CONCERT OF PRAYER 

Pray Week 739

 “Thrive”

 Psalm 52:8 (NLT)      But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.

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Are you a survivor?  In a time of catastrophe would you be the ‘last man standing’ – the only one not ‘voted off of the island’?  Survival is good.  Being an overcomer is better. A survivor just gets by.  They make it through alive where others perish.  In contrast an overcomer goes beyond survival and thrives in the midst of the difficult circumstances.  An overcomer flourishes and bears fruit that nourishes others as well.

The Bible tells of Daniel and Joseph who were both displaced from their homes and taken to foreign lands as slaves.  Daniel refused to compromise on his relationship with God and he thrived.

Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. – Daniel 6:28

Similarly we see Joseph tenaciously holding onto his relationship with God as he rose from a pit through slavery and imprisonment to ultimately ruling Egypt second only to Pharaoh.  He later tells his brothers:

“…you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” – Gen 50:20

Daniel and Joseph were more than survivors, they were overcomers.  They thrived despite their circumstances.  They grew where they were planted and bore fruit to the benefit of others.  Paul writes about learning the secret of thriving in his letter to the Philippians.

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me. – Philippians 4:11

The ‘secret’ Paul writes about he learned on the road to Damascus when Jesus told him that it was hard for him to ‘kick against the goads’.  Goads are a spiked stick used to drive cattle in the direction you want them to go.  Paul had been persecuting the followers of Jesus and fighting against the direction God wanted him to go.

You may be in the middle of difficult times.  Perhaps as a result of the poor economy you have been displaced from where you want to be.  You may have experienced pay and benefit cuts.  You may be unemployed or underemployed and not able to live the lifestyle you had in the past. No matter how adverse your present circumstances are, know that God has not abandoned you.  Plants thrive in the harshest of environments by sending their roots deep in search of water.  Likewise, we need to go deeper in our relationship with Jesus to draw upon His living water which we need to thrive and be a source of nourishment to others as well.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. – Psalm 1:1

May you be an overcomer and thrive by His indwelling, abiding presence, power, peace and joy.

Close in prayer, thanksgiving & dedication of your work to the glory of God