Learning The Secret of Abundant Life

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)

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Do you live in the knowledge and understanding of life abundant? It’s easy to quote John 10:10, and say we live it. But do we really?

When our lives are so full of activity and crazy drama, it is hard to live and believe Jesus meant this for us. We know He said it and we try to believe, but sometimes it’s just easier to feel overwhelmed and depressed, than to think, somehow we missed it.

In the chaos, we long to withdraw to the refuge of our bed and pull the covers over our head until it all goes away.

Nevertheless, we have responsibilities and people pulling us in a hundred different directions. So, when everyone and everything depends on us, we reluctantly relinquish our freedom to act in this self-serving manner. We push on, forge ahead, and go through the motions of living life abundant, even though we’re not really feeling it.

Something needs to change, so we can feel happy again, but what and how. Maybe a new outfit or hairstyle will lift our spirits. Still, we know these are only surface changes. They cannot permanently change anything, especially our inner conflicts or circumstances. The problem is that by this overwhelming negativity and depression, we play into the enemy’s hands. Clearly, he has already stolen our joy in Christ, now he is trying to kill our faith, and then methodically and systematically, he will destroy our spirit.

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Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us we must choose to lay aside these weighty things and look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Because, our help comes from the Lord…He will not allow your foot to be moved and He who keeps you will not slumber…nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper…the shade at your right hand.” When you trust in Him, “…He will preserve you from all evil…your going out and your coming in, from this time forth and even forevermore. (Psalm 121)

By recognizing God’s sovereignty, we understand the “abundant life” Jesus came to give is not what the world thinks. That life is rooted in sin, self, and striving to “keep up with the Jones’s,” and it thrives on our overwhelmed and depressed state.

The full, abundant life Jesus gives is salvation and learning to be content in whatever situation we find ourselves.

 

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Paul explains in Philippians 4:12, “I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little. “(GNT)

What secret? In verse 13 Paul gives the answer, “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.” (GNT)

Our God does not leave us alone to cope in the best way we can. No, our God is with us wherever we go. (Joshua 1:9)