Aug 22nd, 2020: Abiding in God


Promises are made to be broken. That seems to be the case when it comes to people who are in power politically. We are struggling to learn how to keep our promises as well. Having a faithful friend who keeps her (his) promises is a blessing these days. Faithfulness and loyalty are rare nowadays, and they are more precious than gold.


The word faithfulness has its origin in Latin (fides). It means to trust, to have faith, and to abide in. One of the major problems of the contemporary churches is the lack of faithfulness to God and His teaching.

Trusting God is not an easy task to do. We tend to lean on our own understanding and ability to deal with the problems we have in life. When that happens, we end up having other lovers who deceive us and take us to the land of the lost. We have no idea how to trust God anymore because we just don't know how to begin. I met an accountant who lost his job and his family due to his addiction. The first meaningful question we had after he begged me for something to eat in downtown Montreal was about how to restore trust with his family. He had no idea where to start and had no courage to go there. Trusting God requires courage and humility.

Another aspect of trusting God is the notion of abiding in Him. It implies that we need to learn how to surrender ourselves to God. It is like a little child resting in a baby snuggli in front of his (her) mother's chest. Before mom and dad can put him or her in there, she or he would cry and fuss. As soon as she (he) gets into that pouch, no more fussing is needed because she (he) heard the heartbeat of mom. It is just like home. To abide in God is to be in tune with His Heartbeat, and to surrender ourselves to God is to begin the journey back to where we are supposed to belong. A baby has complete trust in her (his) mom when she (he) is in that snuggli.

The anticipated outcome of trusting God is security, comfort, identity, and belonging. Many people are crying out for that in recent months in dealing with racial issues.

"I 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)
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3: 5-6)

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