I've taken a break from reading Bonhoeffer to re-read Sidetracked in the Wilderness by Michael Wells. It’s one of those books that one would probably benefit from reading about once a year. Last week I was thinking about the book and some of the things I had learned from hearing Mike speak a couple of different times in the past. On my last “camping trip of solitude” I started thinking about the principle of abiding. Mike’s book and ministry, Abiding Life Ministries, is all about … well, abiding. So I decided it was time for a re-read.I was reminded that the answer to frustration, weariness, lack of vision, fretting, etc, isn’t found in another self-help book, church growth conference, or the latest and greatest program … it’s found in abiding. As I said before, abiding is resting … but it’s more than just resting. That rest has to be accompanied by faith. I can sit back and not give a crap and be at rest because I don’t care … but that’s not abiding. Abiding is when I am at rest no matter the situation because my faith is in Christ and not my own abilities … whether amazing or lackluster.
I don’t know about you, but I get so busy being a husband, father, pastor, counselor, firefighter, civic volunteer, ministry cheerleader, and so on that I forget to abide. Please understand that I’m not saying that I’m way busier than you are … I’m just saying that in my busyness I have forgotten to abide … and I suspect that you do too sometimes.
Mike says that abiding isn’t a day-to-day thing, an hour-by-hour thing, or even a minute-by-minute thing … it’s moment-by-moment. I think he’s right. I can be abiding (faithfully trusting Christ) one moment and totally freaking out about something the next. Abiding is a choice. You and I have to choose each moment whether to trust Christ or ourselves. Given my track record I’d do best to trust Him.
So it's time to choose. As I get back to my regular schedule next week, if I want to overcome frustration, stress, defeat, the blues, losing my mojo ... I must choose to abide moment-by-moment. We have a saying around our church ... "don't sweat the creamer". I don't have time to explain that right now, just suffice it to say that I got a little stressed out over creamer one time ... okay, a lot stressed out ... over. creamer. It was stupid. Anyway, that's abiding ... choosing to not stress over the creamer. It's choosing to remember that Jesus is way more important. It's choosing to remember that living in such a way that others see Him through me is way more important.Abiding means I'm not worried about the little stuff or the big stuff or any stuff ... it means it's all about Jesus.
P.S. -- As I was thinking about this whole abiding thing and about re-reading Sidetracked this past week, I learned that Mike Wells is now eternally abiding with the Father. His ministry has had a profound impact on me. As I think back over the things I learned from Mike's ministry and as I re-read his book, I realize that much of what Mike taught has become part of me. It seeps out in my own teaching. My wife says it's because we got it from the same place. True, we've read the same Book, but sometimes, some people just have a way of making it jump off the page and into your life. Mike would take no glory in that ... he would rightfully deflect it to Christ for that was his source of life and ministry. But I'm thankful that he learned how to abide and was willing to pass it on to others. And as he would say ... "well, amen".
