Where was the abundant life Jesus promised me in 2011?

Lots of the comments on Facebook last night were from people who were happy to see the back of 2011, it certainly was a year that brought a mixture of happy and sad times for many and it’s encouraging to see that people are looking forward with hope and expectation of a better year in 2012.

I spent the tail end of 2011 hoping that ‘one day things will be better, when……we sell the house/the children sleep through/I’m over the pneumonia/Jez has his knee operated on/my bipolar is cured’ etc. etc.  However, Jesus came to give us an abundant life NOW……..so what, and where, is my abundant life?

Dictionary.com defines ‘abundant’ as in great quantity, more than adequate, over sufficient.  Would that mean our lives should be overflowing with all the things we want?  Probably not and very unlikely this side of Heaven as we live in a world that is not perfect, each day will bring its own chaos and difficulty and won’t always go as we’d hope.  However, I’m sure God wants us to live in the NOW and not wish our days, weeks, months, years away; carelessly missing out on the many blessings He has given us.

So, as many of us look forward to 2012 and the possibility of a better, more abundant year maybe we should take a moment to consider the life we’ve already been given, before it’s too late and the time has passed – we’ve been told that the ‘thief’ will steal and destroy our lives John 10:10……but only if we let him by wishing it away and wanting more or something else than what we’ve been given. This song sums it up beautifully. Blessings

So my prayer for this New Year is one of thanks for my abundant life, I am NOT going to let the thief steal and destroy my life by wishing it away and hoping the chaos and difficulties will pass because THIS is the day the Lord has made, I will be glad and rejoice in it (even when it is hard/tiring/busy/challenging), Psalm 118:24.  I am going to allow myself to enjoying every blessing that God has given me, today.

I was reminded of a poem by Helen Mallicoat that speaks clearly about God’s role in our lives right now.  Happy New Year to you all, I hope you’ll enjoy each day this year with thanksgiving.

MY NAME IS I AM

I was regretting the past,
and fearing the future.

Suddenly my Lord was speaking:
“My name is I AM”.

He paused.
I waited.
He continued,

“When you live in the past,
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WAS.

When you live in the future,
with its problems and fears,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WILL BE.

When you live in this moment
it is not hard. I am here.
My name is I AM.”