Life in abundance. What, exactly, does this mean? The dictionary defines abundance as an extremely plentiful or over-sufficient quantity, overflowing fullness (Dictionary, 2018). In the Bible, abundance is often spoken of in conjunction with trusting God. This month, we will explore what an abundant life looks like, starting with Jesus’ “”overflowing compassion that He has for us.
The Bible is full of stories and situations in which God’s compassion toward His people is evident. Compassion is the sense of deep sorrow or sympathy for someone who is hurting with a compelling desire to help them in their suffering. David fully recognized the compassion that God lavished upon him, and his writings are full of praise and acknowledgement. Here is one of my favorites:
Psalm 103
“He forgives all your sin; He heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the Pit; He crowns you with faithful love and compassion. He satisfies you with goodness; your youth is renewed like the eagle… The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and full of faithful love. He will not always accuse or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust” (vs. 3-5, 8-14).
Sweet sister, before going any further, I ask that you go back and reread those verses aloud, emphasizing the action, pausing at every end mark to allow the truth to dwell in your heart.
There is so much packed into those verses, one could spend weeks studying it in order to glean all the beauty and truth there is to capture. For the sake of your precious time, (for I couldn’t have you reading this for two solid hours!) I will do my best to shine some light on a few beautiful nuggets that grip my heart and make it flutter.
He Forgives ALL our Sin
Living an abundant life means recognizing that He forgives not just some of our sin. All of it, even those some people might believe to be “unforgivable.” There is no such thing as an unforgivable sin. To call something, “unforgivable” says that Jesus’ sacrifice was not enough to redeem it. If Jesus forgives all your sins (vs. 3), who are we to decide differently about it. What a burden we place on ourselves and others when we attempt to stand in judgment over sin. Jesus spoke about the Pharisees doing this very thing by putting heavy burdens on the shoulders of the Israelites without giving them hope and forgiveness (Matthew 23: 4).
In verse 12 of Psalm 103, David marvels how God not only forgives sin, but removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. Just how far is that? I would call it forever far. If you are going east around the earth, you will forever move east, never touching west. When you think about what David was forgiven for, it makes these words even sweeter. David was guilty of having an affair with Bathsheba. He deceived her husband and when that didn’t work, he had him placed on the front lines of battle to ensure his death to cover his sin. Adultery and murder. Not only did God forgive him, He called him a man after His own heart and allowed him to be a part of the lineage of Jesus!
If you are broken over a certain sin in your life that you believe God could not forgive and redeem, and still use you, oh, my friend, lay it down. That is a lie of Satan. Satan will do his best to render us powerless so that we are not confidently reaching out to others and furthering the Kingdom of God.
He Redeems your Life from the Pit
Living an abundant life means realizing how He rescues. I don’t know about you, but I have been in the Pit many times throughout my life. Childhood experiences caused me to begin my life there. The loss of a child threw me back into it for over three years as I emotionally tried to claw my way back to the surface. It was a time of the deepest, darkest depression that I have ever known. Somehow, I was able to continue to put one foot in front of the other and continue to work and live life. God was with me and gave me a wonderful support system of people who loved me through it. He made His presence evident many times, giving me small victories and gifts of love and support along the way.
Sometimes I allow difficulties in relationships to toss me back into the pit. But Jesus is always there, in the midst of circumstances and in the darkness of the Pit, by my side. Jesus teaches us how to live victoriously in spite of our surroundings. He rescues, and is always faithful to lift us out of the mire of our difficulties and give us a firm place to stand (Psalm 40:2).
His Father-like Compassion for Us
Living an abundant life means recognizing His compassion. Do you have children? My sweet love is 27-years-old now. When she was little, her pediatrician said to use a wooden spoon to give her a spanking. Now, if Dr. Starling said it, I did it, exactly the way he said to do it. That little love got less than 5 spankings in her whole life, but when she did, it was with the wooden spoon. It tore this momma’s heart in two to do it, but I knew it was for her future good. What followed was teaching and lots of loves and hugs. If I feel this way about my precious little one, I can only imagine how much more God loves and has compassion on her because He created her. His love is perfect. We are His children (Romans 8:16), therefore He loves us and is compassionate toward us.
My friend, do you realize just how loved you are? He knows every single thing about you, and yet He loves you with perfect love and compassion. Jesus came to earth to live as a man, where He experienced every type of temptation, yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Because of His experience on earth, He understands what we go through and has empathy and compassion toward us.
Prayer
Lord, help us to understand how much you love us. Help us to see and feel your compassion and forgiveness and to release any chains that might hold us captive in believing that Your sacrifice was not enough. No sin is beyond the reach of your grace. Fill us with your love, mercy, freedom, and power, so that we might praise your Name and spread your fame in all the earth.
Reference
Abundance. (2018). Dictionary.com online. Retrieved from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/abundance?s=t
