Do you want to thrive or simply survive?

            In 2014, Pastor John Ortberg published a book titled, “If You Want To Walk On Water, You’ve Got To Get Out Of The Boat.”  It was based on the Biblical story from Matthew 14 of Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus came upon a boat with the disciples and invited Peter to walk toward him on the water.  Peter believed that if Jesus invited him, he could do it.  He stepped onto the sea with his eyes on the Lord and began walking toward Jesus until he looked down, saw the waves, and began to doubt. Suddenly he started to sink and Jesus grabbed his hand saying, “You of little faith.”

            You and I also sit ‘safely’ in the boat at times, unwilling to answer the call to trust our Lord by stepping outside of our comfort zones.  We forget that Jesus wants us to experience an abundant and thriving life! In my own experiences, there were (and are) times I’ve simply responded to Jesus’ invitation by saying, ”Thank you, but no thanks. I’ll stay here.” Is it any wonder then, that I simply survived rather than thrived? 

            The Church belongs to Christ and he wants us to thrive in his abundance. That means we are to let go of the practices, thoughts, and things that prevent us from getting out of the boat at his calling.  Don’t just survive…THRIVE with Jesus!

            So I put this challenge out to Lord of Grace today.  What makes you thrive as a faith community?  Where might you prefer to remain safe and simply survive?  I want to stretch your comfort zones and invite you to pray for God to help you focus on thriving.  What does it look like?  What can you do as an individual or family to help make it happen? 

            Moving forward in this stage of transition, thriving with a perspective of abundance is a lot more exciting than living in the fear of simply surviving. How can you engage the abundant Spirit of God and sow seeds of possibility within the ministries of our faith community?  What fears can we extinguish with courageous faith?  And who might you invite to join our journey of faithful, meaningful, and exciting life?

Peace,

Pastor Randy