“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10, NKJV).

Jesus lived and died so that we can experience abundant life. How often do we pass over those words without stopping to grasp the amazing truth they hold. Jesus did not come so that we can merely survive life. Pagans can survive life. God’s plan is for us to thrive in the midst of the days, months, and years we call life. A continual feast of joy – with every breath we take.

“O you of little faith” is our English way of rendering just one Greek word, which Jesus may in fact have coined — a mash-up of the words for little and faith. “O you of little faith” are the small-trusts, the meager-confidences, the weak-believes. I often find myself among them.

You can recognize them, first, by their anxious care (Matthew 6:25–33). Though they walk in a world where birds feast and flowers dress like kings, they find themselves easily troubled by their own needs. Does God see them?

As my counselor welcomed me and sought to understand my depression, I felt the worn, oversized seat beneath me. I rested my arm on its soft leather and thought of two metaphorical chairs.

One chair was comfort and safety. The other was vulnerability and faith. There’s always a story behind how depression creeps into someone’s life, and I was about to share mine.

We all go through things that are unfair–people do us wrong, the company let us go, we came down with an illness. It’s easy to live with a victim mentality, thinking we’re at a disadvantage, we were shortchanged, we can’t do anything great. We can’t love again, because the last person hurt us. We can’t live happy, because we’ve lost too much. As long as you accept that you’re a victim, you’re going to get stuck. Don’t use what you’ve been through as an excuse to feel sorry for yourself, to limit you, to not pursue your dreams.

As a Bible teacher in our church, pastor’s wife, and speaker, I come across women on a regular basis who struggle with feelings of inferiority and worthlessness. In spite of the fact that many authors and teachers address the issue, from my perspective, the struggle seems to be more prevalent now than ever before.

I can think of several reasons for this—including that we live in a culture where human life is not valued as sacred. The threat of being “cancelled” on social media, along with news headlines about sexual abuse even within “Christian” settings only makes the situation worse. Many people, not just women, are subjected to all kinds of maltreatment and even exploitation.

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. (James 1:19)

I don’t suppose I need to convince you that the apostle is right when he says we should be “quick to hear.” You know that listening is good. Both your personal experience and our Lord’s call to “love your neighbor as yourself” make the value of listening clear. Indeed, how will we ever speak words of Christ-centered hope and wisdom if we have not first listened attentively so that we might know what will be profitable to share?

But if it’s so obvious that listening is good, why is listening so hard?

Kelly Kruse wilted in her studio, tearful blue eyes sinking toward the floor.

She’d had a rough night amidst a rough year. The year walked her through a bout of deep depression and the night, a nightmare.

The former opera singer found solace in one of her favorite musical compositions – Brahm’s A German Requiem. Its lyrics consist completely of Scripture, beginning with “Blessed are the suffering.”

A chorus of voices booms…

Did you know that the most important relationship you have is the relationship with yourself? Too many people don’t like who they are. They focus on their faults and weaknesses. They relive their mistakes and failures. They wish they were taller, had a better personality, and looked like their cousin instead of accepting themselves as a masterpiece, made in the image of God. Then they wonder why they’re not happy, and why they don’t have good relationships. It’s because they don’t like themselves. If you don’t get along with you, you’re not going to get along with other people.

It can start as that small feeling inside, leading you toward a path you never thought to travel. Maybe it’s the small voice that whispers in your mind to think toward a different perspective than the one you have now. Or, it could be hearing a clear message from God that you think isn’t possible, only to hear it confirmed over and over by others who had no knowledge of this message beforehand. When we are at a crossroads in life, or just feel a stirring in our hearts for more than our present circumstances, this is usually when God might be telling us something we need to hear or do.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

Why might God, with every conceivable possibility available to him, decide to create and nurture new life through parents? Why would he bring us into the world through a father and a mother?