Don’t Slack Off

Remaining in Christ is like staying plugged into the only Source of true life.

Devotional Credit: My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Photo Credit: Unsplash

Today, Oswald Chambers draws our hearts toward the interior life—the quiet, often hidden life of abiding in Christ. He invites us to consider whether our spiritual energies are being dispersed or concentrated around the atoning work of Jesus. His core question is simple yet piercing: Am I remaining in Christ, or am I slacking off in my union with Him?

To remain in Jesus is not about external busyness or time-management tricks. It’s about allowing Christ and His Word to be the dominant influence over every part of us. The point of power in the believer’s life is the atonement—Jesus’ finished work on the cross—and every moment of abiding draws from that wellspring.

What shapes us most isn’t where we spend the most time, but what holds the most authority over us. When Jesus is our preeminent passion, our prayer life aligns naturally with the will of God. We do not have to worry about asking for things outside His will when we are abiding in Him—our very desires begin to mirror His. To remain in Him is not merely obedience; it’s union that bears fruit, glorifies the Father, and expresses His life through us.

✍🏼 Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture

I have drawn you into Myself—not for performance, but for presence. It is not your job or your gifts or your service that bear fruit, but your abiding in Me. I am the Vine, and you are the branch. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. From this place of union, My life flows into yours, and your prayers become My prayers.

Your hidden moments in prayer, when no one sees but Me, carry eternal weight. The quiet intercession you offer is not overlooked—it glorifies the Father because it flows from abiding. You need not fear distraction when you are anchored in My atonement. My cross is the central point of your life now. It is not your effort but your surrender that releases My power.

You wonder whether your desires are aligned with Mine. But I assure you—when My Word dwells richly in you and you abide in Me, your asking is not separate from My will. I shape your longings to match My purposes. You think you are choosing—but I have already ordained your yes. What seems like freedom is fellowship. What seems like mystery is My mercy.

Let Me be the One who holds the greatest influence over you. Let My life be the axis around which every other thought, action, and desire rotates. As you remain in Me, every phase of your life will bear fruit—not because of what you do, but because of who I am in you.

Scriptures referenced: John 15:4–7; Colossians 3:16; Romans 8:26–28; Philippians 2:13; Ephesians 3:20

🔑 Real-Life Analogy

It’s like leaving your phone on low power mode. You may still be using apps or sending messages, but it’s not drawing fully from its source. Only when you plug it in—connected to the power that restores and recharges—do you stop merely functioning and start flourishing. That’s what abiding in Me is like: it’s not a reduction in activity, it’s connection to vitality.

🙏🏼 Prayer of Confidence

Father, thank You that I no longer need to strive to be productive apart from You. You’ve united me with Christ, the source of all fruitfulness. I rejoice that the power of His cross is the center of my life, and His life is being lived through me now. Thank You for aligning my desires with Yours as I abide in Him. I trust that every prayer borne of this union is heard, and that You are glorified through my simple, quiet surrender.