WHEN HIS WORDS ABIDE IN YOU
John 15:7 (NKJV) “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
I often have an experience with the Lord in which I picture myself in Christ at the right hand of the Father. This occurs in my mind, but also in my heart. I wait until I can actually sense His presence. I know when I am there when I can have a sense of looking up and know He is looking at me. He is never angry, though He sometimes corrects me.
In this position of heart I will often ask Him what He would say to me. This morning Jesus spoke John 15:7 into my heart. He spoke it several times until I had the sense that He was helping me meditate on His words. His words began to take on life and meaning within me and I could understand their application in a couple of relationships that are important to me.
In the Amplified Version of the Bible Jesus said in Revelation 3:21, “He who overcomes (is victorious) I will grant to sit beside Me on My throne, as I Myself overcame (was victorious) and sat down beside My Father on His throne.”
I notice that as I sense the presence of God, I become able to let go of my will on the important concerns of my life at that moment. I become able to decide that whatever His will is, I will yield to that, for I know it is best for me. Yes, we all know that His will is best for us at all times. Yet, in the struggles of daily living, we need Him to bring that truth home to our hearts so we can let go. We hold onto our choices even when we know we are wrong. He helps me yield to His will in His presence. Abiding in Him is a very powerful thing.
This is what it means to overcome at any specific point in time. This is where Adam failed and where I have failed. This is where Jesus overcame. And now, by His grace, I overcome. Jesus was fully committed to do only the Father’s will.
When I am able to bring my heart before the Lord I begin to hear God speak something into my heart. His word first comes into my mind. I may wrestle with it for some time. I have wrestled with God’s will (His word to me) many times for weeks, even months. But as I continue to come to Him and wait in His presence, He does a work in me that gives me the ability to yield to His will. His word gets into my heart and there it also becomes my word. It begins to live in me and produce life the way only His word can.
John 6:63 (NKJV) “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
When we allow Jesus to speak to us whatever He wants, a seed of His word is planted in our hearts that yields a harvest. A process begins in us that brings us to victory. It works ability in us to submit to His will and overcome. We become able to sit with Jesus on His throne. We are actually in Him as He sits there (Ephesians 2:6).
When I have concerns I need His word. It is one thing to open the Bible and read a verse that I know is true and applies to my situation. It is another thing entirely to get before the Lord (sit in His presence) and wait for Him to speak. The word He speaks may be a scripture as was the case with me this morning. However, there are other times He speaks to me (by His Spirit) the way He spoke to Peter the day Peter walked on water. Peter said to Jesus (Matthew 14:28, 29), “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
Peter was not referring to a scripture. There was no scripture to refer to in this moment. He was a simple man relating to Jesus in a moment of faith. Jesus did not speak from the scriptures to answer Peter. He did not quote the prophets or Moses. He simply, as the Word of God Who He is, spoke a word to Peter, “Come.” This word connected with the faith rising in Peter’s heart and gave Peter the courage to do the will of God; walk on the water to Jesus. Yet this act of faith began in Peter’s heart. He was asking Jesus to command him to do something he himself wanted to do. Jesus granted it to him.
What is your need or concern? Get into God’s presence. Get as close to Him as you can. Let go of your pre-conceived answers and your requirements that God do it a certain way. When you can let go of your ways, you can hear Him speak His way. Jesus is the Word of God – the Way to hear the Truth that gives life.
Do not just open the Bible. Open it and wait for the Spirit of God to release a word from the Word, Who is Jesus! Then you will be hearing the Father’s will.