Abide in Me

The battle has been fierce here the last week. I have not fought well for my heart or for my family. I once again slipped into that frame of mind that seems to believe that what I say or do or where I take my heart does not really matter. What a dangerous belief that is. When I take my self away from God and do not abide in Christ then I lose that connection with God. I lose the protection of God. Its not that God is punishing me for this, its simply that if I do not abide in him than that is the reality I will live in. Remove yourself from intimacy with God and you lose all the wonderful parts of that intimacy. It’s not even about committing some major sin it was simply choosing to live without holding onto my relationship with Christ as the most important thing of all. It can be the desire to just want an easy life and so you back away from engaging in areas that you know will be hard or that will cause disruption. It comes down to abiding in Christ with my whole heart, not just parts of my heart. So what has been the result of this? Sickness has taken hold of our family that trips to the Dr and medicine just don’t seem to be working against. Vehicles suddenly need expensive repairs when there is no money. Stress kicks in because all of the sudden it seems that it all depends on me to make life work. Now please hear me when I say I do not believe everything bad that happens is from the devil. We get sick, cars break, finances are tight sometimes because of bad choices or the fact that we live in an imperfect world. However as I was praying this morning God showed me how I had been living and simply said that this is life apart from God. That some of what we are going through is a direct result of not abiding in Christ of not fighting with my whole heart. The life of a follower of Christ is not one that can be picked up and laid down when we feel like it. Jesus said that He came that “we may have life and have it to the full” but before that he said “the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.” Our Enemy is always on the prowl seeking to steal the life that God desires for us and if we chose to walk in a way that is separate from God we open ourselves up to that attack. It would be like going into combat with out your weapon or your body armor. You would be an easy target and get taken out quickly. So today I repent of my desire to live how I want to live, of seeking a safe and neat life. Today I pick up my sword and I recommit myself to Gods desire for my life, to live in His way not my own, and to abide in Him in all things. I pray that this would be true for each of you today as well. Seek Christ as your source of life, let him be your life and your protection today.