John 15:4-6
“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”
At intercession last Wednesday evening, we spent some time doing listening prayer with Hebrews 12:1-3. One part of the passage that struck me was, “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
Have you ever been through a season of life that felt a little like a race? To make things clearer, the verse talks about running the race with “perseverance.” Other similar words that could be used here are “endurance” or “patience.” You can imagine the picture of a seasoned runner in the middle of a marathon, trying to remain steady and keep up their pace amidst all the challenges of the race. At times, the runner may feel so exhausted they want to move off to the sidelines, or even give up on the race altogether.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” While the verse mentions sin especially, we can also imagine many other things that could hinder us in the race that God has marked out for us. It could be the pursuit of other things that takes our eyes away from Jesus. It may be a sense of busyness in life and the burden of responsibilities that weigh us down. We could be entangled with a sin that discourages us from pursuing God. Maybe discouragement or anxiety makes us want to quit. How can we persevere and endure through seasons like this?
When we first began doing level 1 of discipleship, one of the earliest lessons addressed burnout. One of the most memorable points made in this lesson was that a key cause of burnout is a lack of connection to and abiding in Christ. John 15:4-6 talks about abiding in Christ through the picture of a vine and branches. The branch that stays connected to the vine is one that bears fruit, while the branch that is apart from the vine withers.
During challenging seasons when life begins feeling laborious and heavy, our first instinct can often be to try solving our problems to bring some relief to our situations. We tend to rely on our own abilities and wisdom to carry us through these moments. However, when the going gets tough and life begins to feel like a marathon we need to endure, it becomes all the more important to abide in Christ. In order to survive and thrive during these times, we need to ensure that we are rooted and attached firmly to the vine as our source of life and vitality. We need more time with God, not less.
When challenges arise, may we learn to always run to God instead of becoming entangled in ways that cause us to take our eyes off of Jesus. And as we abide in Christ, we find our source of strength to endure life’s challenges courageously.