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In the Quiet: Developing Trust and Finding Strength 15
DAY 7
From the Inside – Out
“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
Here we are moving into the next day! I have been constantly praying for
you! How are you doing? Are the times of silence getting easier? Are you
embracing them? Or do they still seem to be exhausting and unproductive
– don’t stress! God is still working, even when it doesn’t seem like it.
When we spend time in prayer, our life grows out of Him. Even when
we don’t see the growth occurring, when He is at the center of it all, we
can’t do anything but grow. Just as branches receive life from their roots,
so does the fruitful life come from being consumed and completely filled
by the Holy Spirit. The best oranges grow on branches that are grafted
to good roots. As we live in Christ and Christ live in us, we have a willingness
to obey all of His commands – to Love the Lord with all that we
are, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Most of the time, our daily schedules function from the outside-in. What
that means is we look at the expectations that others have for us, whether
that is our boss, teacher, colleagues, or spouse, and we build our daily
schedule around those things that they deem to be important. We have
a constant need to please them, and our actions indicate that. However,
when we reverse that, and begin living from the inside-out, our perspective
and passions change. It doesn’t mean that we don’t care about the
opinions of those we are close to, or who we work with. It just means that