Did you know that you were born to thrive, my friend?
When I think of the word “thrive,” the first thing that comes to my mind is my girls.
When my husband, Jamie, and I took them to get their very first check-up, the weirdest thing to me was hearing the office personnel call the girls by their names. I was thinking, “Wow, what are they calling their names for? They don’t know their names yet. They should be calling my name!” That was weird to me! 🙂
I was breastfeeding our first daughter, and the one thing that I did not want to hear from her doctor was that she was NOT thriving. Oh my! Panic set in! I thought to myself, “Oh no! What am I doing wrong? What am I going to do?”
You can just imagine how, as a new mom, the feelings of inadequacy began setting in when I realized my child was not thriving physically.
As any mother or father knows, it is very important that our children thrive in every area of their lives. We want them to thrive in their health, school, and relationships–relationships with us as their parents, with their siblings, with their friends, and especially in their relationship with the Lord.
What does it actually mean to thrive?
To thrive means “to grow vigorously; to flourish, to be successful or to make steady progress; to become larger, greater, or bigger.” I want to encourage you today that you were born to thrive in God!
God has great plans for your life. So what does it take to thrive in God and see all those plans manifest?
1. Make what Jesus did FOR you to be BIGGER in your vision than what anyone has done TO you!
Micah 7:8 says, “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.”
Remember the song that says, “When I think about the Lord, how He saved me, how He raised me, how He filled me with the Holy Ghost, how he healed me to the uttermost ….”
And then the chorus goes onto say:
“It makes me want to shout, hallelujah, thank you Jesus, Lord You’re worthy of all the glory, all of the honor, all of the praise …”
This song reminds us of how amazing our God is, and how our trust and faith should rest in Him–not in man.
I know for a fact that some people will never like you.
They won’t like you because the anointing on you irritates and frustrates the demons and devils that are coming against you through these people. The devil just can’t take it. However, when you think about all the great and the mighty things that Jesus has done for you, it seems so insignificant for you to even give a second thought to the devil’s schemes.
2. Always remember that the Lord’s purpose is better than your plan.
Someone has said, “When God pushes you to the edge, only two things can happen: either He will catch you when you fall, or He will teach you how to fly.” Proverbs 16:9 says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
I believe the Lord is teaching His children how to “fly Above the lies,” as our girls wrote in a song. Our plans sometimes seem as if they are made by everybody else except the Lord. The truth of the matter is: we can make all kinds of plans; but, at the end of the day, “The steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23).
If you are seeking and asking for direction in your life, you are on a trajectory to see God do the great and the mighty in your life. His Word says, “I know the plans I have for you, to give you a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Never forget, they are HIS plans for you, not anybody else’s plans–not even yours.
3. Jesus didn’t come to make us safe or sweet. He came to make us dangerous.
When the Jewish people would go to the temple to pray for their coming Messiah, I’m sure sweet and innocent Mary (the mother of Jesus) was among the ones praying.
Never in a million years would the child Mary have believed that an angel of the Lord would appear to her and tell her she was going to be the mother of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ. I don’t think she ever dreamed that she would be the one that would carry the Messiah. But, I can tell you by experience that His plan is always greater.
John the Baptist came forth proclaiming, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near you.”
John was and is probably one of the most significant figures in the Gospels. He was no crowd-pleaser. He was not an orator. He wasn’t eloquent, and never did he sugar-coat the Word of the Lord. Putting himself in a dangerous situation that ultimately led to his death, John remained loyal to God and to his call to decrease as Jesus increased.
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When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and we are endued with power, we absolutely become dangerous to the enemy’s camp.
The enemy knows what we are capable of. I love the saying that says, “Warfare is proof that your enemy has discerned your future.” When you begin to do damage to the enemy’s camp, there comes a big red target on the back of your head. However, the beautiful, royal red blood that flowed from Calvary’s tree is much more powerful than anything or anyone else–including the devil.
When the Midianites were attacking the people of God, an Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon.
The angel appeared to him and called him something that Gideon didn’t quite agree with: “a mighty man of valor.” Gideon had a hard time accepting this title! Nevertheless, the Angel began to give him strategies on how to defeat his adversaries.
Although Gideon declared himself to be “the least among [his] people,” God called him who he really was: “a mighty man of valor.” God then used Gideon to defeat the Midianites with only a company of 300 men. A great victory was won for the Lord.
I believe God is calling you who you really are today: a thriver.
He’s calling you:
A thriver;
Victorious;
A giant-killer;
Blessed;
A soul-winner;
Prosperous;
Restorer; and
Redeemed.
Whatever the devil has been calling you is a lie, my friend. JESUS calls you to Himself. You know the voice of your Father, and a stranger you will not follow.
You were born to THRIVE!
You were born for THIS MOMENT! You were born for this dispensation of time! Go for it! Pick up your mantle and strike the waters; then walk across on miracle territory!
Is the Lord speaking to you to pick up your mantle of thriving? Leave a comment below!