Made to Thrive

When I first started my blog I titled it "Made to Thrive". It comes from Casting Crown's song "Thrive". I had kind of made it my "motto" the last few months so I wanted to incorporate it in my blog somehow.

"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." This part of the song really stuck out to me and made me really fall in love with the idea to live by it. It's so easy to get comfortable in our everyday lives and to be content with just going through the motions. We can sit back and not stand out because standing out could risk losing friends and being ridiculed. But God didn't create us for that. He calls us to be a light in the darkness. To be a light, we can't be ordinary.

I attended a Casting Crowns concert last summer at Magic Springs and the lead singer spoke of the story behind "Thrive". The song talks bout a tree planted by the water. When you think of a tree thriving, you think of big huge branches, that reach way up and way out, but for it to be stable it needs a firm foundation. That requires a strong root system that reaches deep into the ground with very big roots to hold the support. When you think of a thriving Christian, you think of someone that is bold witness, that reaches out to all people. The same is required for the Christian. He or she needs a firm foundation. That foundation is Jesus Christ, and comes from digging deep into His word and into prayer.

So how exactly do we become this "thriving" Christian? Our evangelist answered that with three short verses last night. Psalms 1:1-3.

Verse 1
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."
This verse tells us what NOT to do. While it's good to try and reach out to those around us that don't know Christ, it shouldn't be the people that influence us the most. It is SO very important to have Christian friends that build our faith up and encourage our relationship with God. It's not wrong to have lost friends, but it's important that our Christian friends are our closest.
We need to rid ourselves of the sins, people, and relationships that are toxic to our relationship with Christ. If it's not bettering us then it is NO good. If we want to be someone who thrives, we can't have things hindering us from being close to God.

Verse 2
"But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."
This verse is telling us what to do. The law of the Lord is His word. It says to meditate on it day and night. That doesn't mean reading a Bible Verse once a day and thinking a split second about and then going on about with the rest of our day. Meditate is to think over. Really dig into God's word. There's always something new to be learned. And then pray. Pray over our readings, and that God would give us wisdom to understand His word and find ways to apply it to everyday life.  

Verse 3
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
Verse 3 tells us what to expect. We will prosper and produce fruits. We will THRIVE. This doesn't mean life will be perfect and easy. Life may even be hard and full of trials, but God's rewards are eternal. Whether or not we're rewarded for our works on earth, God has promised eternal rewards which are much more precious than temporary rewards on this earth.

God doesn't call us to be ordinary. We were called to be different. Instead of just getting by from day to day, we should be overflowing with God's love. He died for us so we should strive to LIVE for Him.

 Check out Thrive and Casting Crowns full story behind it here!