Devotions for Teens

[Soldier4Christ]

  Taking It Out On Others

In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.  Ephesians 4:26-27

This life is very unfair.  Bad things happen to good people all the time.  Bad things happen to us all the time.  Itʼs important that we donʼt let the bad things that happen to us destroy our lives or relationships with other people.  God provides us the power to get through these difficult situations so we can be free to live our lives in Him.

My wife and I have a cat.  Heʼs an inside cat.  While heʼs not the brightest cat in the world, heʼs our cat and we love him.  Heʼs pretty playful and will sometimes attack your feet as you are walking around the apartment.  The other day he had been acting really mean to my wife.  He was biting her feet but it was in anger and it wasnʼt playful.  We found out later that he had swallowed a long shoestring and was suffering from severe stomach pain.  The pain he was suffering was causing him to lash out at my wife in anger.  The pain actually changed his personality to something he wasnʼt.  Heʼs a dumb cat, not a mean one.

Internal pain that is left inside, whether physical or emotional, can change our personalities into something they arenʼt.  We may be happy and playful people, but when pain is allowed to set into us for a while, it changes us.  It can make us hate the opposite sex.  Pain can make us hate our parents or our friends.  Unresolved pain can even make us lash out and do things we would never think of doing when we are in our right minds. 

The bible talks about getting rid of pain and it talks a lot about forgiveness for a big reason.  Forgiveness is important because so much of it is needed in the world.  Satan runs freely through this world and works to hurt us in many ways.  If you are a human, then heʼs probably already hurt you.  Right now, itʼs important that you donʼt let that pain change you into something youʼre not.  Regardless of whether someone has hurt you physically, emotionally, sexually or otherwise, itʼs important to admit that feeling to God and give it to Him immediately.  Itʼs a hot potato that God wants you to hand to Him and for good reason. He can handle it.

Iʼm not trying to minimize your pain here at all.  There are some things that happen to us in our lives that can take years to work through.  But I am trying to help you maximize your recovery.  God wants to carry your pain; He wants you to give it to Him.  If youʼve been hurt, give that pain to God.  Say a prayer every day asking Him to take it until it is gone.  Ask God to give you the humility and desperation you need to seek professional help if the pain is that deep.  But donʼt just think it will go away on itʼs own.  Make that step and get the help you need.  Give it to God so you can be the person He created you to be.  Unresolved pain in our lives is a perfect playground for Satan to play.  Itʼs time to kick him out of our lives and give them back to God.  Seek the help, give up the pain, and receive the peace.  God is true to His word and He will bless you.  I know He can; Heʼs done it for me and Heʼll do it for you.

[Soldier4Christ]

  I Will Go Before You

I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.  I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. Isaiah 45:2-3

Wow...I love these two verses.  God is saying, that He will go before you.  He will go to places that seem impossible for you to go to make them straight, He will set things up for you before you even get there. 

He said He will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. Any thing that would hold you back, like a strong gate closed and surrounding bars keeping you from your destiny, God said he will break them into pieces and cut the bars that hold you into bondage or keep you from freedom.

He will give you treasures and riches.  He wants you to believe that He is Lord...and He has called you by your name, He knows everything about you and He loves you. 

I challenge you....When you go out today, look for Him.  Believe that He has already gone before you. You will see Him and know that  He is working to make the crooked places straight. 

[Soldier4Christ]

  Back to School

…For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5

School is getting ready to start.  In fact, some have already started.  I can already hear the groans of everyone that just read those first sentences.  I know that I am not looking forward to the many assignments, early mornings, and the stress that school provides; however, I do have a few ideas for how I am going to cope with the new year.

First off, forget the stress.  Write your assignments down and plan to have them done before the last minute.  Also, forget about what other people will think and just be yourself!

Second, don’t forget that God is always with you.  He will walk with you through all of the tough times at school.  In Hebrews 13:5, God says that he will never leave you or forsake you.  No matter what, God will be on your side.

As you go back to school, have fun!  Know that God is with you at all times, no matter what!  Let the light of Him shine through to your classmates and see what all he has in store for you!

[Soldier4Christ]

  Who? What? When? Where? How?

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  John 14:26

As Christians we have it really good.  When we become a Christian, God places The Holy Spirit inside of us.  The Holy Spirit teaches us, guides us, mentors us, loves us and helps us.  He prays for us and is always with us.  Even though He does all these things for us, we have to listen to Him and follow His advice if Heʼs going to make any difference for us at all.

