John 10:10-11 (TPT)
“A thief has only one thing in mind-he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect-life in its fullness until you overflow! I am the Good Shepherd who lays down my life as a sacrifice for the sheep.”
“Life in it’s fullness until you overflow!” The words of Christ sparked excitement and gratitude in the people listening to Him that day. Can you imagine what your life would look like if you had “everything in abundance,” “more than you expected,” and “an overflow” of abundant blessings? That’s God’s design for your life.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions about what “abundant life” means in this passage of Scripture. One such example of a misconception about these verses involves what has become known as the “prosperity gospel.” They proclaim that this verse means that God wants to overflow your bank account in the name of giving you a lavish, luxurious lifestyle. While God certainly wants to bless His people with the things that we need and many of the things that we want, abundant, overflowing life doesn’t equate to being a multimillionaire.
Instead, God’s blessings go beyond what can be measured in abundant monetary standards. In fact, God’s idea of abundance is often not even tangible. Joy, peace, hope, and other fruits of the Spirit are ways that God blesses us abundantly.
While we can never earn God’s gifts, His love, or His goodness, there are steps that we can take to open the door for more in our lives. In the same way that a good earthly parent doesn’t give their toddler a Ferrari because they know they can’t handle it, God doesn’t pour abundance into our lives when He knows we’re not capable of handling it.
Today, find out more about how to get yourself in the right position to receive the good things that God has for you.
Obedience
Psalms 19:7-11 (NIV)
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
David loved the law of the Lord. There are countless examples in the Book of Psalms of David writing about the goodness of God’s commands. While we can certainly read stories about David failing to live up to God’s law, he truly loved God and His commandments.
David declared that there is great reward for those who love and follow the law of the Lord. While we often get nervous about the idea of following a set of rules, God’s rules are not grievous. He doesn’t put rules in place in order to hold us back or to keep us away from good things. He puts laws and rules in place to protect us from the side effects of sin.
God rewards obedience. This doesn’t mean that we have to earn our salvation or that God’s favor is something that we can make ourselves worthy of. However, when God sees us earnestly trying to follow His Word, it means that our hearts are open to receive the good things that He has for us. Before asking for God’s abundant blessings in your life, take some inventory of yourself. Make sure that you’re not walking in disobedience in any areas.
Spending Time in His Presence
2 Samuel 6:11-12 (NIV)
The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household. Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God. So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.
In the Old Testament, the presence of God existed in the Ark of the Covenant. Since the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to humanity, the only people who could be in the presence of God were the people who were in the presence of the Ark. At one point, after the Ark of the Covenant had been carried away in a war, it wound up in the house of a man named Obed-Edom. While we don’t know much about him, we do know that God blessed his house and everything he owned. Why? Because the Ark of the Covenant was there. David brought the Ark back to Jerusalem because he wanted all the people to experience the blessings.
We cannot expect God’s blessings on our lives if we treat Him like an ATM machine. That may seem like a strange comparison, but take a moment to think about it. You only go to the ATM when you need money. You don’t just go park beside the ATM machine, learn more about it, and thank it for its work. Instead, you go there when you need money, and then you don’t think about it again until the next time you need cash.
Part of experiencing God’s blessings is found in spending time with Him. When we worship, pray, and spend time in His Word, we’re pressing in closer to Him, opening ourselves up to His blessings.
Trusting God
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Finally, God blesses those who put their complete trust in Him. This isn’t an example of God needing His ego stroked before He will do what we want Him to do. Instead, trusting God means recognizing that His plans are more abundant and better than ours. When we trust Him, we realize that His blessings are better than anything that we could ever produce for ourselves.
When you think about your goals for your life, how do you plan on going about achieving them? Do all of your goals involve your hard work, your determination, your skillset, and your attitude? If so, you may be relying too much on yourself instead of putting your trust in God.
In this passage, Jeremiah compared the person who trusts in God to a tree that is planted by the waters. That tree gets everything that it needs from the water. That tree flourishes and grows because of its connection and trust in the lifegiving power of the water. When we want to experience the blessings of God, we must trust Him as the Source of everything in our lives.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I want to experience the abundant blessings that You have for me. I know that receiving those blessings means that I need to fully trust in You. Help me to put away my own plans and desires so I can rely fully on You. If there is sin in my life, reveal it and forgive me. Help me to push in closer to You so I can live my life in Your presence. In Christ’s name, Amen.