The Christian life is a call to thrive, not a life sentence to strive.

We often misunderstand the “work” or “service” of a Christian as a command to try harder, or a contract to do more. We tend to qualify our sainthood in terms of effort, performance, and achievement. Yet the abundant life is so much more than a check list or living at a break-neck pace.

The abundant life is about breathing in the Spirit and exhaling the waste of worry and want. The abundant life is about the emptying of self for the filling of Him. The abundant life is about thriving in God’s love, feasting on His Word, and overflowing with His abundant mercy and grace.

The abundant Christian life is about thriving, not striving.

Yet thriving doesn’t mean we stop fighting. There is still an enemy who strives to steal, kill, and destroy. He would love nothing more than to watch you keep striving and wandering further and further from the truth of God’s love. 

No, we must fight. We must rise up in the strength of the Lord and fight.

Jesus says in Matthew‬ ‭10:34‬ ‭(NLT), “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.” Our sword is the Word of God, the Word made flesh who lived among us and now lives within us.

‭We start thriving when we remove the yoke of expectations and performance, and starting living in the truth of God’s love, taking up our swords, and telling the devil, “Not today!”

Are you tired of working so hard to make it right? Are you wasting your time with worry and want? Has the devil deceived you into living a life of striving? 

Believing and living in God’s love until it permeates deep into the crevices of your soul is the key to experiencing the abundant life. Stop striving and start thriving. Let God love you and fight the good fight.