“Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15:4, NKJV).
What an achingly lovely invitation! Do you hear Him saying these words to your heart? “Live inside of Me, just as I live inside of you.” He’s drawing you and me deeper into His heart. Ever deeper. Every day deeper.
How intimate is this invitation? You can’t get more intimate than being inside of someone else. It is ultimate intimacy that He beckons us to. Intimacy where we literally hear each other’s thoughts. Where we can speak without even using words. Where our spirits intermingle. Where we are one with Him. Where this promise comes true: “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20, NKJV).
We talked last week about abiding in His shelter, in His shadow. So often, though, we wonder about the practical application of this concept. What exactly does it mean to abide in Him? What does that look like? This week we are going to unpack this invitation from Jesus a little more.
For starters, I believe He wants to remove the sense of this concept being ethereal or out of reach for us. Listen with your heart, deeply loved one. Abiding in Jesus is for you. It is an integral part of what He has for you, personally. Here’s how you can know it: because He said so.
“As the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him” (1 John 2:27, NKJV, emphasis mine). See those last five words there? Guaranteed. By God Himself, who does not lie. You will abide in Him. The anointing of His Spirit will teach you how, more and more and more so.
Not only is there a future guarantee of this, but there is also a present one. The Father assures us, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13, NKJV, emphasis mine).
There you have it. You can know that you know that you know that you are already abiding in Him. As this verse explains, you can know it because He has given you of His Spirit. Remember that intimacy factor we were just talking about? Holy Spirit lives inside of you. In the most intimate place He could be. He and you are one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). The moment you were born again, He came to take up residence in your body for the rest of eternity. Your spirit and Jesus’ Spirit became joined together.
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16, NKJV, emphasis mine).
The Helper is abiding with you and is in you… forever. He will never leave you nor forsake you. By this you can know that you abide in Him too. His presence is the seal, the guarantee of your abiding (2 Cor. 1:22).
Tomorrow we will talk more about what it looks like to walk this out. But for this moment, soak yourself in the wonderful truth that you are abiding in Him. It’s an arrangement that will last forever.
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Has the concept of abiding in Him ever seemed mysterious to you, or hard to understand? Or did it make a lot of sense to you as soon as you heard about it? What has your journey been like so far, learning about abiding in Him?
In my experience, abiding can be a scary concept for people, because it means surrendering your will to His. When we are able to get past this fear, we find ourseleves in an almost “magical” place.
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That is such a key insight, Barb. It’s so striking to me how Jesus lets us know up front what the price of following Him is going to be. He also tells us what the rewards will be. For those that are willing to pay the price, the reward truly is breathtaking! I deeply wish more people would understand that what they give up (a sense of control in this case) is infinitely small compared to the reward of knowing Him intimately!
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Yes ma’am…what a blessing when we get it right.
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Yes! ❤ 🙂 ❤
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At least for me, the key element has been realizing that I don’t have to take on the world all by myself. I don’t have all the answers– and it’s okay!! To let go, to trust Him, to truly allow His embrace can and will change a life for the better.
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Yes and amen, Mike!! Yes! So much yes. What you are describing is one of THE most important things that all of us need to learn! It absolutely does change life beautifully in such a fundamental way. Thank you so much for sharing that. I really do appreciate it.
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Wonderful post! Jesus does abide with us, and within us. The Holy Spirit ever deepens our faith. Beyond our understanding, God makes the impossible, possible. We can trust in God’s promises always.
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Amen and amen, Linda. We can trust them with all of our hearts! Thank you too ❤
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A great and encouraging post. TO Linda above A-men. Abiding truly means freedom in a whole new way. Truly the impossible becomes impossible…….Surrendered Lives lived in HIM.
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Aaamen, Faye! Surrendered is the only way I want to live! Glorious freedom!
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You had me at ABIDE!! I have an “abide in HIM” sign that has hung on the wall above my desk for years. It’s always the first thing I see when I walk in the room and my pages of my Bible are wrinkled at JOHN 15. It is a song of my heart and I hold on tight to: “Abide in me and I will abide in you.”
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Smiling the joyful of a fellow traveler speaking the same heart language. Amen and amen, my dear sister. Abiding in Him is everything, isn’t it??
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I love it and I love my daily reminder. What a peace and joy I have for it and you as well Sister in CHRIST!!
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One of my favorite ways of abiding in God is spending time outdoors! This past week offered some glorious weather for that … in November.
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