A word that has kept resurfacing during this internship, not just in Nashville, has been “abide”. Leading up to this internship, I was reading, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” from John 15.
After a time of prayer I thought about how to word abide means to “sit at one’s feet” or to take a position of learning. The passage from Luke 10:38-42 came to mind. This is when Martha works hard to welcome Jesus into her home, but gets caught up in the task of being hospitable. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet to learn. Martha does not understand the value of this and is upset by Mary not helping her. Jesus gently corrects Martha that Mary is doing the right thing.
I believe that this word has been coming up for me because the Lord is emphasizing that same lesson for me. I can get caught up in tasks or what I am doing because when I am on mission, I want to do well. I want to keep working with the time I have.
Jesus is teaching me that I can’t do any of those things effectively if I don’t have his word on my heart. His word has to be the filter that I see everything through. I also have to slow down and allow him to teach me. It is time for me to sit at his feet and learn his word for myself.
For the rest of this trip, I surrender my thoughts, my anxieties, what I think my focus should be on, my life to Jesus. It belongs to him. It’s time for me to slow down and recenter my focus: on God’s word and will.