The Abundant Life
Heart Prep
God wants the best for me and for my life. He wants to bless me abundantly.
That may look a little different than I imagine, but God loves me, and
I trust that if I follow Him, He will take care of me.
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Too often we get caught up on all the rules and the ‘cannots’ of the Christian life. Our flesh longs for things that don’t line up with God’s will. Every day we are prone to lie, gossip, think bad thoughts, disobey our parents, or worse. Then unconfessed sin hinders our relationship with God, and we start believing lies that God does not care about us, or that He does not want what is best for us, or that He is keeping us from having fun or doing what we want to do. We believe that God is withholding what we know would be good for us. But when lies invade our minds, we have to run to the truths in the Bible.
The truth is that God would never do anything to harm us. The truth is that God can see into the future, and He knows how every decision we make today will impact our tomorrow. The truth is that God loves us better than any person ever could. The truth is that God wants to bless us. And today we read the truth that He wants to give us an abundant life. Not just a good life, but an abundant life! According to the dictionary, abundance means “an extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply; overflowing fullness (Dictionary.com, LLC, 2019).” That sounds like a pretty good life! God truly loves you and wants the best for you. Always remember, when His Word seems unfair, that He knows a lot more than you do, and trust Him to give you what is really the best for you. When you follow God’s leading, blessings will come, and they will come abundantly!!
Life Application
Do you ever think God is unfair, or that He does not understand you?
Has God ever blessed you after you trusted Him or prayed to Him about something?
Have you ever been glad that He didn’t give you what you wanted? Keep a journal or a list of answered prayers, and blessings. They add up! And the better you remember, the better you will trust.
What does the abundant life mean to you? Hint, hint – it does not always mean that you will be rich! Your life can be abundant in many other ways.