Abiding

We’ve already talked about how I adopted the word “still” this year – as in being still – and we’ve already talked about how this is not my strong point. Which is probably exactly why our Lord and Savior is nudging me to give it a try. This word is doing a lot in me, but something tells me that up until this point I’ve just been scratching the surface of all there is to find in “still.”

Enter, the concept of abiding.

If you’d asked me a month ago about the word “abide,” I would have been like, “what are you talking about?” I’ll save you guys the click through to the the dictionary, and tell you that Merriam Webster defines “abide” as:

To wait for…
To endure without yielding..
To bear patiently…
To accept without objection…
To remain stable or fixed in a state…
To continue in a place…

I don’t know when I actually started to understand what this word means or to think in terms of abiding, but it’s happened. And in this, I’ve seen as always that it’s not so much about one word as it about the concept: Drawing closer to God and letting Him stretch our limits.

In the practice of being still, I’m learning to abide. I’m learning again (as I’ve had to so many times in my life) how to remain stable and fixed in the state of His love instead of the whirlwind of to-dos and demands this world throws at us.

For in him we live and move and exist. – Acts 17:28a (NLT)

When the world says, “do more…” I’m answering, “Be intentional. Abide. I’m loved just for who I am. Now just do all things with love.”

When the world says, “go faster…” I’m answering, “Be still. Abide. Accept grace and notice the small things God puts in my day.”

This is new territory for me. The last time I was learning how to abide, I was sick and in need of a rescuer. I had nothing but a God who kept me going day by day through probably a whole host of miracles and a whole lot of grace. Learning to abide in better health has been  harder. I’m no less in need of a Savior, but when we’re capable of doing more with our two hands, it can be hard to resist the temptation to do it all.

How about you guys? Do you find it hard sometimes to slow down and just abide in Christ’s love? Do you have a favorite way to slow down and rest in who He is?

I’m linking up with Sarah’s What He’s Done Wednesdays.