Abide.
When it comes to abiding, you only need to break down the word and see its definition to know you don’t need a complicated “how.”
Abide means “to remain.”
Abide means “to wait it out.”
Abide means “to stay close.”
Abide, at its core, means “to continue to be present.”
This last one hits me the hardest because I can so easily wander in my thoughts when my Bible is open and I’m simply trying
to meet with God. I can so quickly pick up my phone and begin to scroll. I can cut out early because a few emails I need to reply to are making me anxious. I can check God off a list for the day after a short prayer and a devotional that makes me feel better about myself rather than figure out the good and hard way to just be present with him for little while longer. I can claim “I’m just not feeling it” and close the book.
That word “abide” pops up all over the New Testament as Jesus commissions a group of 72 people to go out into the world and be light and love to people who don’t know light and love.
He tells them to “abide” in the houses where they are staying and being hosted. To eat with the people. To not wander about town looking for the next best thing. To not grow anxious or fearful that they could be missing out but to stay and be present exactly where they are.
This
is the Lord's hard yet holy request of us: Stay present with me. Don’t move so quickly. Take a breath in, you’re safe and seen in this place. You don’t have to hustle to the next thing or get back out there to prove your worth to a world that is never satisfied. Just stay here a little while longer and let me show you how to live lighter and freer.
Hannah Brenchner
