Jesus invites you today to continue to abide in him. Jesus invites you to abide in Him in in every task you do. Jesus invites you to abide in him as you respond to emails, make phone calls, and in every interaction with customers and colleagues.
Every place you sit, or stand, or walk past is a place where God loves you. Everything that you do is done in a place where God loves you, and where God is present.
Every one of your needs will be met when you abide in Christ, for Christ is sufficient. God is infinite, there is nothing you can do through your work to supplement an infinite God.
Jesus has chosen you! Jesus invites you to choose to maintain your friendship with Him every moment of every day. This is an invitation to intimate fellowship and an intimate relationship where you are fully known and fully loved. It is an open invitation to boldly come to your Father in Heaven with your prayers, knowing that God is delighted to hear your voice and to answer your prayers.
Abiding in Christ is all about your relationship with God. Abiding in Christ has nothing to do with your work. You can abide in Christ when you find yourself laid off. You can abide in Christ whether you are working for the greatest boss in the world, or are working with a boss who reigns with fear or a boss who manipulates people or stretches the truth. You can abide in Christ whether you feel like you are a square peg in a round hole, or are thoroughly enjoying your work. You can abide in Christ whether work keeps you crazy busy or is slow.
Esther and Mordecai living in a foreign land, amongst people who did not believe in God, both knew the secret of abiding in God. Mordecai after reporting a plot on the King’s life did not receive recognition or thanks for many years, yet he continued to faithfully do his job without griping because he abided in God. (Esther 2:19-23) Esther could live in the King’s haram along with all the other virgins waiting to see who the King would choose as his Queen, because she abided in God (Esther 2:1-17).
Abiding in Christ is not assurance that life will go smoothly. We live in a fallen world, and we live with all the effects of the fall. When we abide in Christ, we don’t walk through this world alone.
Abiding in Christ is not an assurance that you won’t be persecuted for your faith. In fact just as two magnets repel each other, those who abide in Christ may find that some people find them repulsive. As Esther and Mordecai experienced, there are people like Haman who found them and all the Jews repulsive. Not only did Haman find the Jews repulsive, he went out of his way to plan to have them exterminated (Esther 3). For Esther the courage to patiently speak at the right time with a gentle tongue, came from abiding in God (Esther 4-7; Prov 25:15).
When you are abiding in Christ, you are presenting the Lord as Holy in the sight of the people you work with. When you do your work as an outflow of abiding with Christ, you will be a blessing to the people you work with, and they will hold you in high esteem (Esther 10:3; Prov 11:10).
The choice not to abide in Christ not only impacts your life, but it also ripples through the lives of the people you work with. Moses learned this the hard way, when the people he was leading provoked him to anger, causing him to strike the rock. (Num 20:11-13).
Your choice to abide in Christ is not impacted by whether somebody else is abiding in Christ or not. Each person is individually accountable before God for how they abide in Christ.
Each of us has an innate desire for fruitfulness. But to be fruitful we need to be connected to the source of nourishment. When you abide in Christ’s presence, you are connected to your Creator, the Creator of this universe. When you abide in Christ, you will bear fruit according to the gifts and skills that God has blessed you with.
When you abide in Christ, your work will be pleasing in the eyes of your Father. When you abide in Christ you will be filled with an inexplicable joy. A joy that is not defined by how your work is going; a joy that is not defined by the people you work with; a joy that is not deterred by suffering or circumstances. When we abide in Christ we have the privilege to watch God weave together the stories of our lives to surprise us with joy as he accomplishes His divine purposes.
In each task you do today, in the place where you find yourself right now, abide in God’s word. Allow Christ to transform your heart through His word. In each email and conversation, abide in God’s love. Allow Christ to fill your heart with love for all people.
Remember God loves you and has chosen you! Abide in Him!
