What does it mean to live life to the fullest?
Here are two passages from the Bible which speak to this topic:
In John 10:10, Jesus Christ said,
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Recently, I’ve been impressed with the prayer of Jabez,
10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.
Greatness, in the Bible, does not always mean power, prestige, or wealth. (For more on this topic, you will enjoy Bill Hybel’s book, Descending Into Greatness
But if you prepare for greatness as spelled out by God in Scripture, you will live life to the fullest, and you will live with no regrets!
I have been reading, praying, and reflecting on this subject lately. Then I came across another great post by Bridget Haymond (Bridget Haymond, Truth For Life Coaching. Identifying and igniting your gifts and strengths for a life of passion and purpose www.TruthForLifeCoaching.com)
She has given me permission to share her article on this very subject.
Self Development: Preparing For Greatness In Your Life
The idea of great things begins with being open to increase in your life. It isn’t about fame and fortune, although some of that might be involved.
True greatness is about a life that is well lived. It’s about being faithful in the small things so that more and greater things can be entrusted to you. Greatness is for ordinary people who are willing to become extraordinary.
As you awaken your expectations to something greater for your life remember to be open and alert to the following:
Self Development Result: Greater Purpose
This can happen when God given inspiration enlarges your vision and heart for the greater things of His purpose to be accomplished in and through you. I had an idea the other day and as I thought more about it I began to wonder if I could actually do what I was thinking about. It challenged me and then I realized greater purpose does that to you. In order to do great things you have to be willing to grow and be made uncomfortable.
Self Development Result: Greater Potential
Your potential can be greatly maximized as you avail yourself to the new and often unexpected doors that open to you by way of divine encounters. This requires your willingness to move in a new direction and a greater awareness to those situations as they appear. While they may look very different from what you had anticipated, it is often those unexpected opportunities that can be the launching point for great development of your full potential.
Self Development Result: Greater Possibilities
You have the assurance that God is working on your behalf to broaden the scope and impact of your life and influence. Sometimes fear of failure or even fear of success can hinder us from seeing greater possibilities. However, when your success comes from God it will be stable, peaceful and purposeful. He will not give you more than what you can handle, and as you are mindful that He is the one who establishes greatness within you, there is nothing to fear. Be bold and embrace the big ideas God has put in your heart. If He brings it to you, He’ll accomplish it through you.
Spiritual Perspective
The Message Bible* says it like this in Psalm 37:34
“Wait passionately for God, don’t leave the path. He’ll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it.”
Time and again the Bible makes it clear that God is the one who orchestrates the outworking of the gifts and callings of His people. Our role is to keep focused on Him and be actively anticipating, preparing and expecting something of His greater purpose and potential to be accomplished in and through us
Are you available, like Mary was, for something of God’s greater purpose to be manifested through your life? Have you said yes to greater purpose, potential and possibilities for your life? Do you actively anticipate, prepare and expect something more to be accomplished in and through you?
photo credit: Eustaquio Santimano on Flickr
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Definitely…live your life to its fullest. It makes things interesting. I find that a lot of people let life pass and just stay stagnant, never doing things they could and making excuses and complaining about what they should have or could have or would have done.
Most people forget that they are the ones that control their own life… not money or anything else. I have known people that without money, have hitched across the US on a train (yep, stowaway) and did something with their life after getting tired of regretting that they had not done yet.
The saying that life is too short is true… it is too short to keep regretting what you could really be doing.
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Wow, Nile, is that not a sad place to be: letting life pass, staying stagnant, complaining, and making excuses? It’s so much more exciting when we take personal responsibility to live our best lives.
Most of us spend a life time searching for the latest trend, the newest concept, the best way to make money, be more successful, be the best that we can be. If only we spent a little time looking through our bible, the most widely read and yet misunderstood book of all we would begin to understand that life is precious and we have it within our reach to have our own prayers granted, if only we knew what to ask.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Talk about inspiration!
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Stevie, you said it so well that I have nothing to add. Except that I need to up my time spent in Scripture and in prayer 🙂
Hi Stephen,
I am new here to your blog. Discovered your wonderful presence from Steven Aitchison’s site. You and I have been nominated by him as one of his top 50 personal development bloggers for 2011. What an honor! I really did not expect it. One of the best thing from this was finding out about you. So here I am to be inspired by you toward GREATNESS.
The messages from this post are fantastic. God meant for us to live great lives. We are the ones that are holding ourselves back. When we experience his presence and inspiration, we are often confronted by our own fears and doubts. All He is asking is to take the next step. The rest will be unveiled to us as we move. There is really no simpler formula to greatness.
I read from the bible that greatness sounds something like that. Jesus said, “The path to greatness is to find a way to serve the many.’ Service to many leads to greatness. I believe that God has a plan for all of us to journey this path. That is why we have our unique talents. The question is whether we use what we have been given to walk this road to greatness.
Thank Stephen for your great post. So nice to meet you.
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Jimmy, I’m honored to meet you. Having read a lot of Tony Robbins’ material, I’m excited to see that you write a lot about NLP. I look forward to learning more about you and your blog 🙂
Stephen,
well presented wisdom. This subject is one the is the foundation of my lifestyle. Each day I wakep-up to a glorious day. I praise God for every breath that I take and every moment I am awake. I ask God to have his way with me.
