TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 ESV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• In the midst of this pandemic, one word is becoming more prevalent in everyday conversation — Essential. The question everyone is asking is — “Who is essential?”
A friend of mine asked that question on Facebook yesterday and I laughed to myself as I typed — “As the owner of my business, I consider myself essential, but I’m not sure the government does.” As we all evaluate our various jobs and try to determine who is and who is not “essential,” one truth is very obvious to me.
The most essential in all of this is Jesus. He’s essential during the best of the best days and the worst of the worst days. We need Him in every season. Every year. Every month. Every day. Every hour. Every minute. Every second. There’s not a moment when Jesus isn’t absolutely essential to our lives.
For too long, our world has been self-sufficient. We’ve convinced ourselves that we were essential to our success and overall well-being. We’ve relied on our own strengths, thinking we actually had control over our destinies. This is a wake-up call, my friends. We are NOT self-sufficient. We are NOT strong enough. And control?! HA! Nope, control is a complete illusion.
I think we can collectively agree that we aren’t quite as capable as we thought we were. This whole thing with the coronavirus has been a humbling experience.
Only a few weeks ago, people were laughing at what they deemed an over-reaction. And now – the serious weight of what this virus means to the world has settled. No one is laughing now.
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). It’s a message that is as relevant today as the day He said it 2000-some years ago. We know it. We say it. And we all love the verse, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). But have we been living it?
This is a time when we need to lean on Jesus more than ever. We have some hard lessons to learn and some even harder habits to unlearn. We have to surrender all that we have prioritized as essential and embrace the only TRUE Essential we have — Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have to prioritize Him. Make Him the Lord of our lives. Mean what we say and stop giving it lip service but truly KNOW and LIVE the truth that apart from Jesus, we can do nothing and that only through Him are we strengthened.
It’s a hard lesson, but we have an amazing Teacher who is patient. Let’s give Him the opportunity to teach us. He’s put us ALL in home school for the moment and it’s time to be quiet and let Him do the teaching.
Today, as you pray, thank Jesus for being essential to our lives, but also our eternities. Thank Him that we have everlasting life because He freely gave His life. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you humble your heart and surrender your pride and self-sufficiency so that you can embrace what Jesus wants to teach you during this time.
SHARING ••• Please share with others! Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. Download a free Bible-In-A-Year Reading Plan when you subscribe! Join an online prayer group at www.facebook.com/groups/onlineandonourkneesprayergroup. ***Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture references are from the ESV translation.
