We Were Made to Thrive

[2 min read]

by Don Immel, Network Superintendent

One of my favorite songs currently being played on CCM stations is Casting Crown’s song “Thrive”. I just love the tempo, beat, and message:

“Just to know You and to make You known

We lift Your name on High

Shine like the sun made darkness run and hide

We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives

It’s time for us to more than just survive

We were made to thrive”

One of my favorite Old Testament stories is the life of Joseph. Genesis 38-50 is mostly dedicated to Joseph’s story – nearly 20 percent of the book. At the core of Joseph’s narrative is a young man who experienced dreams beyond his maturity level to process and communicate. Despite being sold into slavery and subsequently thrown into prison because of a false accusation, and forgotten by a friend, Joseph found a way to prosper… he found a way to THRIVE. (Genesis 39:2-3, 23; 41:40)

We will notice from Joseph’s experience that thriving does not imply the absence of difficulty. The deck was stacked against Joseph, yet we see that he prospered in the midst of overwhelming odds. Why? “The Lord was with Joseph.” (Genesis 39:2, 23)

We were made to THRIVE. Good song. Good message. Good word of encouragement. Even in the difficult challenges that we encounter, God is working on us and through us. It would have been hard to imagine, but God was expanding Joseph’s skill set and core set. Joseph was being set up, by the Lord, for his greatest assignment – the number two guy in Egypt. Time as a slave and time as a prison administrator/chaplain aligned Joseph to be Pharaoh’s executive administrator. Additionally, Joseph had the character to not exact revenge on his brothers when he had opportunities to do so. He thrived both vocationally and characterologically.

Are you facing pressure, adversity or unjust opposition? I trust that you will find the pathway that leads to prosperity (not afraid of that word!) I trust that you will THRIVE!

“But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” (Genesis 45:5-7; NKJV)

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