A Way to Ensure You Avoid Emptiness

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.

I Need Thee Every Hour
By: Annie S. Hawks, 1836-1911 (1872)

Listen to this beautiful piano version as you read, or watch the video then read. Please be sure to experience the worship-cultivating podcast below.

We transition to a different perspective of our continual need of God in the latter part  of this stanza.  In the first part it was the extremes and in-betweens, every moment of life.  Now we consider that fact that without His abiding presence our lives are useless.  Let’s think about this.

Two Unusual Words

As is often the case with hymnody, we come across words that require us to think a bit because they are not commonly used today.  This stanza has two in my option.  Abide and vain.

Vain is a little simpler since it is not quite as far removed for common use.  As it is used in this occurrence it means, producing no result or useless.  The reason this usage is in play here is because of our other word and the imagery of producing which it evokes.

Abide has several meanings which factor into this discussion.  We certainly need God to bear patiently with us, and to endure without yielding, but that is only the beginning.  We also need Him to wait for us and to accept (us) without objection.  What we mostly need though is for God to remain stable or fixed in a state and to continue in a place.   In other words, we need Him to connect to us and stay connected.

The passage of Scripture that portrays this best is John 15:1-10.  For our purposes we are going to focus in on one verse in particular.  It illustrates both the benefit of abiding and the vanity of not doing so.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  John 15:5 (ESV)

Abide

As noted above the most crucial thing we need is to be connected to God.  This connection enables us to be useful, to fulfill the purpose for which He created us.  We are to bear fruit.  We, the branches, can only do that when we stay connected to Him, the Vine.

I think of this latter part of the stanza in the context of the first.  Joy and pain.  What would be expressions of this for a branch?  Rain or drought?  When there is water the plant can be healthy and grow.  When there is no water the plant will wither and eventually die. Seems pretty obvious right?

It is no less true of us, only that the consequences, particularly of not abiding, are not immediately visible.

So it begs the question, “How do we abide?”  If it is only a matter of connection then we need to discern by what means we stay connected to God and then practice them as if our lives depended on them, because they actually do.

There are the obvious answers of reading the Bible and praying, but how many other things may help us abide?  What about worshipping?  And serving, being the hands and feet of Jesus?  Even in just these few there is a tremendous diversity of expressions.  For example, praying is not only talking to God, but listening.  When was the last time you just listened to God for even five minutes?  Seem challenging?  It certainly is if you have not trained yourself to do it.

There are other ways as well.  Some of which may be more unique or unusual but help you to stay connected to God’s will and ways.  You must find the right rhythm for you which will likely be as unique as you are.  Then and only then will you be able to bear all the fruit that God has in mind for you.

Vain

Take a look at that fruitless branch.   It looks like there may be some new growth there but there is certainly no fruit.  In a vineyard, this branch may very well be one of those that would be pruned away due to its lack of fruit.  It’s not for lack of trying, it just appears it may not be connected.

So are you more like this branch or the one at the top with the beautiful cluster of grapes.  Maybe in other seasons you have produced much fruit, but lately there is little.  There is a natural ebb and flow to fruit production, but if it has been several seasons you many need to evaluate the vitality of your connection to the vine.

If you feel disconnected, cry out to Jesus.  He wants to be connected to Him and the purposes of your Father.  He will help you.

Take a step into a more vital connection today. Even if yours is healthy, maybe you could be producing more fruit.  Even you are not producing take a step in that direction.  Do something to strengthen your connection to the vine, then do something else tomorrow.  Be diligent and patient and before you know it…fruit.

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Everyone enjoy this podcast and the transcript below! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.

Image Attributions
Abide – https://pixabay.com/photos/grapes-fruit-fruits-blue-1696921/
Fruit – https://pixabay.com/photos/grapes-fruit-fruits-blue-1696921/
Uselss – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/vine-cutout-branch-nature-backdrop-788905/