The Thief

“Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” John 10:9-10 NLT

In John 10, there’s such a contrast between living for Jesus and living for “the thief.” Living for Jesus means “finding good pastures.” It means “a rich and satisfying life.” And the thief does everything in his power to try to rob us from these things and destroy our lives, keeping us from enjoying the things that God intended for us to delight in.

A “rich and satisfying life” doesn’t necessarily mean wealth, but it means having peace and joy regardless of our circumstances, good or bad. It means our needs are always provided for, and we notice every good thing God has given us. Proverbs gives a good example of this,

“Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting—and conflict.” Proverbs 17:1 NLT

The enemy is cunning. He’s not just going to snatch our peace—he offers us counterfeit treasure in material things, and we willingly make an exchange with him. He convinces us we can’t be happy unless we have the “house filled with feasting” described in Proverbs 17. But once we obtain the feast, we realize it doesn’t satisfy, and it leaves us feeling so empty. Often, to obtain the “feast,” we neglect the things in our lives that DO satisfy and bring us joy.

The devil would love for us to think we’re on the right path while he keeps robbing us of joy and peace. He does this by convincing us that believing what Jesus says is enough on its own—that we can believe it’s true and accept Him as Savior while not making him Lord over our lives, still picking and choosing patterns from our old ways and not fully surrendering to His way.

That sounds foolish at face value, but we do it more often than we realize, and not just with our faith! For example: we often believe our doctors are right, and we take the medicine they give us, but we might skip on doing everything they told us to do to heal, or pick and choose from these things—like getting a full night’s sleep, regular exercise, eating balanced meals, and eliminating unnecessary stressors.

We can be getting it right with all of the big things—like staying away from sexual immorality or gossip and hatred, yet still be missing it in some not-so-easy to spot things—like striving too hard with work instead of fully trusting God with our time, or not putting him first in our finances and robbing ourselves of God’s promise to provide.

We become “lukewarm” when we believe in Jesus but don’t apply everything in his word.

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” Revelation 3:15-17 NLT

Lately, if I notice that I’m feeling anxious or overwhelmed, I have taken a moment to stop and pray this simple prayer: “Jesus—you said your burden is light. Living for you doesn’t feel light today, so please show me what I’m doing that isn’t Your way of doing things.” Every time, he shows me somewhere that I’m striving too hard or not letting go of control! The peace that I’ve found in praying this prayer has been unmatched, and I hope if you feel like I have, that this simple prayer would be a blessing to you. May God give us wisdom to spot the ways the thief is trying to rob us so that we can fully enjoy the good pastures he’s placed before us.

“Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3 NLT

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT