Hearing God Through the YearSample

Christ’s Abiding, Quiet Presence

“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” John 15:4 (NRSV)

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.” Matthew 12:18-21 (NIV, Jesus reading Isaiah 42:1-4)

Who among us would really know what to do if the great God came down in splendor and somehow stood spectacularly before us? It makes us want to become more ready to be addressed by the still, small voice of Jesus! How good it is that God left the spectacular forms that had been necessary—and perhaps still are necessary for some purposes—and came to deal with us by the very whispers of his Spirit.

In Take Another Look at Guidance, Bob Mumford writes: “When Christ’s abiding presence becomes our guide, then guidance becomes an almost unconscious response to the gentle moving of His Holy Spirit within us.”

The incarnate Son comes without strife, so gentle that his voice is not to be heard above the chatter of the street (Matthew 12:19). It is because of this approach that the Gentiles, or people generally, will finally come to have confidence in him.

I am so thankful for the quiet written Word, for the history and presence of the church of the Lamb, for the lives of the saints and for the tireless, still conquests of the Spirit of God. These approach me. These I can approach, and through them I can approach God while he safely draws ever closer to me.

MEDITATION: Read John 15:4 and notice the rhythm of the words. It’s as if you and Christ are moving together, as if you were skating or dancing arm in arm. You are so in sync with Christ that his next movements are plain to you—and you immediately follow. Ask God to help you live that way.