A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. John 10:10 The Message Bible
THE ABUNDANT LIFE
Sometimes I wish we could just erase the first part of John 10:10, don’t you? You know, the part that says the thief (who we know is the enemy) is only there to steal, kill and destroy.
But it’s not the only verse I know of that tells us we have an enemy who’s ultimate goal is to steal our belief in God, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit and in the Word which then leads to stealing our joy.
John 10:10 says a thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of (The Message Bible).
Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t leave us in the first half of this verse but continues on with more truth and that’s what we’ll focus on today; Jesus came so we can have real and eternal life, more and better life than we ever dreamed of, the abundant life.
This is His promise to us. This is what God has for us whether we are loving ourselves or anyone else at that moment or not.
In the tenth chapter of John, Jesus is telling the Pharisees about the Good Shepherd and His sheep and how they know His voice. He says the true Shepherd enters though the gate because He has nothing to hide. Jesus is the true Shepherd and we are His sheep.
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate,
but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The One who enters by the gate is the Shepherd of the sheep. The Gatekeeper opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” John 10:1-5 NIV
We aren’t likened to sheep because Jesus views us as stupid, but because we wander away too easily and need help getting back. I’m not just referring to back sliding, but to the every day slip ups as well, whatever they may be. Jesus, being the Good Shepherd, does just that. He gently draws us back by reminding us who He is and who we are in Him; gentle, kind, good, faithful, victorious, loving, patient, and humble.
Although the enemy is real and did come to steal, kill and destroy, Jesus came to give us life more abundantly.
This doesn’t mean we won’t go through hard and devastatingly sad times. We can all bear witness to that. However, despite our circumstances, we can experience joy and contentment.
I’m not saying it’s always easy either. We must keep our focus on Jesus and have loving friends to help carry us through.
A few months ago when I was going through a difficult time, I finally called a friend who I knew would be neutral about the situation I was in and shared my feelings with her. That heavy sad burden was lifted and I was ever grateful.
Like Lisa Terkeurst says, “The devil is vicious but not victorious.”
Let’s say that again ….
The devil is VICIOUS!! BUT. NOT. VICTORIOUS!!
Another one of my favorite quotes from Lysa is:
“God can take what Satan meant for shame and use it for His glory. Just when we think we’ve messed up so badly that our lives are nothing but heaps of ashes, God pours His living water over us and mixes the ashes into clay. He then takes this clay and molds it into a vessel of beauty. After He fills us with His overflowing love, He can use us to pour His love into the hurting lives of others.”
Isn’t that beautiful?
Let God pour His living water over you and then go out and love on someone today. And know in your heart of hearts that Jesus came to give you life to the fullest, more abundantly, a more and better life than you ever dreamed.
According to the Strong’s Concordance the definition of abundantly is
1. exceeding some number or rank or need, over and above, more than is necessary, superadded, exceeding abundantly, supremely
2. something further, more, much more than all, more plainly superior, extraordinary, surpassing, uncommon pre-eminence, superiority, advantage, more imminent, more remarkable, more excellent.
Some synonyms for abundant are: plentiful, generous, superabundant, overflowing, inexhaustible, infinite.
What might a life of abundance look like for you?
For me, it’s finally having the knowledge and understanding that God has no favorites. I can now willingly accept His love for me to the fullest. This leads to a lot of abundant blessings! The most important one to me is that I trust Him because I know He truly loves me.
With much love,
The Abundant Life @ freshgracefortoday.com
Are you ready to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?
Please CLICK HERE and we will be honored to pray with you.
Photo Cred: Canva, Deposit Photos
Discover more from Fresh Grace for Today
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
What a comforting post! Thank you for the reminder of God’s grace.
I really like this verse because it truly emphasizes reality. Our walk will be hard at times, but the reminder that it’s to be expected, that we should be on guard and that He is with us through it is so important.
What a great post! An abundant life for me is being content in God and being able to share what I have worh other people in need.
I love the definition & synonyms for abundance. I think an abundant life for me in this season looks like overflowing peace in following his voice wherever he leads!
This is one of my very favorite verses!! The abundant life that Jesus offers is so real if we surrender ourselves to Him and are obedient to the word! Thank you for this beautiful post!
Abundance…. it wasn’t the word I chose for 2019, but it’s becoming ever increasingly evident that it’s the lord’s word for my year. Abundance to me is about limits, the Lord is limitless is his power, his love, his goodness, his mercy, his depth etc, there is no end to what he can pour out upon his children. He is an abundant God, and he calls us to that same level. Are we willing to be limitless in our love, in our mercy, in our goodness etc. Are we prepared to be abundant like He is? That’s what he’s got me looking at this year. Great article giving glory to our great and abundant God, bless you xx
Thank you Chrissie for these words of life! I follow plans in the You Version App and two of them today were about God being limitless. One of them read,’ God appeared to Abraham, revealing a new name: “I am El Shaddai,” God Almighty. In Hebrew, the name conveys the ideas of majestic strength and being able to supply abundantly. God was reminding Abram of His limitless ability.’
Abundance is a wonderful word for 2019. Abundance equals limitless; I’m writing this down in my journal. God bless you.
💗
Thank you, Susan for shining light on this scripture. You’re right, so many stop after the first part and miss out on the promise and heart if God to give us abundant life. It’s always more than I can imagine!
