Stay in The Eye of The Hurricane

Today, my heart is filled with the joy of experiencing Jesus’ life and its refreshment as I reflect on the past several weeks. As I have shared with many who have prayed for us, it has been like a “peaceful whirlwind”.

 PEACEFUL because we knew God was indeed directing our decision to move to Colorado Springs, Colorado; to be closer to our daughter

 WHIRLWIND because our home in Kansas sold in eight days; we found a place in Colorado Springs; sold and gave away much of our “stuff” since we had to ‘downsize’ significantly; packed and moved in six weeks’ time!  It seems impossible that we have been here less than a month, but we are settled and enjoying our family and other guests who have come to visit.

To God be the glory!

I am reminded that as I “Trust in the Lord with all my heart, lean not on my own understanding and acknowledge Him in all my ways, He will make my path straight.”

Proverbs 3: 5-6

I believe this is part of what it means to ABIDE in Christ. We have no contribution to what He alone can do. He gets all the glory because He does all the work. We simply abide and respond to His promptings with an obedient heart. It’s really about His life being lived out in us and through us.

I was recently asked to give my thoughts on what it means to ‘Abide in Christ’ and how I would counsel another believer to ABIDE in Him. During that busy time, God provided a fresh encounter with Him as He taught me that ABIDING only required me to ‘rest’ or ‘trust’ or ‘release control’……… Abiding is a ‘moment by moment’ thing. I could be trusting one moment and anxious the next. But in that anxious moment I could release control and trust, and immediately experience His peace. Many times He sent able hands and bodies to help at just the right time. That happened often during those busy days and I feel blessed as I look back on them; God was indeed being my Teacher.  Instructing me on how to abide through this experience.

A passage that has impacted my thoughts about ABIDING was 2 Cor. 12:9-10

 “Therefore I will boast all Today, my heart is filled with the joy of experiencing Jesus’ life and its refreshment as I reflect on the past several weeks. As I have shared with many who have prayed for us, it has been like a “peaceful whirlwind”.

 PEACEFUL because we knew God was indeed directing our decision to move to Colorado Springs, Colorado; to be closer to our daughter

 WHIRLWIND because our home in Kansas sold in eight days; we found a place in Colorado Springs; sold and gave away much of our “stuff” since we had to ‘downsize’ significantly; packed and moved in six weeks’ time!  It seems impossible that we have been here less than a month, but we are settled and enjoying our family and other guests who have come to visit.

To God be the glory!
I am reminded that as I “Trust in the Lord with all my heart, lean not on my own understanding and acknowledge Him in all my ways, He will make my path straight.”

Proverbs 3: 5-6

I believe this is part of what it means to ABIDE in Christ. We have no contribution to what He alone can do. He gets all the glory because He does all the work. We simply abide and respond to His promptings with an obedient heart. It’s really about His life being lived out in us and through us.
I was recently asked to give my thoughts on what it means to ‘Abide in Christ’ and how I would counsel another believer to ABIDE in Him. During that busy time, God provided a fresh encounter with Him as He taught me that ABIDING only required me to ‘rest’ or ‘trust’ or ‘release control’……… Abiding is a ‘moment by moment’ thing. I could be trusting one moment
the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

 That little word DELIGHT caught my attention and I had to ask myself, do I delight in these things?

Delight in recognizing my weakness, really?

What about when someone insults me?

Or how about hardships (trials that go on for a long time)?

And persecutions (when I am personally ridiculed, or worse, for my faith)?

 

And what about difficulties (which come in many different disguises and some not so disguised)?

Do I DELIGHT in these?

Not always, but this I know:  When I do, I do it for Christ’s Sake, not for my own sake.   And as promised, I experience HIS POWER resting on me. Selfishness can have no part in Abiding—without Him I can do NOTHING!

John 15:11  ” I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”

 The truth of Eph 4:22-24 has also encouraged me, in light of what it means to Abide in Christ.

 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Again, when we abide in Christ we acknowledge the fact that we’ve abandoned our ‘old self’, adopted a completely new attitude, clothed in the new self—CHRIST’S life IN us, with His righteousness and holiness!

Sometimes our “whirlwind” may feel more like a “hurricane”.  In these moments, refrain from focusing on the wind and stay in the center with Jesus, abiding with Him. 

Remember by definition: “the eye of a hurricane is the region at the center of the storm, about which the winds rotate, but which itself is relatively calm”

 So when your circumstances feel like a whirlwind or tornado or hurricane.  Let Jesus make it a “peaceful” one as you ‘rest’, ‘trust’ and ‘release control’ allowing Him to live His life in you and through you. He will get all the glory, because He will be doing all the work!  

You will be abiding in Him amidst the storm if you choose to

stay in the eye of the hurricane, WITH HIM

 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” 

Galatians 2:20