Abide. It was the word of the year for 2016. Every year for the past many years, God has gently put a word or phrase in my heart for each calendar year. It seems that almost without exception, I spend the year discovering my deep need to see that "word" expressed in my life. Late in the year, and in the year following, it often seems that I begin to see the reality of what God put in my heart.
Abide.
There are two expressions of this word. The first is to dwell... to live... in a place. To find refuge and comfort. To have a home. To spend time. David conveys this at the end of his famous song we now know as "The 23rd Psalm." He sings, "And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." If we are to abide with the Lord or in the Lord... we must spend time with Him. We can do this as we ingest His word from scripture. We do this in prayer, in worship, and in living as His hands and feet in service.
It's a battle... to abide. Because spending time with Jesus means we must lay aside time with other things. Our time bank fills and empties at a predictable rate and it's easy to write more checks against our time balance than we have available to spend.
Time spent equals relationship growth. Where will you invest this limited resource?
The second expression of abide relates to the idea of boundaries. When my children play a game, they are to abide by the rules. If one child does not abide by the rules another child is quick to point out the discrepancy... and seek to rectify the offense... which if often a loud process. Our culture tends to eschew anyone that doesn't abide by the rules (especially the ones that we personally hold dear) and equally eschew the rules themselves when our desires are hobbled by them.
Here's the thing: Even when my children don't understand why I'm setting a boundary for them, I expect them to obey. At the very least family peace depends on it, but it's also true that their very lives may depend on their willingness to obey. "Stop!" might sound sharp... but could save the life of child that doesn't see the danger of fast moving cars nearby.
God's boundaries are good. David sang about this as well, "The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me." Psalm 16:6. AND again in Psalm 19:7 "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;" David lived on both sides of the line... and his experience taught him that God's boundaries are very, very good.
As this year closes and we look toward the next, I want to experience the peace, joy, and power... of abiding in the Lord. I want the same for you, too.
