Abide in Him

This is the season for pop-up storms! Listen as you will to your most reliable meteorologist but just remember: that's why they call them ... pop-up storms. Life here is filled with "pop-up" storms - situations, circumstances, people that pop-up and pop-in unexpectedly, unannounced, unpredictably and almost always inconveniently. When they pop-in disturbing our otherwise peaceful and organized tidy-little-life, we feel the need to reach deeply into ourselves for strength to accommodate and endure the interruption. Jesus tells His followers: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5, NASB). There is neither staying-power nor enduring joy apart from staying attached to The Source of both power and joy - Jesus Christ. I fear too often we live as if we must tank-up on Jesus for what's coming; truth is, we never know what's coming and a steady abiding in Him is best for all of life. For sure I do unplug things as I anticipate those pop-up storms; as a born-again Child of God, we must never unplug but remain (abide) in Him. Sunshine or rain, Jesus is The Answer ... abide in Him.