Abiding or swinging by for a visit?

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Whenever I think of vines, I think of two things. The first are the words spoken by Jesus in John 15:5. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (NIV). The second is a monkey swinging through the jungle on vines.

There is something that resonates in the way both the branch and the monkey relate to the vine. The branch steadfastly holds onto the source of its life come rain, snow, hail or high wind. The connection is intimate. That which is the vine runs through the branch. Without the vine, there is no fruit. But with the vine - now that’s another story! With the vine, the branch produces beautiful, succulent fruit that brings joy to all and glory to the vine.

While the branch holds steadfastly to the vine, the monkey swings through the jungle grabbing the vine only as a means to propel himself from place to place. He grabs hold of the vine momentarily to prevent a devastating fall to the floor of the jungle. As he holds onto the vine, he is lifted high. Soon he lets go and is on his way until the next time he feels himself begin to fall. Then he grabs the vine and the cycle begins again.

Jesus says we can do nothing without him. Even our most earnest attempts at fruit-bearing amount to nothing unless we are abiding in him. Yet it is likely that our true state of abiding is somewhere between the branch and the monkey. Balancing important areas of our lives such family, friends, ministry, work, and classes can be overwhelming. In dealing with the busyness of every day life, we may unintentionally succumb into the monkey’s way of relating to the vine. We rise and fall, often reaching for the vine only on the down sweep of our travels through the jungle that is our lives. We may just swing by for a visit instead of abiding with the vine, our Lord.

If you feel more like the monkey than the branch, know that you are not alone. There are many who feel the same way. Remember that there is no condemnation for we are in Christ Jesus. No matter how wrapped up we have become in the jungle of our lives, he stands ready to receive us. All we need to do is reach out for the vine that is always there and hang on tight like the branch. Hang on in intimate connection with the vine through the storms of overwhelming schedules and commitments. When we do this, we will experience the incomparable joy of abiding with the vine and we will produce beautiful fruit to the glory of the vine, our Lord!

Prayer:
Father God, I confess that I often respond to urgencies in a way that pushes you to the sidelines. Forgive me for this sin against you. Draw me to you this week that I might grow more deeply in relationship with you and that I might bear fruit which brings you glory. In Jesus’ matchless name. Amen.

Sharing our journeys:
Do you feel more like the branch or the monkey?
What are the greatest challenges you experience in keeping your relationship with Jesus growing?

Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lamentations 2:19

Our Father loves us so much that he invites us to pour our whole hearts out to him. The analogy of pouring our hearts out like water teaches us that God’s desire is for us to pour out our hearts without hesitation. If we imagine water being poured from a pitcher, we see that the movement of the water from the pitcher is fluid and free. This unencumbered flow happens unless we disrupt the flow. We could do this in many ways. We could disrupt the flow by putting ice in the water causing a cube to get stuck in the spout restricting the flow, by putting a cover over the top of the pitcher causing the water to stop flowing or by just putting the pitcher down and stopping pouring altogether.

As it is with the water in the pitcher, so it is with our hearts. God invites us to pour out all that is in our hearts to him without hesitation. This is not always easy for us. We may have hard spots in our hearts which stop us from opening our hearts completely. We may have hurt or guilt which we cover over in a futile attempt to keep him from seeing our hearts or we may just stop praying altogether to keep from sharing our hearts with him. We may feel we have to “have it all together” even in the presence of our Father. Our minds know that nothing could be further from the truth, but our hearts are fragile and we are prone to protect them. We forget our Father already knows what is in our hearts and that he loves us anyway. We forget that he is waiting for us to share our hearts so he can heal us, comfort us, share our joys, and be in authentic, intimate relationship with us. He loves us more than we can ever imagine and is always ready to receive all that is in our hearts.

What is in your heart today? Is your heart churning with turbulent white water of pain, fear, anger or confusion? Is your heart like a wide and winding river as you seek to focus on God? Are there gentle streams of every day communion with God flowing in your heart? Are you enjoying still waters of rest and restoration? Are there geysers of praise and worship erupting in your heart? Whatever is in your heart, our Father wants to hear it all. Pour out your hearts like water in the presence of the Lord. He is waiting to receive all you will share with him.

Prayer
Father God, thank you for your invitation to pour out my heart to you. Help me tear down any barriers that keep me from sharing my whole heart with you and let my whole heart flow right to yours. I love you, Father, and want to be in authentic, intimate relationship now and for eternity. In the name of Jesus Christ, who died that I might have a relationship with you. Amen

Sharing our journeys
Do you feel you need to “have it all together” in the presence of those God has called you to lead?
Do you have an earthly friend, mentor, or counselor to whom you can pour out your whole heart?
Do you sometimes stop yourself from sharing the deepest parts of your heart with our Father? What emotions are the hardest for you to share with him?

