Existing Versus Truly Living
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” - John 10:10
It is possible to believe in God and still live in survival mode. You wake up, get through the day, manage responsibilities, and repeat the cycle again tomorrow. Faith becomes something that helps you cope rather than something that transforms how you live. You are not falling apart, but you are not fully alive either. Many believers quietly settle here, assuming this is as good as it gets.
Jesus never described life with Him as barely making it. He spoke about abundance, not excess, but fullness. Abundant life is not about having more stuff or fewer problems. It is about a life energized by the Spirit of God rather than drained by constant striving. Survival asks, “How do I get through this?” True life asks, “Who am I becoming as I walk with God?”
Existing focuses on managing pain and avoiding failure. Truly living invites growth, joy, and purpose even in the middle of difficulty. When faith is reduced to survival, prayer becomes reactive. You pray when things go wrong. You read Scripture when you feel guilty or desperate. God becomes someone you turn to for help instead of someone you walk with daily.
The Spirit offers more than that. He brings strength where you feel worn down. He brings clarity when life feels foggy. He brings courage to step forward instead of shrinking back. Truly living does not remove hardship, but it changes how you move through it. You stop operating only on your own energy and begin relying on God’s presence within you.
Some believers avoid abundant life because it feels risky. Survival feels safer. Living fully requires trust, surrender, and openness to change. Yet staying small comes at a cost. Over time, faith feels dull. Hope feels distant. Passion fades into routine. God never intended for His Spirit to dwell in you so that you could merely exist.
Ask yourself today whether your faith has become about getting through or growing deeper. God invites you into more than endurance. He invites you into a life shaped by His power, His peace, and His purpose. You were not saved to survive. You were saved to truly live.
It is possible to believe in God and still live in survival mode. You wake up, get through the day, manage responsibilities, and repeat the cycle again tomorrow. Faith becomes something that helps you cope rather than something that transforms how you live. You are not falling apart, but you are not fully alive either. Many believers quietly settle here, assuming this is as good as it gets.
Jesus never described life with Him as barely making it. He spoke about abundance, not excess, but fullness. Abundant life is not about having more stuff or fewer problems. It is about a life energized by the Spirit of God rather than drained by constant striving. Survival asks, “How do I get through this?” True life asks, “Who am I becoming as I walk with God?”
Existing focuses on managing pain and avoiding failure. Truly living invites growth, joy, and purpose even in the middle of difficulty. When faith is reduced to survival, prayer becomes reactive. You pray when things go wrong. You read Scripture when you feel guilty or desperate. God becomes someone you turn to for help instead of someone you walk with daily.
The Spirit offers more than that. He brings strength where you feel worn down. He brings clarity when life feels foggy. He brings courage to step forward instead of shrinking back. Truly living does not remove hardship, but it changes how you move through it. You stop operating only on your own energy and begin relying on God’s presence within you.
Some believers avoid abundant life because it feels risky. Survival feels safer. Living fully requires trust, surrender, and openness to change. Yet staying small comes at a cost. Over time, faith feels dull. Hope feels distant. Passion fades into routine. God never intended for His Spirit to dwell in you so that you could merely exist.
Ask yourself today whether your faith has become about getting through or growing deeper. God invites you into more than endurance. He invites you into a life shaped by His power, His peace, and His purpose. You were not saved to survive. You were saved to truly live.
