Don’t Just Survive… THRIVE!
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10
When I read the above verse I wonder sometimes how I can do more than just survive. Jesus tells me that He not only came to give me life, but that I can have life more abundantly. How can we have abundant life when there is so much pain and suffering all around? Our prayer lists are longer than our praise list, so how can we live abundantly when so many of us are barely surviving?
I love gardening. I have not been able to garden in a long time due to my chronic illness, but I just love gardens. The love of flowers and vegetation is not enough to make a garden grow and flourish.
Before you begin to garden you have to make a long term commitment that you will daily work your garden so it will grow and thrive. It takes hard work and diligence to keep a garden growing…thriving. You have to till the ground; have just the right mixture of nutrients in the soil; proper amounts of water; pruning; weeding; fertilizer; just the right amount of sunlight and shade. I can remember years ago I would come home from a long day at work and unwind as I took joy at working in my garden. Even while I was digging, pruning, and weeding, I knew that my hard labor would not go in vain, because I knew what the outcome of my labors would be; a beautiful garden for my family to enjoy.
The same is true in our daily lives. We can have life, and have it more abundantly; but it does not mean there will not be suffering, trials, and sorrow along the way. Jesus himself said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Abundant living is how we react to the life or challenges that are given to us right now. The Apostle Peter writes, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But REJOICE, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with EXCEEDING JOY” (1 Peter 4:12-13).
We have one of three options in living our lives:
1) We can give up and wait to die.
2) We can do whatever it takes to just exist or survive in this life.
3) We can choose to live life abundantly – THRIVE!
There is a vast difference between surviving and thriving.
Survive: to remain alive or in existence, to continue to function.
Thrive: to grow vigorously, flourish.
When I ponder the above choices, I choose to THRIVE! I had spent many years believing that surviving was sufficient. Through much prayer and God’s Word, He has revealed to me that I can THRIVE even while going through my pain and trials.
The next several weeks on my blog, Beelieve You Can!; we will examine how we can THRIVE in today’s unsettling world.
I put together an acronym for the word, THRIVE:
Each week we will take a word from the above acronym and examine how it will help us to live abundantly….THRIVE.
No matter the circumstance, we can live rich, radiant, full, joyful, abundant lives. We must be willing to leave the old way of life/thinking behind and go to the source – Jesus Christ and begin to THRIVE! My prayer for you today is that you too will choose to THRIVE!
Beelieve You Can! Michele’s Morsels
Woo Hoo, this is a fantastic post my friend, love you.
Amen to that, Michele. Yes, I have been there – surviving I mean…Take one day at a time…But I want to thrive, even through the hard days. With His help I can make the best of it and thrive so I may be able to encourage others. I really like you acronym for ‘Thrive’ 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us.
Michele, Wow! What an encouraging word today. I want to THRIVE not just SURVIVE. Thanks for sharing your heart with us this morning. -Laurie
This needs to be published in a book. It is *that* good! Michele, I have learned despite my illnesses to live abundantly, too. It truly is an attitude of the heart and how we react, or thrive. Merely surviving is not enough. No matter how weak our bodies are, our spirits are strong in Christ. Praise the Lord for that. And I love your acrostic!
Hello! I found your blog through Rest Home Ministries. This is a fantastic post!!! You breathe life into the meaning of “thriving.” Thank you. As someone who is prone to surviving, I am refreshed and encouraged to THRIVE!
Cyndi Warren
http://warrenfamilylife.blogspot.com/
Great post Mom, I loved the acrostic!!!
EXCELLENT post, my lil sister! What encouragement is found between the lines of this post. Praise God for the words He gave you!
What a great post. Just what I needed today. Please stop by and visit me when you have time…I love all my new blogging friends.
Oh Michele, I’m so glad I came by to read your post. I so agree about thriving and surviving. I also think that we survive when we depend on our “self”. I think we thrive and can live the abundant life when we surrender our flesh and allow His Spirit to live in and through us. It’s a moment by moment choice this side of eternity.
Thank you for such a thoughtful post.
Michele, You did a great job on this post! So many times we’re just going through life, not really thriving. Thank you for this!
Bethany
Thank you for posting! I have been pondering how the word “thrive” applies to me for last few weeks…and have wanted to post about it on my own blog. Today I decided to do so, and googled “thrive” and found YOUR blog. Wonderful! Thank you!