“Plugged In” But Not Charging?

DEVOTION • “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself… neither can you, unless you abide in me” (John 15:4).

Read time: 2 min

One recent morning I woke up to my iPhone’s alarm clock. I was shocked to find its battery life reading only 2%! It’d been “plugged in” all night, but it hadn’t actually charged.

As you read this, what’s your soul’s battery percentage? Any chance you’ve been going through the motions lately of being plugged into Christ, but your soul isn’t actually being recharged? Jesus urges us:

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself… neither can you, unless you abide in me” (John 15:4).

It’s not enough to look connected to Jesus—we must truly be drawing power through real communion with him or we’ll soon be depleted of all strength.

Lingering in (1) honest, gut-level, intimate prayer and (2) meditating on God’s Word are both vital facets to abiding in Christ (John 15:7). Praying is not necessarily praying. Reading is not necessarily feeding. The late E.M. Bounds put it this way:

“We must pray ‘till we pray.” 

Abiding in Prayer

How often do we bow our heads, but our hearts are distant? Most often! Our prayers typically begin distracted and mechanical. And if we rush through the formality and go on our way, we leave Jesus’ presence unchanged and uncharged. If we persist, however, something shifts. Our busy hearts slow. Our cold affections thaw. Our words begin to flow, and we unburden our weary souls. When this happens, we don’t just talk to God—we feast in his presence. 

Abiding in God’s Word

The same is true of meditating on a passage from God’s Word. Only as we linger in Scripture’s precepts, promises, and warnings does it stir, renew, and recharge our souls.

Abiding in Christ is patient and persistent, not passive. So, let’s not settle for a faulty connection with Jesus. Stay with him. Pray until you pray. Read until you feed. Plug in and let his presence and promises truly recharge you to face the day in his strength.

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Heavenly Father, help me not to settle for the appearance of connecting with Jesus. Strengthen me to patiently abide in him so that my soul is truly recharged by his presence and Word before I meet the day. Amen. ❖