Abundant life comes through suffering...
[Romans 5:1-5 NIV] 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
... but few people are willing to accept or embrace suffering as a gift from God. However, look at the Biblical evidence:
Joseph was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, punished for refusing to yield to an evil seductress, abandoned and forgotten in prison ... was Joseph’s life “abundant”?
Moses was abandoned as a child, fled Egypt as a murderer, worked in the harsh desert as a shepherd, returned to Egypt as a reluctant Prophet, led a stiff-necked people nowhere in the wilderness for 40 years, and was denied entry into the promised land ... was Moses’ life “abundant”?
I could go on ... Job ... David ... the Prophets ... Paul ...
The road to “abundant” life passes through the valley of hardship.
We are not a culture that is generally willing to pay the price of admission.
We are a culture that wants everyone to close their eyes when we raise our hand so we do not need to risk being embarrassed.
I remember once hearing a quote that said something close to “You will never know that God is all that you need, until God is all that you have”. That is the “welcome” sign on the road to abundant life.
