Welcome back to Part II of sharing practical applications to better understand what ‘abiding in Jesus’ may look like for you. I try to be careful when I use analogies and word pictures, because they are just that...illustrations. But one I have used repeatedly to help better explain what I have come to learn...is how abiding in Jesus is like taking a long road trip in your car and the importance of paying attention so that you will ‘stay in your lane’.

We should all be familiar with those verses that tell us to ‘set our minds on things above and not on the earth’ (Col. 3:2) and to ‘take no thought of what we will eat or wear... but to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness’ (Matt. 6:31-33). And honestly...can anyone of us really ‘pray without ceasing’? (1 Thess. 5:17; Eph. 6:18) Oh, and how does one walk in that ‘perfect peace’ that is supposed to be guiding us?-...by 'keeping our mind fixed or stayed on Him'. (Isa. 26:3)

So let me ask you this: If you are the passenger in the car on that long road trip, and the driver informs you...”Hey, I really am not prone to keeping my eyes on the road or staying in my lane as I often will veer into oncoming traffic”...do you really want to be in that car? Do you ever get uneasy when the person you are riding with keeps looking at their phone while texting... as they start to ‘drift’ out of their lane? (Heb. 2:1)

We should all know from experience that when we are driving, that there are plenty of distractions out there...and yes our mind/thoughts can ‘drift’... but a careful driver who wants to live to see another day...and to ‘arrive at their destination’... is perfectly capable of making those immediate ‘corrections’ along the way. Staying in your lane is not hard to do. Nor is abiding in Jesus IF...you desire to do so. (Matt. 11:28-30; 1 John 5:3) 

So yes, we do have an 'active' part in this...as in being a 'doer of the word'. (James 1:22)

All this to say that abiding in Jesus does not mean you close yourself off in a monastery in some remote place while you ‘pray, hum, and chant’ 24/7. There might be more than a few of you who needed to hear this. :- )

I have discovered that abiding in Jesus is so very much like this driving analogy. When I am paying attention to the road, I will often see up ahead, debris or some obstacle that has found its way into my lane and I make the proper adjustments to avoid it. If I am preoccupied with other things (phone perhaps?) that is when I will hear a loud ‘thump’ or experience a huge jolt...or worse. The Holy Spirit is so good about giving us a ‘heads up’ or warning when the enemy is close at hand ready to pounce. Remember when Jesus gave Peter a heads up? (Luke 22:31). And what would Peter later write to us? (1 Pet. 5:8) And let his somber warning there soak in for a moment or two.

As a photographer who loves to capture extreme weather shots or anything in nature that I find breathtaking...I have to be careful when I’m driving. A radiant rainbow or ominous storm cloud, and even wildlife can easily distract me. It’s one thing for me to notice it, but I have to be cautious in not being drawn to it and my focus change. I find there are many things out there that can do that to us as we are abiding in Jesus. Allow me to explain...

It's one thing to have jobs and responsibilities throughout the day that can demand our full attention. But that is not to say when we find moments to ‘breath’...that we can’t refocus, check our bearings...take time to talk to Jesus and continue leaning in to Him to get you through this ‘heavy traffic of distractions’. I found this to be true early on after my personal ‘awakening’ four years ago while still having to contend with thousands of school picture orders. Abiding in Jesus can have those moments where you feel like you are driving in downtown traffic during a thunderstorm. You just have to sit up, clench that wheel, and pay closer attention to what you are doing...as if your life depended on it; because it does. God knows and can get you through it. And “driving” (abiding) is not always going to be like that.

It's what we do in our ‘free time’ that usually trips us up. Our minds are the gateway to our hearts...and what we choose to feed upon and allow to make its way into our hearts is where we usually can let our guard down. TV, movies, ‘screen time’ resonate with anyone? Remember...’where your treasure is, there your heart will also be’. (Matt. 6:21)