Most of the time when I write devotionals itʼs for a reader who needs to hear what Iʼm writing.  They need to hear the words Iʼm saying or they need to be told something.  I donʼt personally know they need it but God does so He has the Holy Spirit direct me to write a devo for that.  Many times things that are written in all of our devotionals are things where people have prayed directly to God for guidance and He answers them in the form of a devo.  That is not a coincidence, that is us (the writers) being led by the Holy Spirit.  When I follow a prompting or guidance from the Holy Spirit, I am always blessed. 

One of my daily prayers is that God would use me to bless the life of someone else that day.  When I listen to the Holy Spirit and write the devotional He wants me to write, other people get blessed.  As Iʼm doing that, my prayers constantly get answered.  This doesnʼt only happen with devos, it could happen by me saying a kind word to someone who has a bad struggle in their life, or me giving money to someone who needs it.  It could be just a simple smile at someone.  Regardless of what I do for Him, someone else gets blessed.  Usually Iʼve found that the more uncomfortable I am about doing something godly for someone else, the more I get blessed out of the deal too.  When other people get blessed, thatʼs God answering a prayer.  I can happily and assuredly say that God does answers my prayers and He answers them all the time. 

When you begin trying to walk in step with the Holy Spirit and ask Him to use you and guide you, He will do it.  We no longer need to worry about not knowing what to say or who to say it to, or even when to say something.  The Holy Spirit will show us.  He will show us who, when, where and how.  He will even give you all the right words to say.  The Holy Spirit is one of the best parts of being a Christian.  Not only does He bless you by giving you guidance and teachings, He also is the one who gives you the peace of Jesus.  He is a piece of God inside you.  As a Christian you are never alone and you are never lost.  Are you walking in step with the Holy Spirit today?  What is He trying to tell you today?  Are you listening?  What are you going to do about it?

[Soldier4Christ]

  Which Seat?

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in th seat of mockers. Psalm 1:1

Living in this world is hard. I’m sure you know this. Being a follower of Jesus in the corrupted world, sometimes takes a great toll on us. We study the Bible and read the way God wants us to live, and then as soon as we step outside we have people trying to push us away from what God says. Being a teenager is the hardest period for peer-pressure. One minute you and your friends are just hanging out playing tag and just being a kid, the next one of your friends hands you a beer. Sometimes it seems that way, one minute its one way , the next your whole world has changed. Your friends have tried to hand alcohol, cigarettes, drugs among many other things. We get confused, and sometimes don’t know what to do. We think , "I grew up with these people, if they are doing it I guess its ok." " I won’t get carried away just one or two." Once we start doing that we completely forget what we learn in God’s word. He tells us to not listen to the people of this world, when they try to entice you to do things that will slap God in the face.

We never want to think of our family or friends as wicked. But if they are not walking in the ways of the Lord, you need to step up and be brave. Help them to see this is not the way to live. Drinking , smoking, sex, drugs...it does not make you happy. It doesn’t fill that need inside. Only God can. Once you know that living for God is when true happiness is found, you don’t even want to be around it. Yes you will be tempted and may slip. Just ask God to give you the strength to follow Him. Don’t sit in the seat of mockers, those that mock God with the things they do. You only have 1 butt people, you cant sit in the seat of God and the seat of this world at one time, its either one or the other.

God will make you blessed if you follow His ways. The things of this world will make you empty and unhappy. Which seat are you going to take?

[Soldier4Christ]

  Just Do It

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.   James 1:22-25

Living out the Christian faith and being real in your walk with Christ is easier said than done.  There is a real danger in Christians getting stuck and making their entire Christian life ‘talking’ about what Christians should do instead of actually doing it.

Have you every gotten something on your face while you were eating and had someone tell you about it?  What did you do?  Did you say “oh yeah, I just can’t seem to get to a mirror so I’ll try to get it later.”  Or do you say “I wish I had time in my life to go get it off.”  How about this one?  “I try and try but just can’t seem to get it off my face, I scrub, I use face wash but I just can’t seem to get my face cleaned up.”  Of course you don’t.  What do you do?  You get whatever it is off of your face.  It doesn’t last very long either.  We don’t like having a blemish that other people can see so we do what we can to get rid of them as quickly as possible.

If we can work on a physical blemish so fast we should be able to work on a spiritual blemish just as fast.  Somehow we don’t get in a big hurry to clean the spiritual problems up as quickly.  Why is that?  Because we don’t think other people can see them like they can see the physical problems.  So it’s easier for us to not fix them.  We feel that if we have a good explanation, we are justified.  But we aren’t.  God holds us accountable for what we know and what we can do.  If we know we are guilty about something and keep doing it anyway, we are guilty before Him, no matter how good the reason sounds to us.

