Living in abundance

By ANNE ANJAO-eboi

If you look up definitions of the word ‘abundance’, you come across words like ‘full’, ‘plenty’, ‘rich’ and ‘overflowing’.

People generally love the thought of an abundant life, and mostly think of it in terms of material wellbeing. But an abundant life has more to do with the spiritual than the material.

The devil hates mankind so much that he takes pleasure in stealing from them. His ultimate goal is to rob people spiritually, so that they become spiritually bankrupt.

One of the definitions of abundance is ‘fullness’, so the opposite is an empty life. God promises to fill us with His spirit, which will automatically translate to an abundant life.

There are moments when we envy multimillionaires, especially if we are struggling with our bills. Hence, we are shocked when we hear a rich person has committed suicide. How many times have we read of famous artistes whose lives are meaningless?

Solomon summarised the madness of chasing after material wealth as vanity, chasing after the wind. God, therefore, comes into our lives to satisfy the deeper needs that this world cannot offer.

Another manifestation of an abundant life is great peace in the midst of a great storm, whether losing a job, the death of a loved one, an abusive or unfulfilling relationship, or failing a major exam. If we hold onto God, He will shower us with peace that transcends all understanding. You have seen.

This is why there are people who always smile, and who might be mistaken as having no challenges. It is always a pleasure to mingle with them; they have a positive outlook, and if you are down, their cheer will lift you.

God says though the outside man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day. The secret lies in drinking from the fountain of the word of God, which keeps the inner man alive, thus the outward manifestations of an abundant life.

Faith is essentially giving God control of our lives, as He is already in control of tomorrow. People living in abundance, therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow; they trust that God will take charge and bring success.

THERAPY

Condemnation is a terrible weight to carry around in life. The guilt of sin cannot be removed by therapy, counseling or medication; it can only be washed away by the blood. When we turn our lives over to God, we are free from condemnation, and embrace His grace in our lives.

The bars are full of people trying to drown out the reality that they are lost. There are people who drug themselves to avoid confronting the reality that they have no answers to their problems.  Abundance is knowing where we are going, and who we are going with.

Abundance is not about materials things, but an abundance of God. It is not that He changes the world we live in, but changes us. Abundance is not looking around, but looking up. If you have abundance, you can sing in the prison, dance in a dungeon, and walk on fire.

Abundance is not absence from life, but victory through life.