Free Email Devotional - Sign Up Now
Recent
Archive
2026
January
When Prayer Feels Like Bad ReceptionTeach Us to Pray AgainRelationship Over RequestsPulled Toward HeavenWhen God Says No, Slow, Grow, or GoPray Bigger PrayersPray Without Ceasing in Real LifeWhen Persistence Feels PointlessWhen Darkness Reacts to LightWorship as WarfareChains Fall in His PresenceNot Who I Used to BeWhen God Reveals the BattleNo Fear in the Presence of PowerSet Free to WorshipVictory Is NowWhat You Love, You ShareGod Has a Brag Book, and You’re in ItThe Moment You Missed and the Mercy That RemainsBetter Today Than YesterdayAvailability Over AbilityThe Search for SignificanceWhen God Sets Up the MomentExplain the Hope Within YouThe Gospel Starts Where People AreSalt Has to Leave the ShakerWhat Defines You Determines YouYou’re Richer Than You RealizeThe Quiet Sin No One ConfessesYou Can’t Serve Two MastersThe Token That Stopped Spending
February
A Prophetic EarLearning the Voice You Hear Every DayAdopted, Not ToleratedThe Same Spirit Lives in YouWhy Jesus Chose DependenceExisting Versus Truly LivingWhen God Interrupts Your RoutineConviction Calls You Up, Not OutHe Who Gets the Son Gets It AllLet the Word Get in YouThe Book You Never FinishWhen You Finally Taste What’s BetterGod Is Speaking Every Time You Open the BibleFreedom Comes from Knowing the TruthThe Holy Spirit Works with What You StoreYou Might Be the Only Bible They ReadThe Word You Read Today Might Be for Someone Else TomorrowA Love Letter, Not a Rule BookFaith That Moves Without ProofWhen Desperation Strips Away DignityTrusting God in the SmokeThe Miracle Was Not Just for YouWhen Familiarity Kills ExpectationThe Timing of God Is Never AccidentalA Savior Who Shows Up to Ordinary MomentsWhen the Wine Runs Out
2025
January
Why Me?Ordinary but ChosenYour Past Prepares You for God's FutureWhy Not Me?The Burden of PreparationIt’s Bigger Than YouJust Show UpAnchored in PrayerBreakthrough Was Always God's PlanWaiting on Your BreakthroughTransformative Power of PrayerThe Art of PrayerThe God of BreakthroughKryptoniteLifelineThe Dare of DependenceWho Needs Your Prayers?Soaring in PrayerObedience Through PrayerThe Power of Prayer in Overcoming TemptationIs Your Heart Prepared for God's Mighty Work?The Joy of SimplicityPatient in Affliction, Faithful in PrayerBurning PrayersWhile You Wait...He WorksChoosing His Will with Free WillEquipped for Victory: Overcoming Sin from WithinEverydayThe Great I AMSaying Yes to GodOrdinary People, Extraordinary God
10 Comments
It was only a short couple months ago that I began to glimpse in my spirit what this means. Living Sunday to Sunday was a spiritually broke mentality for me and a cycle it seems Christ is helping me out of. Thank you Jesus!
I read your devotional daily, it's a great help. This one "hit me right between the eyes) Thanksgiving You!
I read these everyday but today hit different. I used to be in the chapel (military bases) 3-4 times a week between worship team, Bible study, women’s events, church and leading a teens group and I miss it.
nBeing back stateside is so much more stressful between being a wife, mom, having a full-time career and dealing with some medical stuff. I still lead a Bible study but I’m not “in the church” like I used to be. I feel the call to ministry but this season just doesn’t allow for it yet. I will try to stay patient in the waiting.
Today's devotional is how I have been feeling for quite a few years, merely existing, not living. No matter how many projects I throw myself into, tasks to fill my day, I just moved through the motions. Since this last fast, I truly understand that the Holy Spirit is with me and has been all along and I realize that I have been filling my life with the wrong things. I am ready to walk with God daily, and to grow deeper in my faith.
amén!!!
My God ! Thank you Pastor Ed Newton. I have allowed fear which comes from the enemy to rob me of blessing’s God has set up to have me live in the Alvin dance you’re speaking of! Oh My God…..empower me to rise above this fear and freely receive what you have for me in Jesus name. Amen. Pastor Ed please pray with me and for me. Thank you~
Thank you
I needed this today. Delays and setbacks in serving God as I have in the past, can be very discouraging. Questions like: Is God telling me to step back, slow down? Should I just retire to a world of travel, pleasure, and enjoying the life that He built in me? Does He still have service to do for me? My efforts to volunteer are being met with silence. Is that God's way of saying No? Just as I'm retired, and wanting to go whole hog for God?
What an interesting distinction! Coping vs. Transforming. Transformation has been a key concept during my fasting this year. The Holy Spirit has helped bring awareness to my brashness, self-centeredness, and superiority complex. These have certainly prevented growth in my relationships. I desire to stay near and in His presence to fully thrive and be transformed through the clarity and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you this devotion is a wake up call. I want to live and not to just exist. What a conviction this is for me. My prayer is for the LORD to me with all my insecurities so I can just live. ??