Where Do You Live?

Where do you live? I don’t mean your street address, or your city, state, or country. Where do you live spiritually and emotionally when the storms of life break over you? Where is your hiding place when your stress level is off the charts?

An entire industry has grown up around the issue of stress management. Wellness seminars encourage us to think positively, exercise, meditate, or take a vacation. But these diversions don’t eliminate the cause of our stress. Neither does running away or denial.

Yet Jesus promised us peace. Real, lasting peace. The peace that passes all understanding because its source is supernatural: Jesus, the Prince of Peace. This peace is not tied to the lack of conflict or stress in our lives. Rather, it’s a confident faith in a Person, in the One who will carry us through our stressful circumstances victoriously. And it comes only when we abide in Christ.

Abiding

In John 15, we read the words of Jesus:

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me,
and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me
you can do nothing… (John 15:5).

Abide. Remain. Attached. Separated from the vine or trunk, the branch withers and dies. Permanently and vitally connected to the vine, the branch receives nourishment, unseen yet life-giving. To be unattached is to forego the sustenance we need to live and thrive. When we are vitally connected to Him, we draw life and strength, grace and peace.

Several hundred years ago, Brother Lawrence wrote a book titled, The Practice of the Presence of God. In it, he explained the importance of intimate abiding. It is impossible to abide in Christ without practicing His presence on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis, whether in the bedroom or the boardroom, in the kitchen or the schoolroom. It was true then and it is true today. Practicing God’s presence does not mean we need to lock ourselves in a monastery for the rest of our lives. However, it does mean our relationship with Him becomes our first priority.

An Intentional Choice

Cultivating this relationship begins with a desire to do so. When our desire for status, material things, or other relationships takes priority over our relationship with God, we impede our intimacy with Him.

Intimacy with God also requires an investment of dedicated time—a combination of quantity and quality time every day. We are careful to keep appointments with hairdressers, mechanics, and doctors. Yet we often behave as if our appointments with God are expendable, canceling them at the slightest hint of a more interesting or pressing activity.

Finally, intimacy with the Lord requires a longing to please Him that translates into action. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Love for God is more than a warm, fuzzy feeling. Love for God is a decision of the will expressed in our daily behavior.

Unfortunately, life has a habit of getting in the way. Work, family, sports, even ministry keeps us busy—sometimes too busy. Anything, no matter how good or religious, can interfere with our sensitivity to God’s presence.

Abiding begins with a choice—a conscious decision to abide. It is based on our understanding that the source of strength, grace, comfort, and everything else we need for life is found in Christ. But it doesn’t stop there. We have to actually do it…and keep doing it.

Branches do not decide to up and walk away from the vine’s trunk. Separation leads to death. Similarly, if we fail to abide in Christ, our relationship with Him becomes weak. The desires of our hearts will cause us to pursue our own agenda instead of wanting God’s best for us.

How do we know if we are truly abiding? One effective test is to ask, “How has the Lord grown me today?” If we must go back weeks or months to recall signs of meaningful spiritual growth, then something is wrong. But if we can recognize the Father’s presence in our circumstances, and our desire to please Him is seen in joyful obedience to what  He is teaching us, then we are abiding—minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, and day-by-day.

As we move into the holiday season, we’ll face many distractions attempting to interfere with our decision to abide. In those times, let’s come back to two questions that will cut through all the noise:

Where am I living at this moment?
Where do I want to live?