Isabelle Douyon

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:4-5 (NLT)

Humans are BUSY. In this day and age, especially, we think we can just do, do, do, go, go, go. We ignore rest because we are trying to accomplish something all of the time. Many of us are striving to be the best parent, spouse, friend, employee, minister, etc. The end result? Burn out.

Sometimes our fatigue causes us to lash out, stress out, isolate, etc. Simply put: we are going nowhere fast. Why? Because we are too busy living in the flesh that we forget about our source in the Spirit.

The good news is that Jesus literally laid it all out for us in the scriptures. There’s no secret or fancy trick required of us. We must simply seek him (Matt 6:33), and TRUST that He will equip us with all the things we need in this life. If we remain in the Lord, if we seek His face daily, if we ask Him for help, we will be surprised at the shift in our lives and how productive and fruitful we can be.

During this Lenten season, I encourage you to seek Him more in your day to day tasks. Remember the sacrifice that was made for us so that we could live a life of freedom, so that we can walk side by side with our Lord without barriers, and so that we can accomplish so much more than what our human minds can comprehend. We serve a God bigger than us, and the cross has more than proven that.

Reflection: Which areas of my life do I struggle to remain in Jesus?

Prayer: Lord I repent for my self reliance, and I thank You for Your grace. Remove the distractions and idols that I’ve allowed to get in the way of our relationship. I thank You for being my source in all things. Help me remain in You always so that I may bear the right fruit.  In Jesus’ name,  Amen.