How to Flourish in the life we have been given?

Flourish –

1.     To grow luxuriantly – thrive

a.     To thrive is to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances

2.     To achieve success – Prosper

3.     To be in a state of activity or production

Words related to flourish – to Prevail, to triumph, to win, to excel

Don’t we all want to flourish – I think we would all want our lives to resemble the above definition.  Well, how do we get there?  How do we navigate through this life to look like those words?

I believe it is all based on our relationship with our heavenly father.  Learning to rely on Him and Him alone.  Learning to take all of our insecurities, our questions, our problems, our weaknesses, our addictions, and our fears to Him.   God already know about them – so practice being honest and giving them to Him. 

Philippians 1:6 – message bible There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a FLOURISHING finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.  

Gods only desire is to spend eternity with us in heaven.  He only has good plans for us.  God does not punish us for our mistakes and weaknesses or take from us.  He only desire is to give good things to us.  

As I sit and write this today our power went out and I opened the blinds by my desk and looked out.  We have a creek that runs the back of our property.  I was thinking about how we have to weed eat around that creek twice as often as we do the rest of the yard.  That even when we are in the heat of summer and in drought like conditions that creek has to be weed-eated.  The trees around the creek do not even realize we are in a dry season.   That is how we need to live – so saturated in God that we don’t even see the drought and difficult things around us.  That does not mean we ignore problems or don’t work hard to achieve things.  It just means that we give all our ability to God and let him fix things thru us and for us.  

Job 8:11 – Do Reeds flourish without water?

Psalms 11:28 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree

Proverbs 11:28 He that trusts in riches shall fail; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch

Hosea14:7 Those who live under its protection will surely return.  Their grain will flourish; they will blossom like a vine. 

Jesus is the true living water and he desires for us to be like the trees planted along the creek in my back yard.  Our roots deep in trust and our branches producing green leaves full of life.  Our branches being a shelter to those that we come in contact with those that are hurting or lost. 

So it simple and hard at the same time.  To flourish we have to stop doing what is natural to human tendencies by worrying (that adds nothing to us) or complaining – but instead give all the cares to God.  To sit by the living water and drink.  To trust in something you don’t see – to take a chance in this Great God.  To love others generously and big.  Today if you don’t see a way out of your darkness – Give it to God.  

I am here if you need a friend – I will always point you to the truth of God’s word. 

Xoxo

Jacque