Abundance

I am blessed with abundance! An abundance of food. A beautiful place to live. In fact, two of them. One in Kansas and one in Florida. I call it “the best of both worlds.” And there is material abundance in great supply and variety. More than most of the people in this world have. That’s probably true for most Americans.

I am also surrounded by an abundance of love, not only from family and friends, but God Himself. “I have loved you with an everlasting love,” He said to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:3). I happen to think that applies to all of us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). If that’s not love in abundance, I don’t know what is.

Here’s something I’m wondering about today. Jesus said, in some of His last words to His disciples before the cross, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:9-11, NLT). Apparently His love leads to abundant joy. Is that true for each of us today? 

Jesus had joy even when facing the cross, a most horrible way to die. He wasn’t happy about the experience, but joyful about what it would lead to. The writer of Hebrews explains it this way: “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). I can’t see all that lies ahead like Jesus could, but I have enough of His promises to assure me that all will be well. So I can always be joyful, even when sad things happen. “My cup runneth over,” Psalm 23 says. That sounds like abundance to me, to be experienced even when “walking through the valley of the shadow of death.” How is your joy level today?

Are you living in abundance? “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NKJ). Now doesn’t that just make your day?