Apart from me you can do nothing.
Oh, How true these words are: Apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5). Have you ever experienced drifting away from Jesus while you still try to produce fruit? Have you ever felt that all joy is taken away from you? If we have experienced anything like this we should ask ourselves why. Many times we labor in our own strength. How easy we fall into that trap. That's what we are used to. Doesn't the world teach us to work, work, work? I don't just mean physical work. I also mean spiritual work, character work, ministry work, and family work. It is not up to our hard labor, but up to God's work in it. Do we seek God first? Are we abiding in the vine constantly? As soon as we neglect abiding in Him we will not bear much fruit.
Oh, how precious Jesus is. He doesn't mean it bad with us by not blessing us, but wants to bless us more through a strong relationship through letting go of laboring in our own strength, through letting go and trusting Him. God doesn't mind doing the labor for us, but He minds if we trust in our own ability and not in His. If we do that we fall prey to pride in ourselves and begin to live like we don't need God anymore. We will drift away from meditation on His word, from praying and sitting with Him. Jesus wants our relationship, our heart, and our love before He rejoices in our labor for Him.
If we are downtrodden, depressed, joyless, and work without fruit let's go to the Lord and ask Him to show us why. This simple step may be all it takes to get us back into fruitful living. In the place where we meet Him He will direct us toward the answer of our exhaustion. It might be sin in our life, it might be an idol in our life, but it might be basically that we simply left God out of our daily activities. We may have neglected to sit at His feet and worship Him. Often we left God without noticing it. His Spirit will show us what we need to get back on track. Often I see the parallels between physical exercise and our spiritual lives. When I am tired and lazy I don't feel like excercising, but after I have done it I feel great, wondering "Why don't I do this more often?"
When we feel tired and lazy spiritually we should see that as an alarming sign and kneel down at His feet and let Him fill us. Abiding in Jesus is where our strenght comes from. Abiding in Him means staying connected to Him. It means to pray without ceasing, to worship without ceasing, to call upon Him without ceasing, and to wait on Him without ceasing. And we can all do this throughout the day. At the desk at work, at the stove in the kitchen, in the car on the road, anywhere.
As the branches are connected to the vine and get the nourishment without effort, so should we stay constantly connected to the Lord. Letting the nourishment flow and the fruit will grow. Grab your Bible and read a passage, go to your chair and sit with Him, take a walk and talk to the Lord, call a friend and ask for prayer, read a book from a fellow Christian. Take an action to get back on track and God will do the rest. Rest in Him. Be blessed :)
Sandra
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