Do you know that YOU have been purchased? You have incredible value. You are a one of a kind artist’s creation that garners top market price. You are a treasure which has been bought and paid for with the ultimate price, the lifeblood of God’s Son, our Lord and King, Jesus.

Are you living your life to reflect the price paid to buy it? Or are you living your life on the bottom shelf, stuck in the seemingly unwanted, unworthy discount bin destined to gather dust for all time? Jesus gave His life for yours. He paid the ultimate price for you, it is time to give Jesus what He paid for.

In the book of John, chapter 10, Jesus, Himself, first warns us of the enemy, then tells us that He came to give us life:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 NIV

Jesus says that He came not only to give us life but to give it to us in FULL – also translated as abundantly. If you look up the definition of abundant on dictionary.com, this is what you find:

abundant: adjective: existing or available in large quantities; plentiful.
“there is abundant rainfall during the summer”  

synonyms: plentiful, copious, ample, profuse, rich, lavish, liberal, generous, bountiful, large, huge, great, bumper, overflowing, superabundant, infinite, inexhaustible, opulent, prolific, teeming; in plenty, in abundance; bounteous, plenteous

antonyms: scarce, sparse

As you read that definition, did you get a sense of what type of life you are living? Are you living a life overflowing with God’s goodness, rich in His Grace, covered with copious amounts of His lavish Love? Or rather was your spirit drawn to the antonyms (opposites) of abundant, in that you feel like you are living a life of scarcity and sparseness?

I have a feeling you might be between those two levels on the spectrum and I encourage you to lean into the abundance that God has for you rather than the scarcity that results from this world and its temporary attractions. Leaning into Him is the only way to experience the abundant life He promises you.

If you are not sure how to “lean in”, the first step is to Stop. Stop filling your schedule with all the busyness and all the duties that hold only empty promises for fulfillment. Then, Listen. Quiet your heart, mind and spirit and sit with God. Pray to have open ears, eyes and heart to hear, see and feel what He wants to tell you.

That may sound like a bunch of Holy Guacamole to you, but I can tell you, starting there is the only way to the abundant life that Jesus has paid for and promised you. Here is why: you can’t possibly know what God thinks of you and asks of you, unless you stop and get to know Him.

We spend crazy amounts of time trying to find out God’s Will for our lives and chasing after every good thing that we THINK He wants us to do. When, in reality, He only asks us for one thing – to draw near to Him. It is in that drawing near to Him that He draws near to us and is then able to speak into that quietness with His Strength, Wisdom and Direction.

Sorry, but not sorry, to say there is no short cut for this step. You can’t truly draw intimately near to God in a group setting. If you are only taking the time to seek Him in a weekly church service and/or at group studies you will only have the sparse part of life that He offers. Don’t take me wrong, corporate worship and corporate studies are amazing gifts from God, but He desires to have a one on one relationship with you. Considering the price He paid for our lives, it seems a meager gift in return to give Him a bit of our solo time each and every day.

For example, take any relationship in your life, perhaps your relationship with your spouse, your child or your best friend. What would that relationship look like if you only saw your spouse, child or friend once or twice a week for an hour or two in a room filled with people? Would you be able to know how your loved one feels about life or what they had been up to recently? Would you be able to celebrate their joys, calm their fears and be able to help them sort out and walk through life’s difficulties? Nope, absolutely not. Why then, do we expect that only spending an hour or two with God a week would allow us time to get to know Him and time for Him to share with us all the blessings of a full fatherly relationship? I can’t answer that. I can say that I tried to do that for YEARS to no avail.

Sure, I grew in knowledge of the Bible and heard inspiring testimonies. I even longed for the close relationship with God that I witnessed on the lives of those leading the services or studies. But alas, I struggled. I would have moments of closeness with God, followed by long seasons of dry spells where I felt like He wasn’t near me. He was near me, He was always near me, but I wasn’t allowing the space in my life for Him to speak to me and make Himself fully known.

No amount of begging for God to take over my life could bring about the closeness with Him that I desired. Instead, I struggled through life, depressed and feeling estranged from God. But, as soon as I STOPPED the busyness of life and began to seek Him out, one on one, I heard Him. My life changed significantly when I stopped and sought Him because I was then able to hear how much God Loved ME and how much He desired me to draw close to Him. Then, He told me more about His love for me and ultimately, as I continued to draw near to Him, He revealed how He designed me and pointed me to the plans He had for me.

Just like the story of Elijah in I Kings, God will not shout over the “storm or the noise” of our lives. Rather, He will wait patiently to speak in His still small voice when we take the time to stop, silence our hearts and listen. Then, and only then, will you be able to truly grow into the fullness of your relationship with Him. You will get to know His heart for you and as a bonus, you will learn who He made you to be. In knowing WHO He made you to be, you will be drawn to the things of life He has laid out for you that will bring abundance to your spirit. As you step into the plans He has for you, your life will begin to fill and will soon overflow with His lavish Love and Grace. Then, you will know that you, indeed, have given Jesus what He paid for.

Blessings and much love to you, dear beloved child of The Most High King!

Pamela

PS. Just Do It! What do you have to lose? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a definition of insanity. So, stop doing, start listening and step into closeness with your Heavenly Father. He is already waiting for you…hint hint!

PS.PS. If you are stuck and don’t feel like you can Hear God, comment on it or send me a message and let me help point you to a healing ministry to help open your spirit ears to hear your ABBA Father.