Living the Abundant Life

Many days I wake up and wonder if I am doing something right or am I just wonderfully blessed. What do I mean by this? Physically, I am having more problems than I've ever had in all of my life. From the tip of my head to the tip of my toes I am racked with constant pain and all that stuff. At night I am just glad to be able to sleep at night. So if physically I am having problems then how could I really believe that I am blessed?

Financially, I have had the worst year in my entire life. I was laid off of a position that I have held for the past 15 years. I went from making nearly 6 figures to making luckily 4. Never before has my faith so been tested in the area of finances. Nothing I have put my hands to has prospered in the way that it had in the past. I live in the worst hit economic city in the United States. Recently, I had a tenant move out on me in the middle of the night, leaving over 3k worth of bills and repairs, not to mention a mortgage payment due in 2 days. Still I am blessed.

My children are acting worse than at any time in history. Not one of them is serving in church. Not one of them is living a deeply spiritual life. Without going into detail, my kids are living way below their potential. Each of them is such a diamond in the rough.

Yet through it all, I still believe that I am truly one of the most blessed people on the earth.

Job, one of the heroes of the Old Testament had a similar story to tell. He had everything financially. Job served his God and prayed for his children even if he thought that there was a chance of them falling short of God's purpose and pleasure, yet one day he began to suffer loss on an epic scale. His faith, finances, body and emotions were pushed to the edge of human endurance.

Satan tried to do all he could to push Job over the edge. Boils, death, destruction every imaginable calamity was thrown at Job and yet he stuck to his guns and said, "Naked I came into this world and naked I will return..."Though He slay me, ever shall I trust HIM."

Job never once denied that he was wholely dependent on God for his ultimate being. He may have lost everything, short of his life, but he wasn't going to loose his faith in his God.
I too have been tested and to tell you the truth it hasn't been easy. As a matter of fact it has been down right terrible but one thing I will never do is deny my God. He was the source of all that I had before the meltdown and He is the source of all that I will receive in the future.

I am truly blessed because I know that in the end He loves me and will never forsake me, eventhough the storm clouds are raging all around me.
Today, as 2011 is beginning to unfold, renew your confidence in your Maker. Count your blessings, especially if the only one you have is HIM because with HIM you have more than enough to overcome the battles that try to knock you off of your game.