I know I am blessed and highly favored. My faith is unyielding and focused on being a servant to others. Bringing betterment in others lives. Empowering those who are hungry for more and willing to accept the path that God has placed for them.
Living as though my understanding that I am blessed. I am incouraged by the love surrounding me by God’s blessings. I do not pray for myself for everything I need is given to me. I pray daily for others who come upon my heart. Giving myself is what God has asked me to do for others. Serving without expecting anything in return. Knowing that all I visualize will come to be. Based on God’s word is flawless. He said “Ask and you will recieve when done in Jesus name. Then you must live as though it is. Having faith, believing in what is not seen and accepting it as being manifest now.
Stephen, a lifestyle of service is all that is required. Your passion jumps out within the words you have chosen to present such wisdom. Your truly planting good seed. I receive all of it.
I know your one of our great mentors with vision that is limitless and based on a good foundation of faith. Your actions show character and you share from your heart. I thank you for sharing this presentation with your readers and I.
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William, I’m blessed to know you and your passion for service and others. Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. I hope you have a blessed Christmas and extraordinary New Year!
Inspirational article Steve. I’m not religious, but I don’t think you need to be to ascribe to the message you’ve shared here about living life to the fullest. And the wonder of it all is we make the choices each and every date that either will or won’t make that happen.
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Hello, Marquita. Thanks for acknowledging your viewpoint (non-religious). I know that you are not necessarily religious, but I have sensed a good dose of spirituality in your writings (does that make sense? I mean it in the best way possible). Yes, our choices each and every day, in our thoughts, heart attitudes, and behaviors either lead us toward or away from greatness.
Stephen, This is what stood out to me “Are you available, like Mary was, for something of God’s greater purpose to be manifested through your life? Have you said yes to greater purpose, potential and possibilities for your life? Do you actively anticipate, prepare and expect something more to be accomplished in and through you?” I have read “The Mary Miracle” a couple times, usually around this time of year and that is the message I get from the book and your article. It is the paying attention with our eyes wide open, so we can actually see a greater purpose in what we do each day.
Awesome post. I thank you!
Have a blessed Christmas,
Lynn
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Lynn, I’m glad that you enjoyed the message of this post. The Mary Miracle sounds like a great read: I’ll have to look it up! Thank you for your feedback.
Hi Stephen:
John 10:10 is one of my favourite verses in the Bible! So often we end up living life going through the motions. I want my life to count for something. I want my life to make a difference. I love those 3 points!
Kevin
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Kevin, knowing who you are, your spiritual type, and your commitment to God and others, it’s no surprise you loved this post 🙂 Thanks for doing your part to make a difference both now and for eternity!
I really enjoyed this post and I appreciate how you use scripture to explain greatness. I truly love it! Awesome job and you touched on some key points that just mean so much. Thank you & May God Richly Bless You!
Justin, thanks so much for stopping by. Remember, I just posted this article. The person you can thank is Bridget Haymond at Truth For Life Coaching: http://www.TruthForLifeCoaching.com 🙂
Hi Stephen,
Great article!
I like the sentence “Greatness is for ordinary people who are willing to become extraordinary”. We all have the power to become extraordinary. God helps us to be extraordinary and every day He opens the doors for us for greater possibilities .
Edyta, you said it best. We ordinary people become extraordinary as we become willing to listen to and obey our Creator 🙂
Enjoy every minute of live!! Live it as full as possible – I am going to start my New year with this motto!!
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Hi Stephen!
I look at it this way: What is the alternative? To live life to something less than very full? To live life half empty? I don;t think God would ever recommend we live that way.
Thanks for the challenge to lift our vision and live more of our lives the way they were meant to be lived! I love the way God was integrated into the article so wonderfully, since He is, after all, part of the program! 🙂
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Ken, thanks for the kind comments. Bridget Haymond, from Truth for Life Coaching, really integrates God’s Truth into her writings. I agree with you so much: He is The Program, and we get to be part of it 🙂
Oh Steve, you have NO idea what a timely post this is for me!
This quote really resonated with me:
“In order to do great things you have to be willing to grow and be made uncomfortable.”
I can attest to you that God has shared with me his “purpose” for me, and if you hop over to my blog I’m going to share the story- (hopefully it’ll be up by tomorrow). Suffice it to say, it makes me quite “uncomfortable” but as someone once wrote: “LEAP and the net will appear”. 2012 will be full of “leaping” and I’ll have this post printed out as a reminder to continue to prepare for Greatness.
By the way- I LOVE the Prayer of Jabez- read the book in college and prayed the prayer religiously and miraculous situations presented themselves to me, where I was able to open people’s eyes to finally see the truth about God. : )
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Natasha, thank you for your comments. I watched your welcome/about me video and was inspired by your example. I can only imagine what 2012 may have in store with you, given the success you’ve already had to date! I love your writing and your example!
Hi Steve
Thx for a great post, God want goodness for every one of us but
most of the time it is us that close the door to Obtain it from Him
with our way of thinking and so many people don’t understand that
part.
If you apply the law of sowing and reaping goodness will cam your way
no matter it you do belief in god or not, but you can close that door with negative
thoughts also.
Regards
Theuns
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