We weren’t made to just survive – we were made to THRIVE.
To SURVIVE is “continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship.”
In contrast, to THRIVE means “to prosper, to grow vigorously, and to flourish.”
You weren’t meant to live shackled by anxiety, worry, and fear - you were meant for so much more.
You weren’t meant to simply survive, you were meant to THRIVE.
The enemy comes to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. (John 10:10 – The Message)
Simply surviving is not enough, God has so much more for us!
When opportunities come your way, you must seize them
Do something to change your life - Be proactive!
Refuse to listen to the negativity of the people around you
When things in life get hard, we must never give up
Trust God to do for you what you cannot do for yourself
If you want to THRIVE spiritually, you have to get to know God better everyday!
Great blessings belong to those who love the LORD’s teachings and think about them day and night. So they grow strong and thrive like a tree planted by a stream—
a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful.
(Psalm 1:1-3 – Easy To Read Version)
The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.
(Psalm 92:12 – Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and thrive, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught.
Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done.
(Colossians 2:6-7 – Living Bible)
If you want to THRIVE spiritually, you have to learn to love God more everyday!
You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. (Luke 10:12 – Living Bible)
Be sure to always love the LORD your God.
(Joshua 23:11 – Contemporary English Version)
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—
and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. (Romans 12:1-2 – The Message)
If you want to THRIVE spiritually, you have to commit to follow God closer everyday!
Exercise daily in God— no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.
You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We’re banking on the living God . . . (1 Timothy 4:7-9 – The Message)
A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a thriving tree.
(Proverbs 11:28 – The Message)
If you want to THRIVE spiritually, you have to determine to serve God faithfully everyday!
Get to know God; serve him with a whole heart and eager mind, for GOD examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek him, he’ll make sure you find him . . .
Look sharp now! GOD has chosen you . . . be brave, determined! And do it!
(1 Chronicles 28:9 – The Message)
Make this your one purpose: to honor God and serve Him faithfully with complete devotion because He has done great things for you. (1 Samuel 12:24 – The Voice)
Don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God . . .
Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ.
(Colossians 3:23 – The Message)
If you want to THRIVE spiritually, you have to choose to trust God completely everyday!
Cursed is the one who trusts in human strength and the abilities of mere mortals. His very heart strays from the Eternal.
He is like a little shrub in the desert that never grows; he will see no good thing come his way. He will live in a desert wasteland, a barren land of salt where no one lives.
But blessed is the one who trusts in Me alone; the Eternal will be his confidence. He will thrive like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots beside the stream.
It does not fear the heat or even drought. Its leaves stay green and its fruit is dependable, no matter what it faces. (Jeremiah 17:5-8 – The Voice)
And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. (Colossians 2:6 – Living Bible)
Those who trust in their riches will fall, but those who trust God will thrive like a green leaf. (Proverbs 11:28 – New International Version)
2015 church verse
Souls who follow their hearts THRIVE; You become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces . . .
God-loyal people always get a good life.
(Proverbs 13:19-21 – The Message)
Let’s Pray