You do not have because you do not ask God. James 4:2b

All I wanted was a Diet Coke. It had already been a long work day and the remaining hours stretched out ahead of me like an exhausting desert walk. I was parched, body and soul. If I could just get a cold drink with a little caffeine to refresh me, I was sure I would perk up enough to make it to the end of that long, dry day.

As I approached the red vending machine, I could hear the machine humming and knew the drinks inside were wonderfully cold. I could almost taste the refreshing liquid going down my throat as I inserted my dollar into the slot. It was pulled in and then spit right back out. In that instant, that red vending machine became my adversary. I tried again. Pulled in…spit out. I damped the edges of the dollar and inserted it. Same result. I tried again and again using every trick I knew. First I inserted one end, then the other. I inserted it with Washington’s face up, then with it down. I tried at least seven or eight times. Nothing doing. The machine didn’t show the slightest inclination of taking that dollar bill.

Finally, after trying everything I knew, I felt my shoulders slump as I stood in front of the victorious, red machine. I let out a deep sigh and I prayed, “God, I am so tired. All I want is a Diet Coke.” Knowing God answers prayers, I tried the dollar one more time. You guessed it. The dollar was pulled in and stayed in. After pushing the button for the Diet Coke, I heard the much anticipated sound of the can cascading to the bottom of the shoot and crashing in the tray where I could retrieve it. At last, I had the refreshment I needed.

It was not in the much desired Diet Coke that I found my refreshment, though. No cold beverage could refresh and revive me like the evidence of the presence and provision of our Father. He withheld what I wanted until I came to the end of my own efforts and asked for it. He then graciously gave me exactly what I wanted and what he knew I needed. I wanted the Diet Coke. I needed to be drawn to my Father in an experience of his love and grace.

James 4:2b says that we don’t have because we don’t ask God. This is not a power play on the part of a tyrant, but a loving withholding for the purpose of the greater gift of being drawn into relationship with him and experiencing his love and grace. Often we hesitate to ask God for something for ourselves or we get caught up in our own efforts and forget that he stands ready to answer our prayers. What gifts of love and grace we miss when we do not take even our smallest requests to him!

Is there something you are hesitating to ask God for right now? Is there something you’ve not asked God for because you are caught up in trying to make it happen all with your own effort? Turn to him now. Ask. Experience his love and grace.

Prayer
Father God, I confess that I often forget or hesitate to take my requests to you. I try to gain what I want by my own efforts and often it is only when I am defeated that I turn to you. Help me, Father, take all my requests to you. Thank you for loving me enough to withhold what I want in order to give me the greater gift of the experience of your love and grace. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

Sharing our journey
Do you have an example to share of God’s presence and provision in the seemingly small stuff in your life?
Have you had an experience where God withheld something you wanted until you asked him for it? What did you learn about God?

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Welcome to A Quiet Stop on the Journey. I am glad you’re here. My prayer is that this blog can be a place where we can come to slow down, exhale and draw near to God together.

We need quiet stops along this every day Christian journey. I know I do. I’m constantly doing several things at once and there is always some kind of noise overriding it all even if it is just the noise from my own thinking as I try to keep all the plates in my life spinning. I long for stillness and quiet, yet they are far too rare for me. I suspect you feel the same way, at least some of the time.

I hear our Father’s loving heart in his call to us to "Be still and know that I am God." and I long to answer by quieting my heart and stilling my mind from their relentless pace. I need this. I need to just be still and know God. It’s the deep desire of my heart and yet the tyranny of the urgent often rules my day and crowds out the very stillness and quiet with God that I long for most.

As with Elijah when he was running from Jezebel[1], it is in the stillness that we are most likely to hear God’s gentle whisper. The winds, earthquakes, and fires of our lives threaten to send our carefully orchestrated spinning plates crashing to the ground so they are much more likely to command our attention. It is difficult to make time for stillness and quiet in the face of all the demands on us. Our loving Father knows this for he has called us to this time and place. Yet just as he calls us to this place that encourages and even honors busyness, he also calls us to a place of stillness so we can know him as God. What an invitation this is! We are invited to turn our spinning plates over to him and step into the stillness for which we long. In this stillness, we are invited to know our awesome Father, the one who keeps the entire universe spinning perfectly.

I commit here and now to slowing down the pace of my life and spending more time “being” with God and not so much time “doing.” I can only do this through the grace of God and in his strength. I know this is his desire even more than it is mine and I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us!

Will you join me here on this journey? Perhaps you are struggling with busyness too or maybe you have made great strides in slowing down and being still before God and can offer suggestions and encouragement to others. Either way, I hope you will come along with me and share your comments as we journey together as children of our loving God.




[1] 1 Kings 19