Jesus came to give us a life that is NOT—just plain, ordinary, or desperately lived. Rather—He wants to give us a life that is MORE abundant than we can imagine! He said:
“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10
Different translations interpret this as:
“Better life than they ever dreamed of;” (The Message) or
“Life till it overflows.” (Amplified)
Does this describe your life?
Despite my worldly success and prosperity, it certainly did NOT describe my life until I made a radical change. I began to ask myself important questions about the path I was on.
“What did Jesus mean about His promise for abundance?”
“Am I missing something BIG?”
”What exactly did He intend for me to discover?”
Well, the more I searched, the more it was evident that I WAS missing something critically important! You see, Jesus knows our mind is often stuck in the physical realm. We automatically associate “abundance” with physical prosperity instead of spiritual prosperity.
But the most important experience we must have—to build a life that is exceedingly abundant—is to live knowing God and be profoundly changed by the experience of His presence.
The abundant life begins with our salvation and continues when we develop the mind of Christ. We must grow in our knowledge of the spiritual realm, which encompasses the part of us that will live forever—either in heaven or hell. When we learn to view our life in God’s reality and discover the great purpose He has given us, our life overflows with sustained abundance!
We are no longer building sandcastles which will be destroyed by the next big wave; rather, we are building fortresses on a rock that will stand through eternity.
Think of the futility of measuring our abundance by the things we accumulate, career accomplishments, or even in building a strong family. All these can be gone tomorrow. Furthermore, if this were God’s definition of the GREATEST abundance in life, then—Paul the Apostle and Jesus—NEVER lived in abundance!
We must remember that true abundance begins after we are born again and our soul and spirit are enabled to communicate with God—the Father of every blessing.
When we have a relationship with God, we have an EQUAL opportunity to live in abundance greater than we ever imagined. Jesus said:
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
John 15:4-8
To “abide” in Christ is to live under His total influence in all we think, say, and do. We have the mind of Christ and He guides our desires. He refocuses us. We understand that to lead others into a relationship with Him—our family, friends, colleagues, the man on a hiking trail, the woman on a train—is more important than our schedule and our physical prosperity. Indeed, we begin to reassess what is really important. God puts our problems in HIS perspective and we step away from those sinking sand castles. We get with Jesus first thing in the morning and let Him reveal the plan we need to know for now. We yield to Him and surrender every part of our day to Him. And we give Him our work, our heart, our time, our resources…and our heart-felt desire is “not my will but Yours be done.”
He takes our willing heart and reveals the masterpiece He created within us instead of our poor imitation of someone else. His clarity and light reveal His wisdom and His strength flows through us. We experience the freedom of living outside the box instead of inside the pressure cooker. As He meets our physical needs, we are free to utilize our spiritual gifts for His glory. We experience the joy of living for a greater purpose than self. In fact…
..living in the abundance and satisfaction of Christ makes us a powerful influencer.
You are the apple of God’s eye and—He gave EVERYTHING to know you and give you life—a glorious life full of more joy than you ever imagined possible!
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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