What is the abundant life?  How do we receive a peace that goes beyond understanding?  There is a secret that rests on being connected to the right spirit – a life-fulfiling one that provides the spiritual nourishment to bring forth sought-after of an abundant life that includes peace, joy, gentleness and self-control.  One of the right spirits can be found in how we handle material things.

When we view material things in the context of who is the rightful owner of all things, this allows us a sense of peace in all of our possessions.  We are given material things for our own enjoyment as a parent would give a toy to a child.  At the same time, we are given things for the sole purpose of passing them on to other who may need them.

I came across this quote from Susan Nikaido.  She wrote, “God has blessed you with a bounty of material possessions, both to enjoy and to share.  Finding the right balance requires day-by-day surrender to and communion with God.  The answers will look a little different for everyone.  But when you find that balance, you will begin to live in freedom: freedom to enjoy God’s good gifts, freedom from materialism and greed.  Holding your possessions with an open hand, you can experience the blessings of receiving and the even greater blessings of giving.”

Even though so many of us in America have many material goods, one thing that we seem to be lacking is peace.  There is frustration and fear in a our hurried pursuit of grasping a hold of life.  But quite often, we are not sure what we are attempting to grasp a hold of.  When there is no other peace that is around me, God grants me peace and desires to communicate His peace through prayer and His Word.  Then, we can encounter a peace-giving God who invites us into a transforming and life-changing fellowship with Him.

And through this peace, we are given a measure of patience and rest.  Throughout Scripture, God invites us to rest and to receive His grace.  This means that we don’t stop working hard, but we do let go of a relentness pursuit of things outside of God that only brings stress and worry.  But, I have to admit, it is during those times of stress and waiting for an answer, is when God becomes the most audible.  He seems to whisper to us, “Be like a weaned child: content, quiet, satisfied.  Be still.  I have you here for a reason.  Don’t strive to achieve, just receive.”

These are my thoughts for today.