Today's Devotional Thought
May 25, 2010 by Wendy Foreman
Remain in Me
I was reminded of this verse in John 15 over the weekend at an Extraordinary Women conference. The speaker mentioned this verse when she was talking about the peace of God. She reminded us that we are to remain in God no matter what.
We are all faced with times when we are praying about situations that we are in and we are searching for direction and wisdom on how to handle it. We can, at times, become frustrated when we are not hearing from God and don’t have a clear direction. I have learned that when you don’t know what to do, you need to just rest in Him and spend time with Him and work on your relationship with Him. And I promise, that in time, God will guide and direct you.
Let me say a few things about the time that we spend waiting and resting in God. I have had many experiences over the years where I was left waiting and praying for wisdom and direction from the Lord. I have learned and continue to learn that we need to earnestly search out scripture that will encourage us and lead us and grow us into who we are to be as His children. I also believe it is so important to pray to Him. When I say pray I don’t mean that 5 minute prayer and then you are on your way. When you are faced with uncertainty in life and you are in your darkest hour, you should be talking with and crying out to the one that can lift your burden, who can carry that heavy load, and ultimately give you peace and direction. There is no one else in your life that can help you like Jesus.
I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband in my life and to have Rachel as my best friend, but I can not turn to them every time I have a need or am searching for direction in my life. Yes, it is great to have someone to be there to pray for you and with you and to encourage you, but Jesus has to be the one who ultimately helps you and directs you.
This verse also mentions that when we remain in Him and Him in us we will bear much fruit. The scriptures tell us in Galatians 5:22-24, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.??? The Holy Spirit is at work in each of us to help us produce these character traits. The only way that we can obtain these is by allowing Christ to have control over our lives. We can not obtain these aside from Him. We must have a vibrant relationship with Him, a relationship that is intimate, and one where we love Him and remember who He is and what He has done for us. When we do these things, our fruit will be seen. We will show others that we love God and that we love them.
December