New Life, for Real

Surviving is one thing; living is another. For a long time, maybe you have only survived — getting through the days on autopilot, doing what was necessary, staying on your feet. And that was already a victory. But God wants more for you than surviving the pain. Jesus said He came so that you might have life, and have it "more abundantly." Not a life spent only patching holes and holding things together, but a full life, with color, with meaning, with joy again. Be aware: the thief "cometh to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" — and pain tried to steal exactly that from you, the will to truly live. But the pain doesn't get the last word; the One who came to give you back your life does. Maybe you're only just beginning to feel a desire to live again, and not merely to endure. Welcome that desire — it's God calling you back to abundant life. You weren't saved from death only to survive. You were made to live.