John 15:5 simply states “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
I’ve read that verse… I get that verse… And now… I’m starting to live that verse.
For longer than I’d like to admit I’ve operated within my skills and my gifts and to be honest I’ve done OK. But then something happened… I simply got overwhelmed with everything I had going on and finally, yes I mean finally came to the realization that I simply couldn’t do it all and what I was doing wasn’t nearly as good as I thought.
It was in this overwhelmed moment that God gave me this picture of my life. I was out in a row boat in the middle of a lake and my boat had a hole in the bottom of it, as a matter of fact it was clear that it had always had this hole in it. I had a bucket and was bailing it out fine, I was actually able to handle the water in the boat…
Then all of the sudden the water starting coming in faster and faster. At first I just worked harder and took less breaks and no matter how tired or how sore I was I just kept on bailing out the water. It seemed like I was doing OK, but I knew I was lying to myself and then I realized it… I couldn’t keep up.
So I stopped… I threw down the bucket and gave up, which is exactly what God has wanted me to do all along. It was then that God said to me “Andy you were never created to bail that water out by yourself.”
That was a turning point for me… This verse came flooding to my mind (pun intended). I started my meeting with God before my meetings with others… I started seeking God before I starting seeking me… And it was like a light switch was flipped.
All the sudden things looked different, my energy level returned, things sounded different. I started to think differently and I found myself working/living out of this new place… This place where I meet with God before I meet with my tasks, my job, my day… I’ve started to walk with a new sense of boldness/confidence in what I believe God has called me to do/be.
I’m learning that John 15:5 is way more than just a nice verse to read… It’s a verse that can turn your world upside down. It’s a verse that can flip a switch in you to help you walk in boldness in Christ.
If you can get this verse… Then the sky is the limit, because you will have just tapped in to the most powerful source there has ever been and will ever be… The God of creation!
- Rainey
