Letters from the Beloved – Sit. Stay. Abide.

1 John 2:28 NKJV] And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

The word “abide” here is a Greek word that means “to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy)”.

When your children were little, did you ever tell them that if they got separated from you in a store or park, they should stay where they are and you will come find them? Well, John, the beloved, seems to be giving us similar advice, when he tells us to “abide in Him”.

We are to stay in a place of proximity to Jesus. We are to stay in a state of closeness to Him. We are to stay in a state of expectancy for His return.

Abiding or staying can sometimes be as tough and counterintuitive to we adult humans as it is to a panicked 5-year-old at a city park. When trouble comes, we can be tempted to try something different. Or, more likely, to think something different.

Psalm 46:10 [KJV] Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

When we feel lost and disconnected, we may resist just staying in Him. But that is exactly what we need to do. Sit with the word of God, and the principals we have learned. Sit and meditate on what we know to be true. Sit and wait to feel His presence back with us.

You see, He does not move from us. He abides with us, as He promised.

John records this teaching of Jesus in a couple of places in his Gospel message.

John 6:56 [NKJV] "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.”

John 15:5 [NKJV] "I am the vine, you [are] the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

When I feel lost and disconnected, I may sometimes be tempted to believe He is not there, and that I must go look for Him. When the thing I really need to do is sit still, abiding in the promise that He made to be in me if I abide in Him, and wait to feel His presence again.

The Old Testament addresses this concept of abiding as well, using the words “be still” in many cases. The most recognized of those is found in Psalm 46:10 [KJV] Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

The Hebrew word translated “be still” can mean to sink, relax, sink down, let drop. If we are fearful, worried or over burdening ourselves with “to do” lists, we can come to a time when the best thing we can do is lay our self-inflicted burdens down, relax and wait. This reminds me of the wisdom of the phrase “let go and let God.”

When things don’t seem to be going the way we want, rather than taking on more, shouldering more, hanging on to the things we think we must do, that is when we should be still and just abide. He promises to take up the burdens when we are willing to let go of them.

Matthew 11:28 [ESV] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.He’s not gone from me when my prayers are not answered as I hoped.

He’s not gone from me when I suffer because those I love are struggling. It’s just that it is time to let go and be with Him.

He’s not gone from me because I have tripped and fallen and am frustrated with myself. It’s just that it is time to let go and be with Him.

He’s not gone from me when I feel overwhelmed with life’s burdens. It’s just that it is time to let go and be with Him.

And I should not be gone from Him when these things occur either.

He promised to abide in me if I abide in Him. So, I must stay – stay in a state of obedience, stay in close relationship to Him by reading the Word and praying, stay in expectancy of feeling His presence again. I must be ready to let go and just be with Him.

If I feel lost and alone, it is time to just stay until I feel Him there again. He promises that He is there always.

I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me in the comments section or at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org