What comes to your mind when you are reminded of when Jesus said to His disciples, “I will never leave or forsake you?” It may not seem like it, but this is a very important promise that Jesus gave us because He is saying that if you are His child, His residence is permanent in your heart. He won’t wake up one day and decide to leave. This is huge! The permanency of this statement speaks volumes because it shows that His promise to never leave doesn’t depend on what I do or don’t do, but rather goes back to who He is. He is awesome and mighty, kind and forgiving. He is love. His loving-kindness and grace are amazing. He is always faithful and always has a plan. He desires the best for you and wants to see you grow closer and closer to Him. It’s important to let Him do that by abiding in Him.

John 15:4-5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Jesus made this statement to His disciples (and in turn, to us as His children). It is so simple that I think it is too easy for me and you to forget that He means it! I need to clarify what I mean by abiding in Him. I am not talking about reading your Bible and praying all day long. Those things are important to do daily and they are how we can connect with Jesus on a daily basis, but Jesus has also called us to live out our faith. That means when we go to the park, the grocery store, the office or wherever we find ourselves we need to be asking Him the question, how can I bless someone today? Use me, Lord! Remember, you are on His team. And you are doing His work. Abide in Him so you can bear much fruit. Then you can just watch as God will put people directly in your path. Remember, it is His work IN you. Without Him you can do nothing.

For me, this past week has been so refreshing to my soul as I’ve been more joyful and less frustrated. It is so cool to me how God helps me find time to spend with Him. This is normally when the babies are asleep. One time recently I was singing “Shout to the Lord” to Him and He spoke to me and said, “I am pleased with you.” I have many many shortcomings, but it is the biggest blessing to know that He would take me as I am. He takes me into His presence and shows me glimpses of Himself. This is more of a blessing than anything else could be!

I just wanted to share that with you. This I know is true: Jesus is perfect in all of His ways. Nothing you can do can make Him love you any more or less. He is sovereign and He is faithful. Count on Him to come through every time. Believe it and live it out.