Thrive

"They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do."
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."


Life is tough, or it can seem that we.  Every day it seems we face an uphill climb, pushing a boulder that wants to rollover us and crush us.  We get up, get dressed, and count down the days until the weekend, a day off, vacation, school break, school starting back, etc.  We go through the motions just try to survive.  I know that life was not meant to be lived this way, but it is so easy to follow this path.
God wants so muc more for us and through us.  Christ came to give us life.  Not just life but abundant life.  LIfe to its fullest  Life with purpose and desire.  Life that radiates and affects everyone near us.  In Genesis we are told of Jacob’s favorite son Joseph.  Hated by brothers, cast into a well, sold to slave traders, and sold into Egypt.  In Genesis 37 and 39, in the midst of his slavery, God showed through Joseph.  In the middle of his false imprisonment and slavery, God showed through Joseph.
Life is not meant to be lived as a struggle that we survive.  We are like the tree planted by the stream of water.  We are children of the King who came for us to have a full life.  That doesn’t seem humdrum.  The life we are given to live is a life of thriving not surviving.  God has so much more for us then surviving today while we look for tomorrow.  We are made to thrive.  We are given the Spirit for a life that thrives.  And this thriving life isn’t meant for just us.  This life reaches beyond us.
  1. What are you looking to today?
  2. Do you look forward to today?
  3. Are you thriving?

--Zine Smith

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