Don’t take your walk with Jesus lightly.  It is something that is worth pouring all of your efforts and energies in to.  I’m not saying you have to be perfect, but you do need to be trying.  What spiritual blemish do you have in your life today that you need to give up?  Do you make reasons to yourself and God as to why you don’t try to get rid of it?  Are you going to sit back and assume you’ll never be able to get it right?  Or are you going to do what the bible says and press on toward Jesus with all of your might?  What’s on your spiritual face right now?  You’ve seen that it’s there, now what are you going to do about it?  Not trying is not caring.  If you care about it, Jesus will help you get rid of it.  You are never alone when you walk with the Lord.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Forgiveness Is Not An Option

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.  Matthew 16:14-15



Forgiveness is an area for Christians that can be very difficult to deal with and put into action.  Have you ever wronged someone, apologized to them and asked for their forgiveness and are still waiting for them to respond?   That can be a very frustrating circumstance.  I know, as I have been there.  Can you relate to that as well?  There is much written about this subject in the Bible due to it's importance of our identity as Christians.  The above verse is one of the most direct teachings that Jesus gave us through Matthew.

Another verse that provides excellent instruction for us on this subject is found in Matthew 5, 23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."   Wow!  These verses really mean business!  God is telling us very bluntly that He doesn't even want our gifts or sacrifices unless we are first right with our brother.

Reconciliation is so important for us, especially within the church.  Unreconciled difference between brothers and sisters in our churches cause strife, hard feelings, tension and can eventually lead to division if not dealt with in  a timely and Biblical manner.  Forgiveness is the first step for reconciliation to take place.  If there is someone you need to forgive, or someone that needs to forgive you, follow God's plan and be the one to take the first step. 

No matter what the result may be, you will be right with God for your attempts to be reconciled with your brother or sister in Christ.  God honors our obedience and willingness to do what is right in His sight and in accordance with His Word.  Whatever happens in your situation, you will receive a blessing for your efforts. As 1 Peter 3:9 tells us "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."  Don't miss out on God's blessings for you, be right with others.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Cell Phones

The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him.  2 Chronicles 15:2

Do you have that one thing that goes with you everywhere?  Something you simply cannot function without?  For me, that’s my cell phone.  It is always either in my purse or in my pocket, or sometimes even just in my hand.  My phone is what keeps me connected to the world.

Yesterday, I went out of town and, unfortunately, had no service where I went.  I felt cut off from everything.  I was practically lost, not able to get in touch with anyone.  Have you ever felt this way? 

The bigger question is, have you ever felt cut off from God?  If you went a whole day without connecting to Him, would you feel lost?  Is God bigger than your cell phone?

Connect with God today as you go through life.  Don’t forget that you can never go out of service with Him; He is just waiting for your “call.”  Pick up your spiritual phone by reading your Bible and praying and see what he will do in your life when you connect to Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Stop Worrying

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

We all know what the enemy objective is. John 10 verse 10 clearly states what the enemy have come to do. Jesus reminds us that he came so that we may have life and have it abundantly. Notice the verse say that we may have life and have it abundantly. That is where you step in. You have the choice to choose life or not. So many things the enemy can try, he can even form his weapons but it wont prosper. God say to you today to stop worrying. Stop worrying about some things in your life that you are worry about. God knows everything that concerns you. He knows your thoughts. He knows your heart desires. He knows what is troubling your mind. He is saying to you today to enjoy life to the fullest. Don't allow the enemy to steal your joy. Don't allow him to take control of your life.

I will share something with you. There are some things in my life I am worry about. God had to remind me that he came to give me life. I was worrying about school and how I will do in my last semester of school and I kept worrying if I will graduate and move on. I allow the enemy to fill my head with lies. I had to wake up myself and realize that God is the head of my life and he is leading me. Stop worrying is what he said to me. Some of you are worrying about how you are going to do in school. God say stop worrying. You will do well. You will get good grades. You will do well on that exam. You will get that job. You will get that promotion. You will get what you been longing for. Stop worrying and go forward and do what you have to do. Like I said before, God knows everything about you. He knows what concerns you. You don't have to worry anymore. Stay focus on the task ahead of you. Stop Worrying.

