So the first week is almost in the books. It happened just like I hoped it would too! I had such a great week MOVING on the promise of abiding in Christ and that resulting in the complete absence of sin in my life. It wasn't just that though. His promise was true (if you had any questions about this, I'll spoil it for you: they always are!) and I did not sin at all while I was abiding in Him. The few slip ups that I had were all times when I was not abiding very well.
Along with not sinning though, I also found myself in such a better mood overall. I was slow to get frustrated at work and even while driving...GASP(I tend to be a little impatient while behind the wheel)! I had a smile on my face a good majority of the day, I was a better father and husband, I was even a better coworker. I could feel God's love with me the entire time I was abiding in Him, and I was therefore able to love those around me...even those I am normally not particularly fond of.
Now some of you may wonder how one abides in Christ, or gets started doing it anyway. As I wrote in my post that described what we were going to be doing this week, abiding in Christ is simply being IN Him every single part of the day. Like one abides in their house or state or country, you remain in Him in everything you do. This is not as easy as it sounds and it takes a lot of getting used to. I found myself getting better and better at it as the week went along. I happened to have a fairly easy time getting started on it because I worked by myself for the majority of the first part of the week.
Now this was the approach that I took in abiding in Christ - it's not the only way, it's not the right way, it's just the way that I did it. I am sure that for those who are used to abiding in Christ it probably comes very naturally. I am hoping that this little experiment leads to that...in fact, I know that it will. Since I am not to that point yet though, I had to continuously remind myself to abide in the Lord. I did this by quite literally praying and worshiping the Lord all day long.
As I said, I worked alone most days, so I was able to pray and sing out loud. This made it very easy to abide in the Lord. Being constantly reminded of His presence, constantly offering up praises to Him, which in turn, reminds me exactly who He is, makes it very easy to be in a good mood. Forget Arby's, my good mood food is the Bread of Life (sorry, that was a little cheesy...but seriously, they should make Christian shirts with that)! Even when I was working with people though, I still got into the habit of praying silently or humming or whistling worship songs.
For anyone wanting a little boost in their walk with Jesus, I would definitely suggest giving this abiding in Him a try. Even if you set out to only do it for a week, I think...no...I know you will find it too awesome to stop. This is something that I am going to continue for the rest of my life. When I first started this experiment I had a feeling that this is how these weekly promises would turn out. I imagine this is similar to what David was talking about in Psalm 34:8 when he said, "Taste and see that the Lord is good..."
All it takes is a taste of the Lord to find out exactly what He has to offer. It doesn't say to take a bite and then keep going even though the first bite isn't very good...eventually you acquire a taste for it. Once you experience a little bit of the Lord, you know it's all good!
That is exactly what this first week has been: a taste of what is to come if we take God at His Word. If we move on the promises He gives us, we will find so much more than what we are expecting. I started this week expecting to eliminate sin from my life while I took God at His Word and started abiding in Him. I got so much more though. I got an entire life makeover. He turned my world upside down, showed me how to love, showed me how serve, showed me how to LIVE! To be honest, I don't want to remember what it's like to live outside of abiding in Him.
So now it's your turn. Give it a try! I promise you'll like what you find!
MOVE!
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