Abiding in Christ: Bearing Good Fruit Even in the Chaos
On February 14, 2023 by Anna De Lay“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” Galatians 5:22
Have you ever stepped back and examined your life and saw none of the fruits of the Spirit at work? Perhaps you’ve gotten so busy in your day-to-day life that prayer and thankfulness have taken a backseat, and stress has control of the wheel. Perhaps you’re in a season of your life where trusting in Jesus is just hard. Trials of life have gotten you so bogged down that you feel stuck and barely know what to do. Sometimes, the battle is so strong that there is literally nothing else to hold on to; and maybe that is the best place to be. It is at these times of our lives that we need to cling even closer to Jesus and make sure we are abiding in Him, the True Vine.
“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.” John 15:4-5
Many times, I’ve read these passages and wondered what it truly means to abide in Christ. What does it look like to “abide”? Sometimes we make things more difficult than they really are. Abiding in Christ is simply:
Staying put.
Growing your roots down deep into.
Nourishing your spiritual life by spending time with the Lord daily.
Gaining knowledge and understanding in the things of God.
Becoming established and secure in His love and grace.
Remaining faithful even when you can’t see what God is doing.
The latter has taken me awhile to learn. It is easy to initially run to God when life takes a horrible turn; but it is more difficult to dig deep and trust His process for the long haul. We like quick fixes and fast answers, don’t we? And when God seems silent or when the answer is no, our faith tends to dwindle. But this season right here is where we learn and grow the most.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4
Patience.
It’s easy to trust God when things are going well. Remaining faithful to God is no sacrifice when life is grand. But when the hard times occur, we can easily get out of sorts and act on our own feelings and emotions rather than being steadfast in godly character and in waiting upon God. This is where our hearts are revealed more clearly than at any other time. What comes out of us when we are pressed? Is it the fruits of righteousness or something we would rather not admit? It may seem counter-productive to wait and do things God’s way–to stay put and trust his love for you while things are out of control around you.
But the Vine isn’t going anywhere.
You can cling to Jesus and know that he is in control. Stay connected to the source of all hope, strength, life, and purpose, and all other things will fall into place.
Through (and perhaps, despite) all the chaos of life, God is calling us onward into growth and fruitfulness. We are to be ever growing and changing into the likeness of Christ.
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8
All of these attributes of a Christ-follower come about through time spent in the presence of God and in obedience to His Word. And the more we seek Him and learn from Him, the more we change to become more like Him.
The more we abide in Him, the more fruitful and effective we become in life, with our families, in our ministries, churches, and with those around us.
“…ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, for all patience and long suffering with joy…” Colossians 1:9-11
Joy…self-control…love…patience…knowledge…long-suffering…
There are those fruits again! It seems that God designed each of these fruits of the Spirit to work together, so that we are effective and lack nothing.
And it all happens when we abide in Him!
So, even in the hard times–the chaos, the misunderstandings, and the storms of life–let us cling to Jesus, the True Vine and the Author and Finisher of our faith.
STAY.
WAIT.
TRUST.
SEEK.
LEARN.
GROW.
ABIDE.
I am a wife, homeschool mom, musician, and songwriter; but most importantly, I am a daughter of the King. My heart’s desire is to draw closer to God and bring other people with me! Truly, there is no greater joy.
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