Thriving in 2010

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I had the privilege to sit down to dinner with one of
my very good friends Pastor Deanna Shrodes, her husband Larry and another cherished friend Michele and their’ children . I absolutely cherish any time I can spend with my dear friends! During our dinner we were talking and Pastor Larry asked this question, “Are you thriving or surviving?” That question has not left my heart or mind. I have pondered it over and over and to be honest it’s something that we are praying heavily about.
So today I got up and once again it was on my mind so I thought I would just share a few thoughts with you here on PPN. First off let me share with you the definitions of these two words (according to The Free Dictionary by Farlex) and then my thoughts.

Survive:
1. To remain alive or in existence.
2. To carry on despite hardships or trauma; persevere
3. To remain functional or usable:

Thrive: To make steady progress; prosper, to grow vigorously; flourish

As you read over these definitions you can automatically see the differences in the two! The differences that stand out to me are; to remain functional or usable vs. to make steady progress, to grow vigorously. There is nothing wrong with remaining functional when we are going through tough times! Let’s face it, ministry is often times, tough. Life is tough. But does God want us to just survive the tough times in minstery? NO! I truly believe He wants us to thrive!
Yes we can go through times were it takes everything we have to remain functional when we are dealing with health issues, strife in the church, financial hardships, and a variety of other issues. But are we swimming through to the other side or are we just barely treading water? You see the more you tread water, the more tired you become and instead of getting to the other side it becomes a fight to keep your head up out of the water! Eventually the survival mode can become so wearisome that you stop surviving and die. God doesn’t want that for you or for me. He truly does want us to thrive! “To grow vigorously and flourish.” Is that always easy? No, but it is very possible. I believe it’s a mind set. Your circumstances might not change but your attitude towards it can.
I don’t know about you but I do not want to live in constant survival mode in any area of my life. I want to thrive! I think there are three distinct steps that we can all put in motion to help us thrive in 2010.
1. Praise – Give God the praise He is due, for Who He is – The King of Kings and Lord of Lords! But also remember to give Him praise of thanksgiving for even the smallest blessings! I find people always forget to give praise for the small things, the things other over look!

2. Prayer – Decide to spend more time in prayer and I am not talking about in your car on the way to church or the store or work. But truly set time aside to pray specifically for the areas in your life and in your ministry you want to see thrive this coming new year!

3. Fasting –Yes!!! Fasting! It’s important! You see when you fast it’s not just about what you do physically whether fasting food or technology. Fasting is about what happens spiritually! Oh yes, fasting does affect us physically specially if you fast meals. But spiritually it opens up the flood gates of heaven. Yes I truly believe that when you fast God does open up the gates of heaven. I believe when you are fasting for the right reasons AND praying, during that time as you draw near to God He does pour into you and the situation, His power.

God wants us to thrive in every area of our life. Thriving is the steps toward the next landing place. As you thrive where you are and see His hand at work the next landing place will be even better. Remember ministry is an adventure even when it’s tough.
I mentioned above that I believe God pours His power into our lives and situations we are praying and fasting about. I have been pondering this scripture this week as well…

"I defeated my enemies because God broke through them like a mighty flood." So he named the place "The Lord Broke Through." 1 Chron. 14:11 (CEV)

In other words...when God of the breakthrough sends in His flood of power it’s not a trickle but that of a massive ocean!!
I am praying that we all will see the breakthroughs we all need this coming year so that we can THRIVE and FLOURISH where we are even in the midst of a storm or change!