Abide daily

Content Creator

Deborah van der Bij

“I had a ‘prodigal son’ moment about three years ago. I grew up in a Christian household, but I walked away from the faith because I thought my ways would be better. I learned the hard way that’s not true: a life away from Jesus, away from abiding in him, just leads to destruction. It leads to striving in your own strength. So God called me back, and everything changed.

Now, everything I do flows from the quiet place, and from praying continually through the day. Abiding is the time where we get to receive from Jesus, and that’s what gives us the capacity to pour into others. It’s this that allows us to be effective for what God is calling us to do.

But I have to fight for it. As a content creator, it can be so easy to focus on producing what people expect from you, instead of stepping away and sitting with Jesus. So my prayer is that I won’t make my work more important than just sitting at God’s feet.

Delighting in God comes from meditating on how loved you are and how good he is. So instead of fixing your gaze on what you do, fix it on him. Everything else is a fruit of spending time with God.”

Going all-in as a disciple

Before we go all-in to make disciples, we go all-in as a disciple.

We’re called first to someone, not something.

Our primary calling is to know, worship and enjoy God through faith in Jesus Christ. Our careers are only a part of our Christian walk. Far more important is loving Jesus and obeying his commands.

He says “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5I 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.John 15:5 (NIV)). A fruitful life begins and ends with our relationship with Jesus.

Fruitful workers are often “doers” by nature, but we must remember that Jesus praised Mary for sitting at his feet, not Martha for her busyness. Our first calling is to be with Jesus, not just to do for him (Luke 10:38–42“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”Luke 10:41–42 (NIV)Read all of Luke 10:38–42 →).

This should serve as a warning to us embarking on this journey. If we do everything else, but fail to abide in Jesus, we will bear no fruit. Jesus tells us we will be “like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned” (John 15:6If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.John 15:6 (NIV)).

This is why our first and most fundamental practice is to abide daily in him, through prayer and in the word. It’s in these times that God convicts us, shapes our character and enables us to bear fruit.

How do we go all-in as a disciple?

When asked about the greatest commandment, he gave two: “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:30–31‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.Mark 12:30–31 (NIV)).

Love the Lord

This should be our first, second, and third priority. All that we do should flow out of childlike trust and dependent love.

We can make our lives reflect this priority by abiding with God daily. Do we give him five minutes every morning? Or thirty? Or sixty? And do we weave in time with God throughout the day? Are our personal times of devotion to the Lord our most important objective every day?

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15If you love me, keep my commands.John 14:15 (NIV)). True love for him is shown in obedience – resisting daily temptations; meeting regularly in our local church for worship, fellowship and accountability; delighting ourselves in the Lord and listening to him.

In the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1–23But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.Matthew 13:23 (NIV)Read all of Matthew 13:1–23 →), Jesus warns how easily the weeds of worries and wealth spring up and choke our fruitfulness. In contrast, those who understand the word produce a harvest thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown.

Love our neighbour

Do we love one another, not just with words or intentions, but with time, service, patience, and presence? Love for our neighbour often looks ordinary – listening, forgiving, offering help. It’s these unseen moments that reflect the love of Christ.

Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37“Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”Luke 10:36–37 (NIV)Read all of Luke 10:25–37 →) reminds us that our neighbour is not limited to those who are similar to us by ethnicity, background or current circumstances. Our neighbours include the outcasts and the outsider. This means caring not just for those we see, but also for those we don’t – the hungry, persecuted and unreached across the nations.

God’s upside-down economy

Jesus said, “Everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”Mark 9:23 (NIV)). Our dependence on God will accomplish far more than our self-sufficient efforts. This is why we can embrace the counterintuitive but joy-giving truth that God told Paul: “My power is made perfect in weakness.” This led Paul to recognise, “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all 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.2 Corinthians 12:9–10 (NIV)).

Weakness drives us to prayer and forces us to rely on God’s power and wisdom rather than our own ability. Our goal isn’t to become impressive people, but to be faithful with the much or little we have and let Christ multiply it.

So the next time we feel frustrated by our lack of skill, capacity or potential, we can thank God.

Our limits can be our superpower – if they keep us dependent on him and his almighty power.

Put it into practice

1. Do you treat your quiet time with God as the most impactful part of your day and protect it accordingly?

2. If someone close to you looked at your life, would they describe you more as a “Martha” or a “Mary”? Why?

3. Where do you need to grow in your character next?