Devo, John

The Abundant Paradox

The Abundant Paradox

GET THE STUDY JOURNAL

And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. — John 12:23-26

In these words, we are confronted with a divine paradox. Jesus presents us with a key to understanding divine truths. He uses the analogy of a dying seed to illustrate the process of finding and living in abundance. Just as a seed surrenders itself to the earth to die to give life, Jesus, too, must surrender to death and die to give all people abundant life. But there is a parallel here. We, as men, are given an example. We must also die to our way of life in order to discover the fullness of the abundant life. It is through surrender that men discover abundance.

But here's the thing — most men struggle with both the concept of surrender and the action of surrender. We would rather grip something tightly than hand something over. We want to cling to our will, desires, and plans because it seems reasonable. The problem with this is that this never produces the results we want. It produces very limited results, and God wants us to know abundance. To know abundance, we must be willing to take unreasonable measures. And the way there is always surrender. Jesus even shows us how to do it by surrendering himself to the Cross.

So today, surrender that thing that has its grip on you. Give it over to God today. Surrender it. Die to your plans, ideas, and desires. Let go and then let God work. Discover true abundance. You know you want it.

ASK THIS:

1. Are you willing to surrender your own plans, desires, and ambitions to God's purpose in order to experience the fullness of abundant life?
2. What areas of your life are you holding onto tightly instead of trusting God and allowing Him to produce something greater through surrender?

DO THIS: Give one thing over to God today.

PRAY THIS: God, I pray for the strength and courage to surrender my life completely to Your purpose, trusting that in surrendering, I will find true abundance. Help me let go of my own plans and desires, and grant me the grace to follow Your lead and experience the fullness of life that comes from serving and following Jesus.

PLAY THIS: I Surrender.

SIGN UP — THE DAILY DEVO
short + biblical + practical
Read through the Bible daily with Vince Miller.

5 thoughts on “The Abundant Paradox”

  2. Paul P says:

    Compared to surrender…hard work is easy. It’s much easier to keep plugging away trying to make things happen in my own strength. The only problem is if I am outside the vine, I can do nothing. All my efforts are wasted.

    Surrender and dying to self are hard work, but it’s the work that must be done to find true life.

  3. Dennis J says:

    When I learned how to surrender and became obedient in surrender, I gained strength and power over the life dominating sins in my life. I also learned that surrender is an everyday, sometimes moment by moment practice that is a must in the life of a disciple in Christ. Without the practice of surrendering to the will of God, we cannot walk in the Spirit.

  4. Tom Waller says:

    It is through surrender that men discover abundance. I can testify to this, Amen!

  5. Tom F. Sr. says:

    Another GREAT reminder! Thanks Pastor Vince. It is ONLY through complete surrender (that which is most difficult for men), that we find God’s true and lasting provision and abundance through God’s unchanging promises!👆💪🙏

Comments are closed.