John 15:4
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
The word abide emphasises an on going uninterrupted relationship and also suggests a closeness and reliance on God, He restores, revives and enables.
Just as a branch needs to remain connected to the vine to bear fruit we must abide in God to grow and come to fulfilment.
When we think of staying in, we may associate it with comfort, safety, and stability. Job’s wife told him to curse God because the comforts she was accustomed to were no more. Many of us strive to build a life of comfort which is beautiful focusing on our homes, our jobs, and our relations.
Psalms 16:11
Thou wilt shew me the path of life:
in thy presence is fulness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Have you thought about staying in a spiritual sense? Staying in covenant with God following His guidance, staying in His grace and love, staying true to our faith, unwavering in times of trial and temptation.
No matter what happens keep in sync with God, we stumble, we fail, we get set backs but nevertheless it is in those critical moments that we should be reminded of God’s faithfulness and His unwavering love.
Acknowledge God and your failures will vanish. The prodigal son did by returning to his rightful place-home, Samson cried out to God in submission and prayer and God did respond.
Judges:13;3-5
³And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.⁴Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean.⁵For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Samson’s birth was marked by divine instructions: his hair was not to be cut among other stipulations (Judges 13:5). However, as he matured and met Delilah, a seductress and foreign influence, he succumbed to her charm, betraying the sacred trust between him and God.
Numbers 6:5
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
Samson’s hair symbolized the covenant between him and God, representing his consecration and devotion. When his hair was cut, it signified a broken covenant, severing his spiritual connection with God.
Psalms 89:34-35
³⁴My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
³⁵Once have I sworn by my holiness
that I will not lie unto David.
Prophetic utterance:
I am rooted in Christ, and He is enthroned in me. I am fully persuaded that He is my unwavering security, unshakeable peace, and unstoppable victory. He is my inheritance, my portion, and my everlasting promise. In Him, I abide, and He abides in me, manifesting His glory, power, and love. I am anchored in His faithfulness, grounded in His Word, and secure in His covenant. I declare that Christ in me is my everything, my all in all.
Guiding text:
psalms 91:1
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.