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Greatest Gift

For God so LOVED the world that he gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him will not parish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

When you think of all the great things in this world, nothing can compare with love.  I mean, if you had every material thing your heart desired, you really could not be happy nor enjoy it if you did not have someone you loved and who loved you to share it with.  We were created to need love. That is truly the main thing our hearts desire, love.  It has been proven little babies who do not get cuddled and loved, have a real hard time with giving it or receiving it later on and they are more likely to be angry and depressed, which could take years to overcome.

It is important that we understand that God loved us first.  He loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us.  Jesus loved God and us so much that He laid down His life for us.  That is real love, the love that we cannot be truly happy without.

It is important that we understand that love is not a feeling.  Although we can feel it we can also see it when it is real.  This should be our greatest aim in life, to love God and believe He loves us and then to share that love with a world that craves it.

No matter what we do or have, if we do not have love, we are nothing and we can even become annoying to others, especially those non-christians who are watching us to see if we are real or not.  If we focus on our love walk, we will not have to try to convince others much, they will see love in us and feel love when they get around us.  They will be drawn by our Christ-like love and want what we have.

In 1 Corinthianns 13:4-13 , Paul tells us........“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy: love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in  inequity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.  But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether theare are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.   For we know in part and prophecy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.  When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put childish away things.  For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope , love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

I challenge you today.......receive the gift of love from God for yourself..... and then with your own family and out into the world, always give the greatest gift..........love.

[Soldier4Christ]

  How Full is Your Grace Tank?

How Full Is Your Grace Tank?

Nearly everyone I know has a personal MySpace on MSN.  For those of you not familiar with MySpace, it's a personal website that you can customize to share your unique personality and to show the world your style, photos, likes, dislikes and a host of other facets of your life.  Some of the MySpace sites I have seen are pretty interesting and have all sort of techno wiz artistry, photo slide shows and Blog boards with all kinds of subjects being addressed.  Even most of the leading Christian recording artists have a MySpace setup, as a unique way to reach out to their fans and have a converstation with them in a secure and easy fashion.

As in most things, there are always those who might take advantage of others through the use of the messaging, email, comments section, or message boards features.  I have a friend who fell prey to another user who sent her some pretty sexullay explicit and unwelcome messages.  The question facing us at that point is how do we respond as Christians to those individuals.  When I think about how Jesus would respond, I have to go to 1 Corinthians, verse 16:14 to be exact, where He tells us to "Do everything in love."   Wow, talk about challenging our character.  That's a pretty serious command for us to follow up on.  So just how do we do that?

The answer, I believe is found in the Book of Colossians.  Paul exhorts us in verse 12:9 "But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  If we have a good, strong relationship with Christ, his power will give us the strength we need to give others the grace they need, just as Peter writes to us in 1 Peter 5:5.

"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."   We are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and love others as He loves us, just as it states in 1Jo 4:19 "We love because he first loved us."

So, the next time someone throws you a curve ball, return it with a homerun full of God's love.  It might just be what that individual needs in their life, to send them to the One who loves us the most and gives us His saving Grace.

[Soldier4Christ]

  We Can Be Confident Amid The Storms

“Suddenly, a windstorm struck the lake and waves started splashing the boat and it was about to sink. Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re about to drown?” Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped and everything was calm.” Mark 4:35-39

In Mark chapter 4 we read about the disciples who were in the boat with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee when a horrible storm suddenly begins. Jesus is in the back of the boat sleeping peacefully while the disciples start to worry and wonder how he could sleep through such a horrible storm. When they awaken him, they ask him why he didn't do something and why he doesn't care what happens to them. Isn't that just like us? Even when we know Jesus is right there with us, we start to panic when things get out of control. We know as Christians that He loves us and cares for us but, we doubt and wonder if he's really there sometimes.

It takes a lot of faith to trust in a God you can not see, but we have to stand firm on the truth the Bible tells us. In 1 Peter 4:7, the Bible tells us to "Cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us." We can also stand on the truth we find in Romans 8:28 "For we know that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose."

When the seas of our life get stormy, we may not see Jesus sitting in the back of the boat but we can rest assured that He is there. We can have faith in knowing that He loves us and wants the best for us. When life seems overwhelming and it seems you just can't go through one more trial, hang on! Jesus is the lifeline in the storms of life. He will not let you drown! He's there to hold out his hand and speak "Peace, be still" into your life. He is not sleeping when your world seems to be crashing in around you…he's right there with you. Trust that He will provide for you and wait for Him to calm those stormy seas. He can and He will if you only have faith.

[Soldier4Christ]

Is the Bible truth or tabloid?

