Effortless Change
“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
I’d like you to picture a strong and healthy tree. A strong
and healthy tree does not worry about producing fruit or getting rid of the
dead leaves on it.
As long as it receives the right amount of sunshine, water,
and nutrients, it will have healthy sap flowing in it that is brimming with all
the right nutrients and that naturally pushes out all the dead leaves. And as
long as its inward life—its healthy sap life—keeps flowing, new leaves will
spring forth on this tree and good fruits will naturally grow and flourish on
all the branches.
My friend, as you begin to receive the sunshine of God’s
favor and take in the water of His Word, as you begin to feed on Jesus’
forgiveness in your life and your righteous standing in Christ, the dead leaves
of guilt, fear, addictions, and every type of disorder will begin to be pushed
out by the new life of Jesus within you.
The transformation you will experience, when it is not based
on your own discipline and self-control, is truly effortless. It is no longer,
“How will I overcome this anger problem?” or “How will I beat this cigarette
addiction?” or “How can I curb this habit of overeating when I am stressed and
insecure?” Instead, it becomes, “How will Jesus in me overcome
this anger problem, this cigarette addiction, this habit of overeating?”
The fruits of your success will be effortless. One by one,
the addictions, dysfunctions, and negative emotions will begin to drop off from
your life like dead leaves, and new leaves (new positive thoughts and
attitudes), new flowers (new desires and dreams), and new fruit (new behaviors
and habits) will begin to flourish in your life.
Jesus’ word to you today is simply to “abide in Me,” and you
will bear much fruit.
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