We all have seasons when we feel like we need to prove ourselves.

For me, it goes all the way back to childhood. The boy next door had built a fort with his friends, but they wouldn’t let me in. The message was loud and clear: They don’t want me. That little boy grew up, but in some sense I’ve spent my entire life trying to prove I was good enough to be invited into that fort.

You probably have a similar story. We strive to prove ourselves. To be somebody. To be wanted. To be accepted. Even as Christians, we can find ourselves asking, “Have I done enough? Is God satisfied with me? What else do I need to do?”

But here’s the problem: We’re trying to deserve what can’t be earned.

Galatians 4:6–7 says, “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts… So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child.”

Slaves strive. Sons abide.

Jesus said it this way: “Abide in me, and I in you.” Then He gave us the picture of a branch attached to a vine. The branch doesn’t strain to produce fruit. It simply remains connected to the vine, and the life of the vine produces fruit through the branch.

Which leads to this week’s BIG IDEA:

Choose again and again to abide “in” Christ rather than strive “for” Christ.

I had to practice this myself during the launch of my new book. I woke up at 3:30 worried about an email scheduled to go out. I got up, canceled it, and started frantically rewriting.

Then it hit me: I’m teaching about striving versus abiding this Friday. What am I doing? So I stopped and chose again to abide. Did my deadline disappear? No. Did my anxiety instantly vanish? No.  But something changed. I stopped carrying responsibility for outcomes I couldn’t control and trusted Jesus with them instead.

You can abide in Christ and at the same time feel frazzled. Picture a branch buffeted by a storm but still attached to the Vine. Maybe you’re facing a deadline, a family problem, a financial pressure, or something else you desperately want to fix.

Do what you’re responsible to do. But don’t carry what belongs to God.

Stop striving. Start abiding.

Stay attached to the Vine. Even in the storm. Especially in the storm.

Always on your side,

Pat

For Reflection and Discussion

• Heart (Reflect): When have you experienced the peace that comes from trusting God with an outcome instead of trying to control it?
• Head (Understand): What’s the difference between faithfully doing your part and striving to control the outcome?
• Hands (Apply): What outcome are you striving to control right now? What would it look like to choose again to abide in Christ and entrust that outcome to Him?

Who would thank you for forwarding this to them?

Want to go deeper?

Read Chapter 3 of A Reason to Get Out of Bed or watch the complete Man Alive Bible Study that inspired today’s Weekly Wisdom on YouTube. You can also listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music.