“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
A storm came through my neighborhood last night and knocked out electrical power until 8:00 AM this morning. Without electrical power, I could not get online to work from home, and everything else around the house was not functioning. My work phone had enough charge for me to call my job to let them know that I could not log in. I refrained from using my personal cell phone as I normally would so it would have enough energy in case I needed to make an urgent call, or someone else needed to reach me urgently.
That experience reminded me of the importance of staying connected to God. In today’s text, Jesus reminds his disciples to remain in him as he remains in them so they can bear much fruit. It is our connection with Almighty God through Jesus Christ that gives us the strength of the weather the storms of life. Whether we know it or not, there is always a storm on the horizon of life.
Some storms can easily knock us off our feet and throw us into existential darkness. Thankfully, we can still stay connected to God through prayer and through his word in case of an emergency. Indeed, when our existential power goes out, we have to call on the Lord to help us navigate through the darkness of life.
Throughout the night, the utility company sent messages to let us know they were working on restoring electrical power as soon as possible. God uses a variety of mediums to remind us of his commitment to deliver us from our storms. Unfortunately, we often fail to pay attention to those messages as we become overly consumed by our circumstances. That is why it is so important to stay connected to the vine so we can bear many fruits even in dark times.
When I got up early this morning to pray, my wife told me that the power was out. I went through my normal morning ritual without panicking because I know the utility company would restore power at some point. I prayed, exercised, and waited patiently for the power to come back on.
In the same way, when our strength is weakened and darkness invades our souls, we have to trust God with all our hearts and know that he will deliver us from all our trouble. That is called faith. Those who believe may be perplexed, but they are not in despair because they know that God will always come through no matter how dark things are.
Perhaps you are going through a storm and darkness has invaded your soul. I want you to know that God has already dispatched his angels to protect and deliver you. Stay connected to Jesus and he will see you through all your troubles. Use your experience as a testimony to help and encourage others. Then wait on the Lord and be of good courage. Behold, the Lord will not leave you nor forsake you. He will restore your strength and uphold you by his might.
Just as Duke energy sent many text messages to remind its customers that it was working to restore electrical power in the area, the Lord has given us many messages in his word to let us know that he will deliver us when we are in bondage, heal us when we are sick, strengthen us when we are weak, guide us when we feel lost, and restore us when we go astray. We should never give up on God because he will never give up on us. He has given us the Holy Spirit to empower us so we can stay connected to him through the darkness of life.
Prayer- Blessed Lord, thank you for given us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us when we face the darkness of life.
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