The Lord Jesus told those He was talking to that day, in John 10:10,The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Well, we’ve all experienced the thief, haven’t we?  And it doesn’t matter who you are, if you’re here, the thief tries to steal from you.  Whether you’re a nobody, or a rich and famous person, when it comes to the devil, we are all on equal ground, for he is an equal-opportunity thief.

It’s only natural to get mad when someone steals something from you.  Some take out their anger by destroying or hitting something, and more than once I’ve seen where someone in a fit of anger has punched their fist through a door or a wall.  But what good does that do?  Because when it’s all said and done, you’ve not only suffered the original loss, but now you have something else to fix because you threw a hissy fit.  There is a better way to get even with the thief.  Hit him with the Word of God.  Yes, you heard that right, hit him with the Word.

You see, the Lord Jesus not only warned us about the thief, but told us that He had come that we might have life AND that we might have it MORE ABUNDANTLY!  Is it still “life more abundantly” when the thief has been to our place and stolen from us?  Well, it is if God is heaping so many blessings upon you that you don’t even miss what the thief has taken.  But that doesn’t mean to just let the thief get away with it, no, because the Word says in Proverbs 6:30-31,

Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

There is a difference between someone who steals when they are desperate for food, and someone who steals because they just love to steal.  But even the one who steals from hunger must restore sevenfold when they are found, even if it bankrupts him.  How much more so the devil, who steals, kills, and destroys because it delights him so much to do so?  Well, Jesus identified the thief for us, but it’s up to us to press charges against him so God can make him do restitution to us.

There was a time the LORD told me to make a list of everything stolen from me that I could remember, all the way back as far as I could remember, so I did.  Actually, the list amazed me, as over the years I had not realized how active the thief had been in my life.  As the list grew longer and longer, I saw the devil owed me big time, and I wasn’t going to let him off the hook, and neither was the LORD.  And it wasn’t just the stuff he stole from me, but the stuff I surrendered to the thief because of deception.  What do I mean by that?  Well, suppose someone scams you into giving up your savings to invest it with someone who lied to you, and you never got it back.  They talked you into willingly giving up that which was rightfully yours.  That is covered on the list of things stolen from you.  Did the devil steal your kids due to drugs? Did you lose a job because someone lied about you?  Put it on the list! Make the devil pay!

Make your list today, and be thorough, and read it off to the LORD, and tell Him you’d like Him to make the devil return your goods, and thank Him for being your advocate.  Just because you’re gracious and love the LORD, and you’re quick to forgive people who hurt you, the Word doesn’t tell you to forgive the DEVIL!  Even God himself is not going to forgive the devil, so press your charges against him, and petition the High Court Judge to make him pay you what he owes you.  And praise the LORD, for He will defend you mightily!  Don’t let anyone tell you that you must forgive the devil, for God will not require of you what He himself will not do.  BUT, you ARE required to forgive PEOPLE who have done you wrong.

While you’re waiting for your restitution, don’t neglect to forgive those who have hurt you in any way, because it isn’t really them that have hurt you, but the devil working through them into being his pawns.  Pray for them, that God would give them mercy, and deliver them from the evil one, and restore what the devil has stolen from them too, while you’re at it, because the devil owes THEM as well as you.  Hit the devil with the Word where it hurts.  After all, he has had no mercy on you, has he?  So don’t extend any mercy to him, either.

I think it is so neat that the Lord Jesus revealed that bit of information to us in John 10:10, so we could put it to use even today.  Yes, life more abundantly DOES belong to us because the Lord Jesus is freely offering it to us, and we don’t have to let the devil steal it from us, either.  The thief has been caught, he’s in the lineup, and Jesus identified him clearly.  God has successfully prosecuted and convicted him, and judged in our favor.  Life more abundantly is our award, with interest for our trouble, not just in THIS life, but in eternity to come.  Praise God!  For He is good, and His mercy endures forever!  He will make Satan pay up.