and a thought came to me. We hear from everyone that God is waiting on us to respond, that He never leaves us nor forsakes us, …his love never fails. So why? Why is bondage raging in the church,…in the earth? So I said a prayer. I prayed that God would show me, even that night what I needed to do. Asked Him to guide me so that His glory can be shown, now in the earth. After I prayed I forgot about it and had a good time with my family. That night my bf had stayed the night at our house. The temptation rose and my flesh was hard to fight, but in that moment that had normally taken several minutes to fight, strength came. I said, No. We both don’t want to do this, and we know that even if no one is watching, but God sees, and that’s why we wait in the first place. I can’t tell you the victory I felt. God is so good. God has kept me, and I’m still pure in His sight and mans. But if I didn’t have God that night or every other night, that could be stolen. I guess my testimony is this: God is always there, waiting to meet our needs, and use us to meet others, to make us a vessel that overflows for Him. We just have to make the decision, the declaration that HE is King and we will follow His command.
God bless you in all you do, God bless your minds that they remain pure and your purpose never waivers. Write the vision, make it plain
in Jesus name
amen