[Real Life] Abide To AchieveSample

Restful Residence

What does abiding look like when it is done effectively? You have a big meeting this week, so you stay up late preparing your PowerPoint presentation, making everything happen, then you go to the meeting knowing that if you don’t get that deal, you are not going to get that money. So you say, “Dear Lord, bless all my efforts.” After the meeting, you are insecure and you don’t know what is going to happen—you did it all in your own strength.  

Or you can say, “Lord, I give you this meeting, I want to trust in You for all the preparation because this is a big deal for our company, so I give it to You, Lord. I want to begin by spending time in Your Word. I want to see and understand my identity in You. I am clean and forgiven, and nothing can ever be taken away from me. Even if I lose this deal, I am dependent upon You. I rest in You Lord. I give you this meeting; please show me how to prepare for it.”

Tuesday at the meeting: “Lord, I am nervous right now, but would You make this greater than my purpose and speak through me and witness to these people? It is not about my achievements, it is about growing in You through this meeting.” Then you allow God to speak through you and use the preparation He gave you. After the meeting, you say, “Lord, I trust in You as my provider. I am not looking for a prince to provide, I have a King! I don’t want to earn anything, I am already clean. I just want to be for Your glory.”

A parent wakes up in the morning, and their whole day is about getting the children’s shoes on and making sure they get to their activity on time. Or, the day can be about nurturing, about growing children who love Jesus when they realize their parents love Jesus and He loves them too. So as parents, we are able to say to our children, “These are the kind of trophies we get in this family—trophies of character, not accomplishments at all costs.” 

That is what experiencing restful residence and a desperate dependence in Christ looks like.