“AMAZING!”

“A REMARKABLE MOVIE!”

“FIVE STARS!”

Have you ever watched a movie or streamed a show and thought to yourself, “I’m not sure what everyone is raving about. It was alright but definitely overrated?”   

This happens to me a lot. Maybe I’ve grown harder to please as I’ve gotten older, but I find most entertainment average at best.

It’s one thing to think that the latest show on Netflix is overrated, but have you ever felt like following Jesus is overrated?

I have, especially early in my faith journey.  

As a young follower of Jesus, I had trouble reconciling Jesus’ promise of full, abundant life with my daily experiences in a fallen world:  stress, family dysfunction, health struggles, financial pressure, relational heartaches, etc., etc.   

For most of us, the hard realities we face day in and day out can leave us discombobulated. Scratching our heads, we wonder, “Where’s this so-called abundant life that Jesus promised?”  

We might never say it out loud, yet the question lingers in the back of our minds and threatens to slowly drive a wedge between us and the Lord. 

 I think there is often a fundamental misunderstanding of what Jesus means by “abundant life.”

Abundance does not mean the absence of adversity. 

On one hand, we know that Jesus has not promised us endless success, prosperity, or material blessings. Neither did He say that life on earth would be a problem-free stroll down Easy Street. In fact, just the opposite. (See John 16:33)

But when trials rattle our personal little worlds, we are often “surprised by this fiery ordeal that has come upon us” (1 Peter 4:12) and wrongly conclude that Jesus has over-promised and under-delivered. 

Satan’s ultimate goal is to get us to walk away from Jesus altogether. And if he can’t knock us off course by our struggles with sin, he may use adversity to make us doubt Jesus’ promise.

So, be careful not to believe his whispered lies, my friend. Unlike Jesus, the enemy won’t lead you to life, but to destruction. He is a thief that is trying to “kill and destroy,” while Jesus laid down His life so that we can experience life with Him (John 10:11).    

The abundant life is found, not in the absence of adversity but in the presence of Jesus, both now and forevermore. (See John 17:3)

Because of Jesus, we can have an intimate relationship with God and experience the reality of His indwelling presence that sustains us through the darkest trials of life. 

So, don’t walk away from Him.

Stay the course.

Keep following Jesus.

Though adversity might be unavoidable in the here and now, a day is coming when our struggles will be gone forever. 

Someone once offered me some wise advice: “Don’t get frustrated with Jesus for failing to do in the present what He’s promised to do in the future.” 

Rest assured, one day, Jesus will take us to a place where “there will be no more death, mourning, or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4).

And while we haven’t seen this place with our eyes, I imagine that when we do, we won’t think it’s overrated.

Written by Jonathan Munson, Executive Director, RFTH