An Abundant Life

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance to the full, till it overflows (John 10:10, AMPC, emphasis mine).

Just a week or so before turning the calendar to a new year, I found myself lost in thought one Saturday morning while driving to visit my parents. Because of a brief conversation with a friend the evening before, my mind was drifting as I reflected over the past year while also looking ahead to what 2021 would bring. Though much about 2020 was unexpected, I’ve come to recognize that’s just the way life goes. We set goals and make plans only to then have to figure out how to adapt when our situation or the environment around us changes. We can throw a fit, stomp our feet, and complain, but that typically doesn’t lead us anywhere except exhausted. Unless we learn to relinquish to Jesus the plans we have in exchange for His, that’s where we’ll often remain: spinning our wheels in exhaustion.

While reflecting on the morning of my drive, I spent time processing and in prayer, asking the Lord to help me envision what He wanted for my life in the coming year. As many others do, I often pray about a particular word that might lead and guide me throughout the year. When I take the time to pause and truly listen for the Holy Spirit, the Lord almost always provides just what I need. When I say “listen,” I don’t mean that I hear an audible voice. Typically, that’s not the case at all. For me, I usually experience direction from the Lord in the form of words that float into my brain and land on my heart. This experience of receiving direction from the Lord is different for many of us—one friend often hears the Lord in song, another through these “hunches,” as she likes to call them, and yet another describes it as something she can “feel in her gut.” I love that the Lord knows exactly how to speak to each of our hearts in unique ways that let us know the message is from Him.

As I continued to drive, the word abundance landed on my heart. I continued to process and pray, asking the Lord to lead me in terms of what He really wanted me to take from this word. As defined by Merriam-Webster, the word abundance means an ample quantity1. Often when we think about the word abundance, we think of material things. An abundance of wealth. An abundance of time. An abundance of land. While reflecting on this word the Lord had placed on my heart, I was sure He was calling me to fix my focus on abundance for 2021, yet I wasn’t convinced it was in the typical sense of the word. A few moments later, my mind was drawn to verses 22–23 in Galatians, Chapter 5: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

I have resolved that this year, I am going to be expectantly hopeful for the year 2021. I plan to pause, pray, listen, and act upon all the ways the Lord will lead me toward living an abundant life filled with the fruits of the Spirit. Because I am human, I know my flesh will rear its ugly head, and I will need reminders of this commitment, but I am believing He is going to provide in abundance. And not just in a material manner. My prayer for 2021 is that I constantly remind myself of the truth found in John 10:10: The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance to the full, till it overflows (AMPC). Though the enemy is constantly on the attack, if I remind myself of the truth found in God’s word, I am prompted to remember that He wants me to not only have and enjoy my life but live with the fullness of His love emanating from my heart. I am certain that by choosing to live with an abundance of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, I give God space to use me as a vessel for others while He blesses my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined.

These days, I believe now more than ever, it is so easy to get caught up in “keeping up with the Joneses,” so to speak. There is so much pressure from the “world” to have a certain amount of money, a certain size house, to wear certain brands of clothes, etc. And sadly, we look to this as a metric for how abundant a life we’re living. 1 John 2:15–17 is a powerful reminder that I think we can all meditate upon: Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

If that day in the car taught me anything, it’s this: when I pause, quiet the chaos around me, and give the Lord space to speak into my heart, I know, without a doubt, He will allow me to hear His voice and give me the strength to follow in obedience. These days, now more than ever, it can be so hard to find time and space to get quiet with the Lord. But I truly believe if you make it a priority, the Lord will meet you there and speak to your heart in a way that is unique to you. Today, I’d like to ask you to pause, pray, and ask yourself this question: What kind of life do I believe Jesus wants me to have? I want you to not only ask yourself the question but prepare and position your heart to receive the words the Lord gives you while believing that, though it may not always look like we expect, He will lead us and do exactly as He promises.

1. “Abundance.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Accessed January 29, 2021. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abundance.