You know how you can hear the same thing over and over and never really HEAR it? Well, I’ve had this teacher for the past four years and almost ever time I see him he says “Are you surviving?” and, after waiting for whatever sarcastic response the class has that day, he adds “Are you thriving?”. Mind you I’ve probably heard this about 500 times throughout all of high school. But a couple of weeks ago I sat down at the beginning of his class and he started with his usual questions and, for the first time, I truly thought to myself- Am I thriving or am I just surviving?
So what is the difference between thriving and surviving? What does it truly mean to thrive? I have always thought of thriving as living my best life but, although this is a part of it, I have come to see that a thriving life is one that bears fruit. A life that grows outward to reach every soul to the ends of the earth. A thriving life is one that grows upward and ever closer to the heavenly father. And isn’t this the life that we were all called to?
But there are so many of us, living in survival mode. Just trying to make it through the school year, make it through the week, make it through the work day. And look at me waiting around for graduation day. At times it feels like it is all we can do to just grit our teeth and wait for the worst of it to pass. But, this is a type of life that only finds joy in the best of times. We are just barely holding on, we are alive but not truly LIVING. And this is surely not the life that God has intended for you, it is not the life He has intended for me and it is not the life that I want.
But we do not have to live this way, Psalm 122:6 reads, “They shall prosper that love you”. He has given us all we need to thrive. He waters us with His word, plants us in our faith, and shines His love, inspiring us to grow.
Now this is not to say that there won’t be troubles in this world, there will be storms and there will be a lot of them, even this He has promised us. But in John 16:33 He says “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He has promised a better life for us, one where there is no need of a survival mode because He has already overcome the world.
God came not only to set us free from our life of sin but to offer us a full and abundant life with him. We are FREE. We are free to grow outward, to bear fruit, to know our father and make Him known. We are free to THRIVE.
With love,
Alyssa Clark
“Just to know You and
To make You known
We lift Your name on High
Shine like the sun make darkness run and hide
We know we were made for so much more
Than ordinary lives
It’s time for us to more than just survive
We were made to thrive”
-Casting Crowns
