Abide in Christ

Because You Don't Have a God Gas Tank

One of the hardest things for women to do is to truly abide in Christ.

Most of us are hopeless control freaks. Even if we did have our devotional time this morning, we viewed it as our power-up session so that we can "fill up" with enough God to get us through the day.

The problem is - we don't have a God gas tank.

Read John 15:1-11.

Circle, underline, or just count every occurance of the word "abide" or "remain" (remain is found in the NIV version).

I counted eleven! This isn't a very subtle message, is it?

Jesus certainly doesn't paint a picture of a person filling up for the day and then running off. In fact, he uses the analogy of a vine and its branches.

Would you try to grow a vine by cutting off the living branches every day and then re-attaching them to the vine for an hour each morning?

Treating our devotional time as a "fill-up" session is just as absurd.

If you detach from Jesus, you will wither. It doesn't matter how many wise thoughts you journaled this morning or how many chapters your read in your Bible. You still need Jesus every minute of every day.

Learning to do this is not easy. It means complete surrender.

• Surrender when you have to work late and can't figure out who will pick up the kids.


• Surrender when the juice is all over the floor.


• Surrender when the unexpected financial expense occurs.


• Surrender when your child brings up the big school project that is due tomorrow

I like to use Isaiah 30:21 to pray: Lord, whether I turn to the right or the left, let my ears hear a voice behind me saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Wouldn't it be nice if I actually listened to that voice? I'm not always that wise.

I once heard pastor Kenn Hucks give a sermon about being hasty to do things our own way instead of waiting for God's timing and following God's rules.

He said it was like stopping to eat a Big Mac on the way to a gourmet feast. We get some enjoyment, but we miss out on something much greater.

God caught me on this in a very literal way a couple of years later.

I had been regularly praying for a better awareness of God's voice throughout my day, and he showed me very blatently how I sometimes choose to ignore it.

The busy workday was almost over, and I was headed to a ribbon cutting for a new medical facility. I was an ambassador with my local chamber of commerce, and attending ribbon cuttings was a regular part of my week. These events were usually pretty simple.

As I was driving down the main street in town, I was in the right lane of traffic. However, it suddenly hit me that I had been so busy on appointments that day that I had forgotten to eat.

I was starving. I was more than starving - I was starting to feel weak. I decided I had a few minutes to switch to the left lane and drive through Burger King for some fries to hold me over.

As I started changing lanes, I felt immediately that God was telling me not to change course.

"How silly!" I thought, "It's just fries. I feel dizzy. I need food so that I don't pass out."

So I got the fries.

When I arrived at the new medical office, I was stunned.

They had catered a room full of delicious food. But I couldn't enjoy it, because I had a greasy, full stomach from the fries.

Immediately I recalled the sermon I had heard a couple of years before, and I just had to laugh. Sometimes God is subtle, but sometimes he is astonishingly clear.

How do you learn to abide in Christ?

Stop trying to fill up the tank. Ask him. Pray. But don't forget to listen when he answers.

How do you keep your conversation with God throughout the day?

Do you have a creative way of keeping your conversation with God throughout the day? Tell us about it.

Do you have a website? Add yourbio and link.

Discipleship Resources

Drawing Women Closer to the Heart of God, DVD By Beverly LaHaye / Word Entertainment Inc

When Life and Beliefs Collide: How Knowing God Makes a Difference By Carolyn Custis James / Zondervan

My Utmost For His Highest, Classic Edition, Mass Market Paperback By Oswald Chambers / Barbour Publishing

The Practice of the Presence of God By Brother Lawrence / Baker

Come Thirsty, softcover By Max Lucado / Thomas Nelson

O2: Breathing New Life into Faith By Richard Dahlstrom / Harvest House Publishers

The Beloved Disciple: Following John to the Heart of Jesus By Beth Moore / B & H Publishing Group

The Beloved Disciple: Following John to the Heart of Jesus (abridged on 3 Compact Discs) By Beth Moore, Sandra Burr / Brilliance Audio

John: 90 Days with the Beloved Disciple By Beth Moore / B & H Publishing Group