abide.

”Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life ... is with Christ in God. He is your life.”

- Colossians 3:3 MSG -

This verse’s meaning was described to me in a way that gave it new breath. Christ is my life- what does that mean? That means that we abide in God while in the presence of people. Christ is our life while living in this world.

This is such a beautiful scripture that has never held as much weight in my life as now. Sometimes, I just wish I could fall into the Lord’s arms and cry. I wish He would just hold me right and say, “I have you. I am taking care of you. I love you.” I wish I could hear Him tell me He has a plan, that He sees my suffering. I wish He would tell me He does not let injustice go without consequences because He is just. I wish He could stand next to me when I look into the eyes of those who want to hurt me and hold my hand.

He can. He does. He is.

The biblical definition of abide is: to remain stable or fixed, to continue in a place.

I love that. Stable, fixed, immovable. That is the power we have within us since Christ became our life. When we are staring down the face of evil, we are stable. When we have stone after stone thrown at us, we remain fixed. When we want to run, we can continue in that place.

We can abide in the Lord even while in the presence of _____ people.

Fill in that blank with any situation you face: evil people, hurtful people, ungodly people, all people.

We remain in the Lord when we remain in that place, wherever it is, in the presence of people. We are fixed on his promises of love and care. We are stable amidst his protection.

We abide in the Lord even amidst the world.