We try so hard to live for God and to please him. And no matter how hard we try, when we get to the end of the day, we whip ourselves and vow to try harder. Sound familiar? What if the secret to a strong, peaceful, and fruitful life isn’t trying harder, but staying connected?
In John 15 Jesus says something pretty radical:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine keeper (gardener. husbandman).
2 Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, no more can ye, unless ye abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without Me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.
9 “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in My love.
Wait a minute, I thought it was about striving and working harder, yet in these verses, he doesn’t say a word about doing better and working harder, he only says ABIDE in him. Relax, draw life from him. Many people are exhausted, trying to be better, do more, and fix their lives on their own. But in John 15, Jesus gives us a completely different approach. He doesn’t say, “Work harder.” He says, “Abide in me.” That sounds simple, but what does it actually mean? One thing it doesn’t mean is beating ourselves up, trying to be more spiritual. It is something deeper, something simpler, something more relational. Even in Psalms 91 we read “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”
Don’t overthink it!
I have been pondering for some time what it means to ‘abide’ in the Lord. Then one day it became so obvious. I think very often we are all guilty of overspiritualizing scriptures to the point they become some deep, pondered ethereal mystery and we just kind of acknowledge the deepness of a passage like it isn’t meant to be understood. Granted, there are some deep truths that we cannot comprehend in our finite minds and granted, sometimes God, I believe, allows us to be gripped by a spiritual truth and not comprehend it, so we will spend time with Him and seek understanding. That being said….this isn’t one of those times.
Abide speaks of where we live. I physically abide in a house in the Georgia mountains area. So I got thinking about these scriptures. Jesus gives a very vivid and clear instruction and insight here. He says if you abide in HIM and He abides in you and can ask what you will and it will be done to you. So I may live physically in a house in Georgia, but spiritually I live and abide in HIM. This is so DEEP yet so SIMPLE. He is saying when you become born again…you move in with ME. You reside where I reside. And what is so great about it is it is a spiritual house that no matter where you are physically, mentally and spiritually, you can be in my house! When you are going through a difficult time, you are in my house. When you are unemployed, you are in my house. No matter what you are going through, rather than walking out in the street and dealing with it, just look out the window of my house. Things will look different if you just stay in my house. If anyone needs to go out in the yard and deal with any situation, I will handle it. This is GOOD NEWS! But it also begs us each to answer the question: Where do YOU live? Too many Christians are living in the past…living in depression….living in fear…living in doubt…living in religion and tradition…and I could go on. You need to ask yourself, WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Maybe you need to be honest before God and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you where you REALLY live. There are some of us who are living in our houses of false contentment but are secretly looking out the window at the house across the street where we think God lives, when He is inviting us to his table right where we are to come and dine. God desires so much more for our lives than where most of us are. Yet He has said throughout His word that His kingdom is within. It is a kingdom unlimited, unfettered, unaffected by the things of this world. You are in the Father’s house, no matter where you go or what your circumstances are. No matter the storm outside, you are safe in His house.
Jesus is the true vine.
He is the source. He is the life. He is what humanity was meant to be connected to. In John 15 he calls us branches. The vine is the source of life. The branches are completely dependent on the vine. The branches don’t produce fruit by trying harder. They produce fruit by staying connected. Galatians 5:22-23 describes and names the fruit of the Spirit. Notice it says FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT, not the fruit of us. It is our job to abide in Christ and stay connected to the vine; it is up to God to produce the fruit.
Abide means to remain, stay, dwell, or continue in. It’s not a one-time action. It’s an ongoing relationship. It isn’t about religion, it’s about relationship and connection to him. That’s our job, to stay connected to him. He will take care of the rest. He even promises to be the gardener or husbandman, as it was called back then. It is he who prunes us of dead branches and keeps us growing healthy as long as we are connected to him. It’s about staying. Think about a phone connected to a charger. The phone doesn’t try to get power. It simply stays connected. The moment it disconnects, it starts draining. That’s exactly what happens spiritually. When we stay connected to Christ, we are strengthened. When we disconnect, we become weak, anxious, and drained. That’s like a lot of people going to church every Sunday and getting all charged up and then they just live their lives the rest of the week until it’s time to charge up again next Sunday. You wonder why you are so drained by the time next Sunday rolls around? We aren’t meant to go all week on our own strength, we are meant to stay plugged in to the source! In constant dependence on Jesus.
