Will You Remain?

Will you remain?

No, this is not a reference to being left behind after the rapture! I never understood how scaring people fit with Good News anyway. But I want to raise your awareness that there are huge benefits to a “long obedience in the same direction”.

Sometimes just staying, standing, sticking it out, and refusing to quit is the secret to huge gains. Let me explain. Jesus said “The one who remains in me and I in him—this one bears much fruit, for apart from me you are not able to do anything.” We must remain in Him. While I am not excusing us from any responsibility, I do believe that sometimes simply remaining in Him is enough. After all, the Christian life is lived by the grace of God.

But I see people shifting and giving up on things so often they never get a breakthrough. They quit, leave, walk away, try something else, change, and go chasing something easier when they should really be just sticking things out and “remaining”. This is true for marriage, church involvement, our work, praying, pursuing our dreams, etc. A certain amount of refusing to quit is very important.

When the young man Joshua accompanied Moses to the tent of meeting the record says that when Moses would leave, Joshua would remain behind. He lingered in the presence of the Lord. Jesus told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. I wonder how many got tired of waiting and moved on to something else??

Our culture even gives up on relationships too quickly. Elisha for example had to remain with Eliljah until the end in order to receive the double portion of anointing. There were several times where Elijah seemed to be trying to give Elisha opportunity to leave and go back but we know that he remained with him until the end. His life records twice the miracles that Elijah performed. But would that have been the case if he had not remained?

There are many more examples in scripture and of course there are times to end things that we are involved with. But just be careful. Don’t make decisions too quickly just because your patience is running thin or because the grass seems greener on the other side of the fence. Stick it out. Persevere. Follow through and remain until…