Inspirational Message: Living an Abundant Life with Confidence in God!

A few biblical examples can show us the way we are impacted by God’s goodness. We may have prayed a long time seemingly without the most needed answers. Surprisingly, one day we may see that God’s greatest refusals were sometimes the truest answers to our prayers! Disappointments and feelings of rejections can be reflections of spiritual warfare that easily discourage us as God’s people! Our relationships with God can sometimes be disrupted and strained by our own ignorance, inattention and insensitivity. We need to hold on to our confidence in God. Through uncontrollable circumstances of life we learn to trust God and somehow gratefulness miraculously may appear in our spirits. Realizing the love of God, it seems profoundly unbecoming to demand anything of Him.

God’s revelations in His word clearly define Himself to us (2 Timothy 3). Paul commended Timothy for his diligent reading of God’s word which, he said, has the capacity to make us wise for salvation. How does Paul further describe the influence of the written word of God. We can receive God’s word as food for the soul just as we receive bread for the body. Living an abundant life with confidence in God probably is difficult to achieve if we ignore the word of God which has the power to speak to us in a new way every time we expose ourselves to it!
Only God of the Bible is both all-powerful and all-loving at the same time (John 28-39; 1 John 4:7-21). He is powerful and loving for our needs that require confidence and trust in Him. Are we in need of a rescue? We can always admit our faults to God and accept His free gift of salvation that promises forgiveness and life with Him forever. Call out to God (Jeremiah 33:3). He will answer us and show us great and mighty things that we do not know about. How can we prevent lapsing into the discouragement of circumstances? Do we find ourselves longing for the kind of power to control our lives? We may learn in time that real confidence in God can come from prayers and praises. These strategies do not depend on our ability to be eloquent or spiritually insightful. Our prayers can be simple and direct as we say what comes naturally.

Let us continue to ask God to save us from the deserved penalty of our sins. Trust Him to rescue us. As we struggle through our fears and long lists of disappointments, we can find renewed hope by reflecting on our thoughts and honest emotions and possibly rediscover truths we may have forgotten in our efforts to live abundant lives with confidence in God!
Mrs. Gladys R. McElmore, a resident of Norfolk’s Middle Town Arch Community, is a New Journal and Guide Freelance Contributor on religion. She is a native of Essex County, Va.