John 15:5 is very clear, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing.” In other words, without connection to Christ, our efforts lack spiritual power. Our works, no matter how good, lack eternal impact if we don’t stay connected to him, the true vine and source of power and life. Fruit is not forced. It’s the natural result of abiding in Christ. Branches don’t struggle, shake, and stress to produce grapes. They simply stay connected and fruit appears. In the same way, you don’t force peace; you receive it. You don’t manufacture joy; it grows in you (Psalms 16:11). You don’t fake love; it flows through you, but only when you abide. True love is never performance-based or forced.
John 15:6 also warns, “If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. This isn’t meant to scare. It’s just a fact. A disconnected branch has no life source; it dries up. Are you experiencing spiritual dryness, loss of passion for God, constant anxiety and striving, feeling distant or empty? It isn’t because you aren’t trying hard enough. It may be that you are just disconnected, trying to live the Christian life without staying close to Christ. Did you know you can look busy but be spiritually dry? You can be active but not abiding. We all do it. We drift. We disconnect. We try to do life on our own, but he calls us back to relationship, not performance. He doesn’t say ‘try harder’ he just calls us back to abide in him.
How do we do it?
How do we abide? Mostly, it is just about being more God-minded. Stay in his word, not only reading it but dwelling on it. John 15:7 reminds us to let his words abide in you. In other words, let his word live in you, not just reading it occasionally, but allowing it to shape your thoughts, decisions, and perspective.” Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It is so easy to react emotionally and get caught up in worry and anxiety. Instead, we need to train ourselves to pause and remember God’s truth. Instead of believing lies, replace them with scripture. There is power in confessing his word out loud right in the face of our fear and worry. Declare what the Word of the Lord says over your situation. Doing so reconnects us in a powerful way back to our source of peace and life.
Another way to stay connected to him is prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:17, says to pray without ceasing. This doesn’t mean non-stop verbalizing, non-stop hands folded and on your knees. It means having an ongoing awareness of God’s presence, talking to him throughout your day, and bringing your thoughts to him. Prayer is not just asking. It’s staying connected. Envision him as a friend who is always walking by your side. Stay rooted in the truth that you are loved, you are accepted, you belong to him. Many people struggle not because they lack discipline but because they forget they are loved.
It also helps to stay connected to other believers. Community is important. Hebrews 10:24 instructs us to encourage one another, stay connected, and grow together. Abiding is personal but not isolated. It is good to be united with prayer partners we can call on in times of need, people we can depend on, especially when we are going through something challenging in life. Bible study groups are good to help us understand scriptures and what it means to live a Christian life. Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. This isn’t a condemnation about going to church or not, it is emphasizing the importance of helping one another, being there for one another. It is like a fire in a fireplace. Take a coal out and place it on the hearth and it will burn for a while but eventually it will burn out as it cools off. Keep that coal among other coals and fire, and it glows hot and strong. We need one another. Find a good fellowship of believers to be part of.
Change from the inside out.
When you truly abide in him, something powerful happens: your life begins to change from the inside out. Jesus describes this transformation clearly. You experience real joy. John 15:11 “These things have I spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.” True joy, not just fleeting happiness, not mood-based emotions, but deep, steady joy. Your prayers even become more powerful. John 15:7 says, “Ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.” Why? Because when you abide, your desires align with God’s will. Your heart reflects his heart. Your life bears fruit that lasts. John 15:16, “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” This means your life will have eternal impact, not just success, but significance. You reflect God’s glory. John 15:8, “By this, my father is glorified that you bear much fruit.” Abiding is not just about you. We are like a body with every part of our bodies being affected by other parts of our body (1 Corinthians 12:27)
So, you see, it’s about revealing God through how you live. Abiding in Christ simply means staying connected, not striving, but remaining. Not performing but depending. Not forcing fruit to grow, but letting it grow. And we aren’t just on our own. Jesus is with us, by our side, cheering us on. He wants us to succeed, not fail. Get the picture out of your head that God is just some angry gray bearded old man on a throne just waiting to crush you when you fail. No, he is so faithful to forgive and lift us up (1 John 1:9). Just stay in him and when we do, we find strength in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10), peace in chaos (John 14:27), joy in every season, and purpose that goes beyond ourselves. The Christian life is not about trying harder. It’s about staying closer. The longer I live the Christian life, the more I realize it is about letting go of what I think is important and the more it is about cleaving and depending on him. Just breathe and abide in him, friend…abide in him.
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