If you think about it, some of the stories in the Bible would make good tabloid headlines or talk show topics. But, those who reported the stories expected them to be taken as fact.

Let's look at the New Testament. The reporters of the events knew that these things might cost them their lives. Some ended up in prison for sharing these stories and some even died. The apostle Paul is a good example (Acts 26:24-26).

These Bible stories were witnessed by many people. The events were done in the open and many, throughout history, have died because of their beliefs. Plus, throughout history, many have tried to discredit these writings, but, the stories have stood the test of time.

Unlike myths, legends, and mystery religions, the events recorded in the Bible have happened in the presence of many credible witnesses (2 Peter 1:16). It's also interesting to note that the Bible records eyewitness testimony from women, even though back then, a woman's word was not taken seriously.

Let's look at this from another angle. Some have claimed that Nostradamus is one of the greatest prophets of all time, but, ignore the Bible and its prophecies. Did you know Scripture contains dozens of specific predictions that came true with 100% accuracy (compared to Nostradamus' vague "prophecies" which could be applied to anything). For example, could you find all 48 major prophecies concerning the Messiah fulfilled in any one man? Science says "no". The chance of that occurring by coincidence is 10 followed by 157 zeros! I'd say those are pretty high odds! But, Jesus is that one man.

Try as you might, there is nothing that even comes close to Scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21).

[Soldier4Christ]

  Roadblock to our destiny: Pride

Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more….When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him…
Gen 37: 5,10

Most all of us have dreams that God has given us either a long time ago or recently. However, there are times when the dream does not come true right away. As a microwave society, we have a hard time waiting for something. Sometimes, even our microwaves are not fast enough. God does not work in our time schedule though.

Joseph was given his dream at age 17. It did not come to pass until he was 30. There were several reasons for this but the first reason that we see is because God needed to work out the pride in him. If you read all of Genesis 37:1-11 you find that Joseph tells his brothers and his dad both dreams he had and basically is boasting about them. It is one thing to share the dream God has given you, but to brag about it is another. God knew that it would take time to work the pride out in Joseph’s heart before his dream could become his destiny.

How long has it been since God gave you your dream? Have you given up on it or do you still pursue God about it? Take a look, pray about it, and see if the reason God hasn’t allowed that dream to come true yet is due to pride. Pride is innate in humans. We all have to deal with it in some area of our life. Even if we have passed a pride test in the past, God tends to go just a little deeper or into another area just to show us that we continually have to rely on Him to purify us. He keeps turning up the heat. If we can’t handle the dream, we can’t handle the destiny. When we continue to pass God’s tests and prove to him we are ready, it is at that point, He will give us our destiny. Next week’s roadblock: Difficult times and how we handle them.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Christianity is a Tylenol?

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."  Luke 9:23-27 (NIV)

One of the pervasive thoughts among atheists and non-believers is that religion can be used like a Tylenol.  They believe the main reason people find religion is to make themselves feel better or to seek healing.  Christianity can certainly be used this way as well.  I personally know “Christians” who view Christianity more as a self-help method rather than the relationship, calling and true journey it really is. 

It’s easy to slice and dice Christianity and Jesus’ death on the cross down to some kind of self-help method.  Churches can dwell on God’s healing power and His blessing of grace too much, without showing the complete picture.  While healing and blessings are promised by God all throughout the bible, that’s not the main reason for Christianity. 

Jesus paints a very different picture in the verses listed above.  He tells us here that the walk is about a trusting relationship with Him.  We should be willing to lose everything, our life, our comfort, our money, and even our family for the sake of following Him.  We should seek Him above all things.  If it comes to a decision of keeping in Christ or something else, we should choose Christ.  I’m not saying we should seek to lose all of these things when we come to Jesus.  We shouldn’t use Christianity as an excuse to get rid of them either.  As a matter of fact, we should try as hard as we can to grow and increase all of these things once we become a Christian.  But we should not become a Christian, or remain one, in order to keep them.

Christianity is a relationship with the God of all creation, the Son who died for us and the Spirit who guides and counsels us.  It’s about leaving the refuse of the sinful life to follow and become more like the creator.  The relationship is about following Jesus no matter what the cost is to us.  No matter what happens, me and my household will serve the Lord.  Without God, there is no hope, no future and no blessings.  With Him, there is life more abundantly then we could ever imagine.  God hands the abundant life to us if we will accept it.  This life is almost never given to us in the way we expect it.  It’s given to us in His way, in His time.  It’s not a life we would imagine and the path is almost never the one we would choose, but the reward is more than we could ever fathom.