Word for November: Life Abundantly

Wow, Friend. God has so many beautiful gifts for us in this new season; so many beautiful, sweet gifts for the one who will choose Him in fullness…For the one who will follow Him in Spirit and Truth; this is where we will find the abundant life that Jesus was speaking of in John 10. Let me explain a bit more.

As we were ending October, I’d begun to seek the Lord concerning His Word for November--concerning what He’d be looking and willing to do for the child of God during November. The Lord spoke so clearly: “Choose the Real Thing-stop settling for the substitute.”

Wow. Let that marinate in your heart, soul, and mind for a bit: “Choose the Real Thing-stop settling for the substitute.” In other words, choose Him rather than looking to other substitutes to fulfill what only He can. Some of us may be thinking, “Wow, this is for me,” while others of us may be thinking, “Oh, that’s not me.” Well, here’s the thing, no matter what category you fall in today, I encourage you to examine yourself, try yourself to discover where you fall in this. I think all of us would like to say that we fall in the second category of people but there is nothing wrong with double checking and allowing God to search your heart that you may see the condition you’re truly in on this day [see Proverbs 4:23 NKJV]. Hey, you’re not alone…I’m having to use this word to examine myself, as well.

The Lord spoke this to me through Isaiah 55:1-3; 6-11 NKJV, which ironically this section of the passage is titled, “An Invitation to Abundant Life.”

Let’s take a look at it here:

1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price 2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. 3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—The sure mercies of David.

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Apart of me wants to elaborate on these scriptures, but honestly, they’re speaking for their selves.

But if I can put them more plainly to what I am saying to the church today. Do you see? The truth is: Some of us are looking to other things to fulfill our desires, voids, and everything else. And in this season, God is saying to come to Him-the Real Thing so that He can fulfill them in ways that we’d never imagine. Because only the Real Thing can fulfill and satisfy us; “Look to me”, He says, “and you will thirst no more.” Will we believe this today? Joshua 24:15 NKJV says, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Will we choose Him with our whole heart today? He wants the entirety of our hearts today.

The Promise of Choosing Him in this Season: Isaiah 55:12, 13

12 “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

The promise of choosing Him over any substitute in this season is that instead of lack, you will have abundance because with Jesus comes abundant life (John 10:10 NKJV); look to Jesus and Jesus alone.

Our Response in the Season: Isaiah 55:6-7; Romans 13:11-14

Based on Isaiah 55:5-7:

1. Seek the Lord,

2. Call upon Him,

3. Forsake your way, and

4. Return to the Lord in whatever way He’s calling you to (your forsaking & returning won’t look like everyone else’s)

Romans 13:11-14:

11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

I wanted to share some of what it looks like for me to choose Jesus over the substitute is to:

I am choosing Jesus over perfection. Sometimes I can strive so much to make things perfect (rather it be God-given tasks, my prayer time with the Lord, work responsibilities, etc.) but what I always find is that I can’t reach perfection and you know what else? I wasn’t created to do so. So, instead of finding peace and assurance in how “perfectly” or even how well I’m doing things (the substitute), I’m choosing to instead put my trust in the fact that Jesus is living inside of me—His Spirit leads me, guides me, and sanctifies me. I’m choosing to trust Jesus rather than the perfection, the deeds, the works of my own actions. I also am choosing, in this season, to be truthful and honest with the Lord about my struggle with this.

I’m holding on to these scriptures in this season (I encourage you to grab some for you to hold on in this season, as well):

John 16:13-15 NKJV:

13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He]will take of Mine and declare it to you.

So, that’s me! What substitute are you choosing to rid of in this season? What scriptures are you choosing to cling to? I want to know—leave me a message on social media! 😊