The Eleven Essential Attitude Choices for Abundant Living

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
–John 10:10

Attitudes are our mental or emotional responses to the circumstances of life. When difficult things come into our lives, we can either cooperate with God and use them to make us more like Christ, or we can allow our circumstances to destroy us. We usually don’t get to choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we respond to those circumstances. And if you can change your attitudes, you can change your life.

As I have looked at the Bible as well as my own pastoral experience, I have seen that there are eleven critical attitude choices we have to make in life to experience that abundant life Jesus promised in John 10:10 when He said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” These eleven attitude choices are essential for us to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ:

• I will choose purpose over aimlessness in life.
• I will choose perseverance over defeat.
• I will choose faith over worry.
• I will choose repentance over guilt.
• I will choose relaxation over stress.
• I will choose contentment over comparison.
• I will choose forgiveness over bitterness.
• I will choose productivity over slothfulness.
• I will choose humility over pride.
• I will choose companionship over loneliness.
• I will choose intimacy with God over isolation.

There are a lot of Christians who are skeptical of anything that even smells like positive thinking. They think positive thinking is anti-biblical. They say, “We are just sinners and we can’t choose to do anything. It is all God who does it for us.” Well, the Bible says apart from Christ, we are sinners. We are incapable of doing anything good. But here is the good news. If you are a Christian, you’re not apart from Christ. Christ is in you. You have the Holy Spirit’s power–God in us, working in us. As Paul said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The Holy Spirit of God is working in our lives right now. The Holy Spirit is in us, and together we can do great things and accomplish God’s will.

If we are going to experience the abundant life God has planned for us–if we are going to become like Jesus Christ–we have to choose those attitudes that reflect Christ and that can change the life we are experiencing right now.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Attitude Is Everything” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2019.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.