A friend recently commented that she thought I was flourishing. After I thanked her for her kind words, I thought, “What did she mean by that?” So, my quest began. First, I turned to my trusty Merriam Webster’s dictionary, and I discovered that the first two definitions of the verb, ‘flourish’ are, “to grow luxuriantly – thrive”; and “to achieve success – prosper”. That made sense to me because my first two ideas about the word were of a garden flourishing or a business flourishing. I don’t really tend a garden and I don’t run a business, so how am I flourishing?
When we think about it, we all can flourish in so many ways. In our lives, we are always growing. We can learn something new every day. Each day is a new experience. We flourish when we embrace these opportunities; when we approach our days as new adventures, rather than thinking. “it’s just another day”. What if we started each day by asking ourselves, “What exciting thing does God have in store for me today?” Inviting God into our lives sets the stage for luxuriant growth. What if we asked God, “What can I do for you today?” Each day would be an occasion to thrive. Growing in our understanding, our commitment, and our service to God is flourishing at its best!
The second definition, “to achieve success – prosper” takes growth a step further. We all have goals and aspirations; but how do we achieve them? The first rule of success is that we cannot quit. And the only way to prevent quitting is by positive conviction and the corresponding action. We must be fully persuaded that we are able to achieve our goals and then we can proceed accordingly. And the only way I know to assure we can accomplish that, is to trust God to help us and guide our steps. Walking with God is the greatest way to flourish because God WANTS us to prosper.
Here is a little side trip down one of my logic trails…
God wants us to prosper, as the Bible clearly states in 3rd John, verse 2. And according to the MW dictionary, ‘prosper’ illustrates ‘to achieve success’, which is a definition of ‘flourish’. So we can safely say that God wants us to flourish. Now, if God wants us to flourish, it must be available. And since God is well aware of our limitations, He must certainly intend to help us flourish. And because God is all powerful, we know that with His help we are able to flourish. When we believe that we are able; we won’t quit. And if we don’t quit, we will achieve success, which is to flourish. And not only will we flourish – but we’ll flourish with God’s kind of flourishing, which is the best kind! (How’s that for ‘flourishing’ logic?? 😊)
So much of our lives is determined by our mind-set. Are we positive minded or filled with negative thoughts? Do we expect good things to happen or fear the worst? Do we see the silver lining in the storm clouds or expect that rain will ruin our sunny days? Do we see each day as an opportunity to succeed, or worry that we might fail again?
The difference in these attitudes is the difference between flourishing or not. If our minds are clouded by a plethora of negatives, we cannot flourish. But if we regularly expect God’s best in our lives, we will assuredly live a flourish-filled life. Now I know that our lives are not always a bowl of cherries, no one’s is. But even at the challenging times, it’s available to flourish with God’s help. We just need to trust Him and not be swayed by our circumstances. We cannot allow the situations with which we are faced to be the determining factor of our attitude of believing. We can flourish in negative circumstances by patiently anticipating God’s resolution and by confessing our belief that God will come through for us. Confession is a key to keeping our minds on track. And confession is not always audible words that we speak, but often is just words that we say to ourselves. We remind ourselves that God is able. We remind ourselves that God WANTS us to flourish. We remind ourselves that God is love.
Flourishing is maintained by a positive attitude, which is maintained by continued positive confession. Thereby we enjoy the benefits of thriving and prospering. Flourishing is not dependent on our surroundings, but our surroundings can be improved by our flourishing. Flourishing is the way of life that God desires for His children. Why not expect to flourish in everything you do? And if you’re not flourishing now, expect that you soon will be. Expect God to help you in any and every situation and allow His abundant grace and peace to cause you to flourish. Never forget that God loves you and that He is ABLE.
Note to my readers: 3rd John 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Thanks for reading.