John 15:7-8  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

We read these verses and it is very easy to grab onto the middle part of the first verse where it says, “ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you”  but what about the “if you abide in me part”?  Stop for a minute and think about what it means to “abide”, let’s look at the definition of abide; to endure without yielding, to accept without objection, to remain stable or fixed in a state, to continue in a place, to conform to.  Hmmmm, do you abide in the Lord?  I know I have days when I seem to leave “abiding” with the Lord and I allow my feelings or hormones or my circumstances to be my “fixed state” and I “accept without rejection” the lies that Satan throws my way.  If we don’t abide in the Lord we will never bear fruit and it is the fruit of our lives that glorifies God and proves that we are followers of Christ.

There is a church sign here in town that says, “God wants full custody not just weekend visits”!  How true is that?  God doesn’t just want to be a part of your life on Sundays or on an occasional whim when you need something.  He isn’t glorified when the only time we open our Bibles or seek Him is when we need something and we are trying to claim the part of this verse that says, “ask whatever you wish…..”.  I am sure it sickens Him to see Christians claim, “well I am a Christian and the Bible says, ‘ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you’ so I don’t know what is taking God so long here.”  Really?  God is not sitting up in heaven like some sort of fairy tale Genie waiting to grant you a wish.  His goal is for us to live full lives, successful lives and He gives us those guidelines in His word, He wants to have a relationship with us not just watch from a distance.

It is your choice whether or not you “abide” in Him.  It is your choice to decide just how much of your day and yourself you will release to Him.  He wants to bless us so the Father can be glorified on every level in your life.  I would encourage you to seek God, pursue Him and look for Him in every circumstance that comes your way, abide in Him and give it all to Him, don’t allow your feelings to rule your day ask Him to help you remain stable and in a fixed state as you conform to His will for your life.  His blessings come in many forms and you will begin to recognize them more and more as you release more of your life to Him and as you spend more time in His word!

Quote:  “Faith is knowing there is an ocean because you have seen a brook.”  William Arthur Ward