Abundant Life - No Pain, No Gain

“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God”  -   Acts 14:22

Let us start with the pure, honest truth.  Did you pick up this book (or read this blog post) because you were looking for a quick fix to an easy life?  Do you think abundant life means ease and comfort?  If this is your way of thinking, you need either to throw this book in the bin or be willing to think very differently.   You see, the path to abundant life is uphill all the way.

‘No pain, no gain’ principles can be found throughout the Bible.  I have not managed to find one single abundant life key that is easy or without effort.  The first thing you will have to accept on your quest for abundant life is that it will take a lot of blood, sweat and tears.
Thankfully, the blood is Jesus blood.    

Jesus died to make an abundant life possible however; the sweat and tears will have to be our own.  It is quite simple really, if you want to have abundant finances, you have to save and invest.  The bible is crystal clear on this, it says in Proverbs 13:11 that “dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.”    

If you want to develop a muscular body or replace flab with tone, you need to exercise.  You cannot pray your body fit, you have to do the work.  I remember one particular day after cooling down from a little run I decided to walk up a hill.  Half way up the hill, I faced a Y-junction in the road.  The left fork was where the road levelled out into a nice flat road and the right fork continued upwards into a nice steep hill.  With all my heart, I wanted to turn left and head home but I knew that if I wanted to work my bum muscles I needed to take the right turn.  I took the right turn and paid the price for a firm bum!

Small is Huge
Abundant life is often a series of little decision just like the one I made to go up the hill.  Small steps can lead to great rewards.  One little decision at a time can equal a life of freedom and pleasure.  In fact, it is in the small things that God smiles and it is when you are faithful with the little that God knows He can give you more.

“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”  - Luke 16:10

“For who has despised the day of small things?”  - Zechariah 4:10

Step one towards an abundant life is to start taking small steps today and not to despise them.   

Find out more about the Abundant Life book here or use the Abundant Life study notes for self study or for group study.  Abundant Life is guaranteed to change your life so that you can live life to the full - more abundantly.