Andrew Murray wrote this about abiding in Christ, “And yet you have had to complain of disappointment; as time went on, your expectations were not realized. The blessings you once enjoyed were lost; the love and joy of your first meeting with your Savior, instead of deepening, have become faint and feeble. And often you have wondered what the reason could be, that with such a Savior, so mighty and so loving, your experience of salvation should not have been a fuller one.” Yes, I admit I feel that way at times. I have wondered why my experience of salvation isn’t a fuller one after all these years.
Murray goes on, “The answer is very simple. You have wandered from Him. The blessings He bestows are all connected with His, “Come unto Me,” and are only to be enjoyed in close fellowship with Him.You either did not fully understand, or did not rightly remember, that the call meant, “Come to me to stay with Me.”
Yessir. The answer is simple. I have wandered from Him. A part of it is that perhaps I didn’t fully understand or didn’t rightly remember. But honestly, the bigger part is that I chose to wander. I wandered away and then cried out when being so far away, the lostness of my situation drew me to despair. AND, you would think I would have learned but that has happened over and over. Whether my willful sinfulness, the busyness of life, the enjoyment of something, whatever it was, I chose to wander away.
As I sit here writing this, I see my pup, under the bed, resting, chewing on her rawhide, and doing whatever. But always with one eye on me. Always here. Then if I go out of the room, she drops what she is doing and follows. If I stay there, she stays. If I go back, she goes back. A thought enters my mind, “Why?” I don’t know but I think it might be for a couple of reasons. 1) she wants to me with me, 2) she feels safe and secure in my presence. Maybe that is a part of abiding in Christ. In the midst of the busyness and activities of life, I must choose to always be aware of His presence. Always having one eye, at least, on Him. When He goes, I go. When He stays I stay. It’s a choice I make. That makes some sense, right? Hmm, learning a lesson through the example of a dog! After all, dog spelled backwards is G-O-D! Just saying.
the journey continues…
the journey 