Have you heard anyone say during this pandemic when asked how they are doing, “Well, we’re making it”?
I have. In fact, I may have said it myself a time or two.
Here’s the reality: God wants us to do more than just merely make it.
If you’re like me though, merely making it on some days is great progress. And, I would say that it is. In fact, I would both congratulate you and me on days when merely making it is progress.
However, my challenge for you and me today is to not settle in our minds for “just making it,” rather, instead, go for “always abounding.” Let me explain.
Always Abounding
The Apostle Paul challenges us as Christians to not just “make it” per se, but to “always abound in the work of the Lord.” He writes:
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
He wants us to abound in the work of the Lord. Notice how he describes it: Steadfast, Immovable, Always abounding.
This kind of living is a mindset. It is more than just mere actions. You might even consider this as the goal.
How do you live this way?
Let me suggest three ways you live an always-abounding kind of life rather than just a merely-making-it kind of life.
- It starts with your mindset or goal. If you start out just trying to merely make it, then that’s what is going to happen. The mindset behind “making it” and “abounding” are much different than each other.
- Sometimes even though your goal is to “abound” in any particular day, by the end of it, you may have merely made it through. That’s fine though! Your motivation was right (to abound), yet circumstances slowed you down some. Consider the rest of this same verse. Your merely making it even though you wanted to abound means that you were steadfast and immovable. Both of those things fit as well.
- With your goal right – to always abound in the work of the Lord – and your perspective right – recognizing that some days that will just simply mean remaining steadfast and immovable, it is important to realize that your effort at doing both are not in vain in the Lord. God provides us ultimate victory in Jesus Christ. Do you best because it is not in vain. You may feel like it is. You may feel like no one cares, it does not matter, or no one is watching. However, in Christ, it is not in vain. You will never know the impact you make until you get to heaven. Then you will see the big picture. And, my friend, it is not in vain in the Lord!
If you missed your service this past weekend, here’s a link to my message from Sunday out of this same passage. You’ll get the full context for this verse in the message.
Image Credit Andrea Piacquadio
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