It really is just something we can ‘only’ imagine, isn’t it? Thank you Tami. 💗
Great post! I’ve always loved that quote from Lisa Terkeurst too!
Thank you Laura.💗
Such a great post! A wonderful reminder of God’s never ending mercy. His promise to be with us, shielding, protecting, leading and guiding. I’m so grateful that he is ever present with us and no matter what tactics the enemy may employ, God has the ultimate Victory and so do we!!
Thank you Lureta! I’m so grateful too! He’s such a wonderful God! Many times when I’m talking with Him I thank Him that He is God and I am not.💗
Me too😃
Praising our God – that He didn’t leave us without hope! Great article.
Thank you! I’m praising God right along with you … He’s so awesome.💗
Very lovely. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Kari! God bless you.💗
Lovely post. I like the quote about satan being vicious but not victorious. So very true and something we all need to keep in mind when under attack! Thanks for sharing
Thank you June! I like the truth of that quote too. God bless you.💗
I have seen first hand in my life with my past full of painful wounds that God picked me up and molded me out of that heap of ashes. It is so true that this abundance is beautiful. I like one of the definitions is surpasses, because the transformation and what He has given me through it surpasses my understanding. It’s most definitely a supernatural peace that we receive. Beautiful post Susan!!!
Thank you April! I understand fully because the transformation He’s done and still doing in my life surpasses my understanding as well. Isn’t it the most wonderful experience ever!?💗
Very encouraging! I love that you said Satan is vicious but not victorious. That is so true! And I know in the times where I am really trusting in God and reading my Bible my life is a lot more abundant and joyful!
Thank you Haley! I would be so lost if I didn’t spend quality time with God … He’s my everything.💗
Such comforting words! Yes the first part of the verses you mentioned in John 10 are not the most uplifting, but I am very thankful God doesn’t leave us with an enemy who is out to get us without His loving protection. And as you mentioned the enemy IS vicious, but he isn’t victorious. Love that!
Thank you Sarah! I, too, am so thankful God doesn’t leave us unprotected. God bless you.💗
Some encouraging thoughts. I once heard that sheep in Hebrew means ‘because they are dumb’. Lol. I know I have to ask God to speak slowly and clearly to me.
Hi Alice, lol, I need God to speak slowly and clearly to me at times too. I wonder if they were referring to Isaiah 53:7 where it says, “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, and yet He opened not His mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” (KJV) I couldn’t find anything about the Hebrew meaning of sheep myself… I’ll have to keep looking. Thank you for taking time to read and share!💗
I love how you spelled out the meaning of abundantly. And it SO good to be reminded the devil is not victorious. I sometimes forget he is there, let my guard down. Then this verse reminds me: he doesn’t come to hang out. He only comes to create evil. But in Jesus we are victorious!
I let my guard down at times too, Sheri. It doesn’t take long for me to remember to put it back up though. Our enemy is consistent just waiting for us to let our guard down so he can pounce and pounce he does! But he’s not victorious … Jesus is. Thank you for sharing. 💗
So many life-giving words! I love how God gives us such beautiful abundance simply because He loves us… And Lysa’s quotes are amazing! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you Becky. His love is so beautiful! 💗
Vicious, but not victorious! Love that!
I do too Tracey! 💗
Susan, I love the synonyms you found for ‘abundant’ … “plentiful, generous, superabundant, overflowing, inexhaustible, infinite.” I feel like to live the abundant life is to be overflowing with so much of Jesus Himself! He is so inexhaustible! And He crowds out the enemy, doesn’t He? Love this post and love you! ❤
Thank you Donna! I love the word inexhaustible when describing Jesus too and I’m so thankful He crowds out the enemy!! Love you too!💗
Thank you for your post! Praise God that He loves us first and gives us abundantly life. My prayer is that I continue to trust in His unconditional love and that he is working all things for my God.
Thank you! I love the name of your blog . . . we’re all a work in progress and toddle around at times, don’t we?😊 I’m believing with you for continued trust in God. 💗
When people in our lives are being used by the enemy to steal, kill, or destroy us in various ways, we can focus on the fact that Jesus is lavish and we can cry out to experience His love and peace, which is abundance. Jesus Himself is better than any other thing He gives us. His presence is the main thing.
Thank you Susan for reading and sharing your thoughts. I love the encouragement we give each other through blogging. I feel the exact same way; nothing is better than Jesus and His presence. As I take the time to sit in His presence, He reveals more of Himself to me and I love that so much!!💗
Oh yes, how easily we stray and make ourselves prey to the devil, but our Shepherd never abandons us. Thanks for reminding us of the promise so that we move with confidence though the enemy prowl like a lion seeking whom to devour.
Thank you Edith. I love that! We can still move with confidence, knowing who we belong to and that He never abandons us.💗
I love that I came across this today since we were just talking about this passage at church yesterday. What I found interesting is that when you dig deeper into the structure of the pen shepherds would put the sheep in at night, you discover that the entryway does not get a door but rather the shepherd is the door. This means that the shepherd literally lays down their life for the sheep. When He laid down His life for us, we were given an abundant life because unless we run away, we cannot harmed. Your post was beautiful. Thank you so mich for sharing.
Thank you for your encouraging words! I love that Jesus is the gate Himself. Anyone who wants to get to us must go through Him. Have you read the book ‘Finding I Am’ by Lysa Turkeurst? She covers all of the I Am statements Jesus made about Himself. 💗