Abide Week: wait

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

a*bide [uh-bayhd] verb, a*bode or a*bid*ed, a*bid*ing 4. to wait for; await

Remember that time when you were doing what you assumed God had intended for you, and still nothing happened as you thought they would or should?

Remember when you prayed frequently; when you asked, seeked, and knocked to no avail? Remember wondering why God would ask you to do these things if he was not going to answer you?

Those are moments of waiting. They are moments of abiding.

A significant part of my story over the course of the last 7-8 years has been an education in waiting and abiding. It is incredible looking back on those moments when I had certain expectations, which were never  granted. 

Moreover, it is incredible the things God has shown me since then. He has shown me on a few different moments what would have happened if I had been granted what I thought should have happened, and those results would have been detrimental on every occasion.

Abiding in Christ is learning a sense of waiting with patience. It is learning that the things you think should happen may be more detrimental to you than you had thought they would. It means learning to trust the intent and wisdom of a Father with your best interests in mind and has no intention of giving you everything you think you want and need.

Abiding is a practice of patience. It is...

waiting.