Daily Devotional
Experience Joy Through Surrender
“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.”
John 15:4-5
September 27, 2023
Ponder This
A branch exists for one reason: the vine. It makes a full surrender to the vine. You say, “But, Pastor, I’ve got a family; I’ve got a job; I’ve got this; and I’ve got that. How can I just have one issue?” Well, you must totally, completely abide in the vine. If you don’t do that, you’re not going to have joy. And how do you abide? Full surrender. Have you ever made a full surrender?
Imagine a human being could have a conversation with a branch. The branch would say to the human being, “Now, you human beings think you’re so intelligent, but you always seem frustrated to me, rushing around, knocking things over; no rest, no peace.” And the man says to the branch, “Well, you seem to have peace. How do you do it?” He says, “I’ve reduced all my concerns to one and that is to abide in the vine. And once I do that, worry has to go. When summertime comes and I need a drink of water, I don’t worry about where it comes from. That’s the vine’s business. I abide in the vine, and the vine puts his roots down into the soil and brings up that moisture for my wilted leaves. And then in springtime when I need buds, I don’t worry about where those buds are going to come from. I abide in the vine. And when the time of vintage and harvest comes, I don’t worry about the grapes: how big, how few, how sweet. It’s none of my business. I don’t produce the fruit.” You will have joy when you abide in the vine.
- What does it look like to abide in Jesus?
- How has abiding in Jesus impacted your life?
Practice This
Through prayer, surrender anything you have been wrestling with to God and abide in Him.
FOR YOUR GIFT TO THE MINISTRY
Front Porch Moments by Gayle Foster
WITH KEY INSIGHTS FROM HER FATHER, ADRIAN ROGERS
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”
