Day 198: Abide in Him, Part Two

John 15:2

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

After spending much time in prayer over a period of two years, it became obvious to my husband and me that it was time to find a new church.  Our hearts were broken, but we were given a calm assurance by the Lord that He had something new for us. It didn’t take long for us to be led to a wonderful, growing church. Even so, my heart was still grieving for what we left behind, and for what caused our departure—that we felt we were not being used.  One of the very first conversations I had with one of the pastors at our new church revealed my heart, “My fear is that the Lord has pruned me so severely that I will no longer be used by Him to bear much fruit.”  She listened with compassion and understanding, and assured me there would be a place for us to be used.  It didn’t take long for God to assure us that He wasn’t done with us yet.  Very soon, my husband was invited to lead a men’s and a couples’ small group, while I was asked to be part of the Women’s Ministry team, to lead a women’s Bible Study, and to be the keynote speaker at a women’s conference.  The pastor was the one God used to demonstrate His confidence in us and ushered us into a new season of abiding in Him and bearing more fruit through ministering to men and women.

Our verse for today confirms what God did for us.  The Lord, Who is the Vine, prunes us, the branches, “so that it (we) may bear more fruit.”   Remember, to abide in Christ means “to remain, continue, stay; to endure, sustain, or withstand without yielding or submitting; to wait for.” That can be hard, especially when we submit to His pruning. It certainly was hard for us, but as we endured, a transformation took place and He has used us in boundless, fruitful ways in the twenty years since we left the church.

Yesterday, our focus was on the practical ways we are transformed by abiding; today our focus is on the benefits offered by abiding in Him:

• New Life: it starts with having a new relationship with Him, which results in a new birth, forgiveness of sin, and being clothed in a robe of righteousness.
  • Peace with God and the Peace of God: having the issue of salvation settled results in having the assurance that we are His for eternity. The result is that we have peace that passes all understanding, no matter our circumstances.
  • Bearing fruit: Jesus promises that when we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit and that apart from Him we can do nothing.
  • Answered prayer: we can be assured that our prayers are heard and answered according to His will.
  • A joyful heart: when we place our faith in Jesus, joy fills our hearts. Happiness is fleeting and comes and goes, but a joyful heart remains.

Abide in the Lord, dear readers, remain, stay, and endure to the end.  Receive the blessing of knowing God more intimately, and stand by to see how He will use you to bear much fruit!

Dear Heavenly Father, we look forward to the transformation that will take place when we commit to abide in You.  Help us submit to Your pruning, if necessary, with humble hearts, knowing it is for our good, for greater purposes, and for Your glory. In Jesus name we pray.  Amen.