Enforcing You: Standing on the Promises of GodSample

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed.” John 8:31

The word “abide” in Greek means to tarry, to remain, to continue in, to dwell, and to wait for. This is different from just spending 10-15 minutes a day in His Word. Instead, even when I am not sitting with my Bible in my lap, I am still pondering it and living in it.

Consider what it is like to go on a vacation and stay at a VRBO. We visit, sleep, eat, and hang out, but that VRBO is NOT where we abide. We abide in our homes. Our home is our anchor, where we come back to, where we take our shoes off and recline. It is the place we long for after a hard day or after being gone for an extended time. In short, our home is where our heart is.

Is it possible to see Jesus and His Word as a VRBO? We visit it every morning, or maybe every evening, and we find reprieve there, but it is not where we hang our hat? Is it possible that His Word is your retreat, but it is not your home?

Interesting to note that Jesus is talking to those who were already following Him in this verse. He is reminding them of the importance of remaining steadfast in His Word. He knows that while He was with them, the excitement of all the hype made it easy to follow Him. But He also knows that the hype will be gone when He leaves, and those emotions will wane. Vacations are fun and exciting. They are “easy” and cultivate many “feel good” emotions. But when it is all said in done, we don’t abide there. We abide in our homes.

Do you recognize the shift from just visiting His Word to living His Word? Do you hunger for more than just a morning nugget? It is time to start abiding, remaining, and dwelling in His Word.

Let’s start together with this declaration. “God, I declare that just as Your Word abides within me, I will abide in Your Word. I declare that your Word is where I hang my hat, and I am at home with Your Truth. In Jesus’ name, amen.”