We all went around the table, sharing with the others what we hoped, expected, planned and wanted for the year ahead. It was a safe place. We had garnered each others trust over years of doing life and serving alongside at Church together. Praying together over the new year was a great way to finish off our first gathering of the year.
A husband spoke, about his increased work-load and how it will affect his family and himself. Added work means more responsibility, equals higher stress levels and more time away from his wife and family. We all agreed to pray an extra special dose of God’s covering over their year and then we continued to move around the table.
Then, it was the wife’s turn. With tears in her eyes, she took a deep breathe and simply stated “I just want to survive this year!”
Everything within me wanted to run over and hold her in the tightest, warmest hug possible, to assure her that everything will be okay. But then I heard a whisper in the back of my mind, my subconscious, my knowing, or maybe it was God. It said, “Dear daughter, I want so much more for you than that. I want you to THRIVE, not just survive!”
I couldn’t help myself, I had to share this with her immediately. I didn’t know whose turn it was around the table, didn’t know who was talking, but I just blurted out “No, you want to thrive, not just survive. Let’s pray for that instead.” And so, with resounding agreement around the table, that’s what we proceeded to do.
SURVIVE/səˈvʌɪv/
verb verb: survive; 3rd person present: survives; past tense: survived; past participle: survived; gerund or present participle: surviving
: continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship – “against all odds the child survived”
Similar: remain alive, live, sustain oneself, cling to life, pull through, get through, hold on, hold out, make it, keep body and soul together, continue, remain, last, persist, endure, live on, persevere, abide, go on, keep on, carry on, stay around, linger, be extant, exist, be
: continue to live or exist in spite of (an accident or ordeal) – “he has survived several assassination attempts”
: remain alive after the death of (a particular person) – “he was survived by his wife and six children”
Similar: outlive, outlast, live (on) after, live longer than, remain alive after
: manage to keep going in difficult circumstances – “she had to work day and night and survive on two hours’ sleep”
THRIVE/θrʌɪv/
verbverb: thrive; 3rd person present: thrives; past tense: thrived; past tense: throve; gerund or present participle: thriving; past participle: thriven
: (of a child, animal, or plant) grow or develop well or vigorously – “the new baby thrived”
: prosper; flourish – “education groups thrive on organization”
Similar: flourish, prosper, grow vigorously, develop well, burgeon, bloom, blossom, do well, advance, make strides, succeed, shoot up, boom, profit, expand, go well, grow rich, flourishing, prosperous, prospering, growing, developing, burgeoning, blooming, healthy, successful, advancing, progressing, luxuriant, lush, prolific, booming, profitable, expanding, fast-growing, going strong
You see? ‘Survive’ means to continue to live or exist – just barely making it through, whereas ‘Thrive’ means to flourish and grow – to stride and strut through with flying colours. It’s just a few letters different but it means a whole other thing.
The Bible talks about the righteous thriving too (and that fools fall and evil fails), so that tells me that it’s a good thing to aim to thrive. Here are a few examples:
When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.
Proverbs 29:2 (NIV)
Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
Proverbs 11:28 (NIV)
…and one more:
How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.
Zechariah 9:17 (NIV)
In the midst of all that is going on in the world at the moment, my prayer for you is that you don’t see this time of isolation as separation and hibernation – a time which you will barely survive through. I pray that you see it as a time where you can THRIVE.
In all things we have choices, so in this season, let’s choose to lean in, be present, devour all the good things that surround us, and in return we will grow, blossom, prosper, flourish and bloom into becoming more of who we are supposed to be.
Can’t see the good things? Friend, let me help you with that. Let’s look for the ‘silver lining’ in our everyday.
Staying at home means you can read more books, watch more movies, play more games, learn to cook new things, clean out that junk cupboard that’s been bugging you for years, write a letter, do some crafts, go for a quiet walk, make a phone call to a far-away friend, listen to all the podcasts/music/audio books that you have ever dreamed of, save heaps of money on fuel, take naps, learn something new, be creative, try to learn another language, explore your local surrounds, and generally reassess your lifestyle.
You can connect and fully engage with your family on a deeper level or with the people you live with and discover who they really are – maybe you’ll find out that they are actually really nice, fun people after all; and who knows, you might actually get to know your family a bit better too and discover things about them and yourself that you never knew before.
So, what does thriving mean to you? How do you think you can come out of this season better than before? What are you going to do to thrive?
Dear friend, let us choose to THRIVE not just survive! That is my prayer for you in this season.
