Thank God For Life

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

It’s become a bit of the norm to say “Thank God for life”. Many say it as a response to the question “How are you?”, but instead of meaning that they are grateful to the father for the breath in their lungs and chance to seize the day, it seems that the response means “well nothing else is going right so I guess I’ll thank God for life”. 

When did life become the by the way blessing, the thing  we casually thank God for? 

As I reflected on my life, particularly the last two years, I truly am appreciative of life and not just any kind of life the God-kind, the abundant life. If you’ve ever battled with depression as I have you know the feeling of hopelessness, helplessness, despair, a vast void of joy, the deep dark sinking hole you can’t outrun. But with God all of that falls away. 

I never thought I’d battle depression as a Christian, in fact it seemed like an oxymoron for me. The path to healing and recovery came through both physical and spiritual means. Particularly on the spiritual side I had to pray for and receive the shalom (peace) and joy of God, recognizing that it was freely given and available to me as a daughter of God. 

The abundant life talked about in John 10:10 means that we live a full fulfilled life with deep meaning not in things but from the peace and steadiness that comes from knowing the creator of the universe. 

We’ve experienced a lot over the pass two years in The Bahamas with the passage of hurricane Dorian  and then the pandemic but even in the midst of that despair God wants us to experience an abundant life. The state of living in peace, joy and fulfillment regardless of the circumstances around us. 

Today when you say Thank God for life, really thing about and appreciate what you’re saying, then choose to live each moment in abundance.