Just when you think life is going as planned, things change. A parent dies. A friend gets sick. There is a job change. A child disappoints you with their behavior. In stressful circumstances we can choose to act or think wrong thoughts and go against our beliefs, leading to bad habits and actions.
These patterns and actions make us weak in our spirits. They inhibit our success as the person God has created and what He desires for us. There are many opportunities we are missing out on each and every day; God appointed opportunities. God doesn’t want us to be shy with the gifts He has given us. He desires us to be bold, loving and sensible. I am not immune to emotions and failures.
I worry.
I am fearful.
I compare myself to others.
I don’t trust people.
I remember my and other’s wrongs done to me.
I am not perfect.
We don’t have to be! Thank you, Jesus.
He is enough.
He has this.
We don’t have to hold on to the things that are holding us back from the abundant life He desires for us!
How do we begin the life of abundance?
-Identify Jesus as our Savior. Is He the one we follow or is it our feelings and desires? Do we put other worries in front our time with Him? “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:1). The confidence that Jesus is our Savior lays the foundation of our relationship with him. If other things in our lives in a more important than Christ, we lessen our connection with Him. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, yes, but don’t leave Him there. Allow His Spirit to live actively in us every day.
-Pray for awareness of who God is. Who is He to us as our Savior? As for believing Christians, we know the theory of God is with us and that He will never leave us. We understand He numbers every hair on our heads, and He knew us before we were created in our mother’s womb. So what happens when our comprehension of our faith and the communication with Jesus in our spirit does not connect? Continuous awareness of what is keeping us from the understanding of who He is and what He desires develops our connection. Who is He?
- God is love. “Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love” (1John 4:8). Can we even comprehend the type of love that God offers us? An unconditional, forgiving, freely giving, without expecting anything in return love? God’s love is not a feeling; it is constant. He doesn’t stop loving us because His feelings get hurt, or He feels neglected or even when we want to do it our way. His love is enduring.
- God is forgiving. “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” Isaiah 43:25. God forgives our sins. Better yet, He also forgets all our past problems or mistakes and starts over again.
- God is eternal. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom” (Isaiah 40:28). God is a constant. He is and will always be. He has no end.
-Understand His Will. What is God’s Will for us, not His plan or our purpose but His Will?
- Believe: “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day,” John 6: 40
- Rejoice, Pray and Give Thanks: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 NIV).
When we know God’s Will for us we can begin to pursue fulfilling His Will and living the abundant life He desires for us.
Being bold, loving and sensible in reaction to His sacrifice is our objective. Relying on Jesus as our Savior, being aware of who He is in our lives and understanding His Will paves a path of direction for us to begin living the abundant life God desires for us.
