Abide—to remain stable or fixed in a state, to bear patiently, to dwell. There’s a relentless pace of busyness threaded through the everyday rhythms of today’s society. It’s one that has quietly but potently eroded our ability to slow down, remain and in some cases, repair. We’ve lost the art of abiding and in doing so, we’ve lost more than we realize. We’ve lost our capacity to connect (with God, self and community) from a place of fullness rather than fatigue. We’ve mistaken communion with busyness disguised as productivity and as a result, we’ve lost the key to sustainable prosperity. That is, long-term, fruitful living that doesn’t require or result in burnout and overwhelm. But there is an exchange of grace waiting for the heart seeking a place to abide.
Expressions of Abiding
Release requires trust. There never seems to be enough time and the list of responsibilities waiting to be checked off is never-ending. I totally get it. Now imagine me supportively holding your hand as I tell you this… the world won’t fall apart upon your release. Earth still spins, the sun still rises, the kids still survive, the business can still flourish. Learning to truly abide through release, will require your trust. Disclaimer: this release is not a letting go of discipline and ambition, but a surrender from anxious labour and the efforts birthed by a worried, chronically stressed and sleepless self. It’s countercultural but nothing matches the reward of a heart that knows how to release and abide in Him. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve mentally, emotionally and sometimes even physically removed myself from the stress of environments and situations, not in defeat but in a grounded trust that Jehovah Jireh (“the Lord will provide”) will show up and meet the need beyond my ability. And He does every time!
Anchor verse: “It is vain for you to rise early, to retire late, to eat the bread of anxious labors— For He gives [blessings] to His beloved even in his sleep.” Psalms 127:2 AMP
Rest requires intentionality. Let’s be clear… the rest I’m referring to here is not your daily doom-scroll session or nightly Netflix binge. I’m talking about the intentional settling of your body and mind. It’s permission for you to abide through stillness. Rest is not simply a reward reserved for a well-spent week of busyness. Rest is a requirement. It’s in that stillness that we can repair physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. It’s where we are able to intimately connect with our Creator, where our thoughts finally have room to surface and where creativity so often smothered under noise and to-do lists, gets its breath back. I know too well that stillness doesn’t come easy but the Holy Spirit is forever speaking and waiting for you to meet Him there because a life where we lean in has always been His original intent. Slowed down, intentional moments to tune into the rest offered in Christ… this is what it means to abide.
Anchor verse: “For God alone my soul waits in silence and quietly submits to Him, for my hope is from Him.” Psalms 62:5 AMP
Remaining requires invitation. Hopefully by now, you’ve gathered that the art of abiding is more than just another task on the to-do list. It’s a lifestyle, a deliberate decision to remain Christ-focused. Absolutely there are times when carving out exclusive, uninterrupted moments of stillness may not be practical but abiding is still possible. It can look like simple invitations to include God in the rhythms of your day: an ongoing internal dialogue, a praise or worship playlist on repeat while getting ready or the Bible on audio during your commute. Remaining is simply keeping your ears and eyes vigilant to trace Him throughout your day and circumstances. It’s a life constantly charged, rather than consumed, one where you live from a place of fullness, pouring into the people and demands of your day from the overflow of what’s being poured into you.
Anchor verse: “Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me.” John 15:4 AMP
Restoring the Art
Release, rest, remain— find your balance. No matter what season you’re in, abiding will nearly always require something from you. Whether its trust, intentionality or invitation, the exchange you receive is far greater: His presence. That’s the gift of abiding; both when life feels like smooth sailing and when it feels like stormy days. You were designed to abide. It’s more than a cute quote. It can be a lived experience.
A 2024 journal entry from the basement of rock bottom, is my proof that it can be. It’d been two consecutive years carrying the heaviness of grief, loss, diagnosis and disappointments. I’d been spiritually and mentally fatigue but this evening walk had been different from my others. Seasons were shifting, not only in the natural (winter to spring), but also in ways I could not yet see. Unbeknownst to me, there was a transforming in my understanding of what it meant to abide in Christ. Release, rest, remain. In the midst of my crumbling world, abiding became more than an arbitrary concept but an ever-grounding lifeline.
2024 journal entry
Neither phone, purse, company, agenda nor haste. No AirPods, yet I’m tuned in to the melodies of the day. Children’s laughter, sirens, playful barks and adult chatter, storefront signage with flickering lights, cars slowly rolling by in the notorious evening traffic… I’m scanning the view, unwrapping the organically curated gift that is this present moment.
I’m grateful.
Today I came out for the sun but God meets me in the wind. I can feel His calming grace in it. Strong yet gentle, then seemingly still yet undeniably present.
In this moment, circumstances that worry me haven’t changed to my natural eye but the wind talks to me. He reminds me to breathe, trusting that God is working out everything for my good. So I inhale deeply… exhale deeply… and do it again. Yet another gift in this present moment—above all, the breath of God is still with me and in me, sustaining my being. As long as I walk this earth, I walk in His promises to provide and sustain. They are as certain as the breath in my lungs enables life. So I deeply inhale His peace and calmly exhale this world’s hassle and worry.
Poised & Purposed 