Surviving vs. Thriving

I hate it when the gas light in my car comes on. It is so frustrating. It means that I have to reach into my tiny, college-student bank account and pull out a whopping $2 dollars and change per gallon to fill up. You know what though? When I am short on cash I let my car run on "E" for a while. I have discovered that I have about 30 miles before I need to be concerned. To this day I have never broken down. This is a dangerous way to go about things. I find that this habit of "running on empty" has poured over into other areas of my life.

There is a HUGE difference between living life and living life well. It is the difference between Surviving and Thriving.

Survive: to remain alive or in existence or able to live or function, especially succeed in staying alive when faced with a life-threatening, to come through a life-threatening experience or a period of difficulty and remain alive, in existence, or in a previous position or life (encarta.com).

I have decided that this word bothers me. Why? It bothers me because it is "just enough". To simply "remain alive" or "exisit" is pathetic. I regret to inform you that this is where I am at right now. I am surviving. I am exhausted. I am worn out. I am spiritually at the point where I am in the Word only enough to keep me going. I lack encouragement. I feel guilty because I desire to encourage others, but cannot give what I do not have! I lack confidence. I am on "E".

Thrive: grow well: to grow vigorously and healthily, do well: to be successful and often profitable

Thriving is my goal. To thrive is to go above and beyond "just enough". Thriving is excellence. It is being filled and able to fill others. It is SO hard to do. Why? Because thriving takes a lot of work, a lot of time, and a whole lot of God-seeking (which requires total surrender). I want to be more than ordinary. I desire to be different, set apart, held in high esteem. When I die I want people to remember me.

I had a volleyball coach in high school that drilled into my head this idea: "Good enough is the enemy of excellence." In the context of this blog, "Surviving is the enemy of Thriving". Running on empty just won't suffice. I need a full tank!

So, how do I obtain all I need to thrive? Honestly, I have only one answer at this time. All I know to do is to cry out to God with all my heart and ask him to send encouragement. I need to be filled. I need him to put in me the gasoline (whether encouragement from people or fulfilled promises) to drive his plans home.

God,
I am so tired of living empty. Fill me. Only you know what I need. You have my heart. Have your way in me. -Am

a familiar psalm...

Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I'm about; See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life (Psalm 139:23-24, The Message).

"Investigate my life." This is a bold request. I think a lot of Christians pray this, but how many actually mean it? This investigation could yield results that quite frankly do not line up with what we think we should be doing in life. It is like saying, "God, break me, but don't make it painful." It just doesn't work that way.

Psalm 139 encourages me so much because it reminds me that God knew everything about me before I was born. Every physical feature, emotion, weakness, career, family...the list just goes on and on. Also, it reminds me that God is bigger than my mind can comprehend. He investigates me. He has my case file on his desk. He knows my outcome. It is amazing to me that my life is not free-floating around where "just anyone" could dictate it. God knows. He created me.

I encourage you to ask God to investigate your life. When you do make sure you're prepared for the ugly. Be ready for him to do as you ask. See what is in there that he needs to break. I'm going through it.

I have had so much on my mind lately. God is teaching me a lot about myself. I'll have more soon. Leave comments if you'd like. I love feedback.