We often treat our spiritual lives like a life raft—something to keep us from drowning during a tough week. But what if God didn’t call us to just keep our heads above water? What if the goal wasn’t only to survive until Sunday, but to thrive every single day in the Vine?
In a world where busyness is constant, we need to intentionally slow down and find peace. Achieving peace amid chaos isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. It comes from abiding in God, which is rooted in thriving, not just surviving.
Where busyness is the symptom, striving is the cause, often marked by frantic activity. A branch doesn’t struggle to produce grapes; it stays connected to the vine. Thriving results from spiritual positioning, while survival comes from human effort, which can lead to unnecessary stress, to say the least.
Last year, my focus was on intentionality, but this year God has led me to a deeper place: “Abide.” Jesus tells us that He is the vine, and we are the branches. “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5, ESV, Emphasis added).
This is a great reminder that our only role is to stay connected. Jesus is the source of nourishment. When we become tired, we may be just surviving by our own strength rather than thriving in His.
Similarly, the image of pruning branches so they will bear more fruit (John 15:2) is not meant as punishment but as preparation. God sometimes removes what is good so we can have the energy to produce what is excellent. Otherwise, we risk overextending ourselves with many good things when we need to say no to some of them to say yes to something greater.
Based on my experience, the times I was in survival mode—just trying to get through the day—were when I neglected to spend time with God or got distracted from it. On days I started with prayer, quiet time, and God’s Word, I felt more peace.
Peace is more than just quiet; it’s the renewal of everything to its intended, flourishing state. The Holman Bible Dictionary describes it as the “state of being spiritually whole again” (Rom. 14:17; Gal. 5:22; Brand, 1234). There is a clear difference between being ‘near’ the vine (religion) and being ‘in’ the vine (relationship).
God the Father tended, watched over, and protected the garden. Jesus is the source that supplies the nutrients, and the Holy Spirit is the invisible lifeblood that moves like sap from the vine to the branch, through which God’s power flows in us.
This reminded me of something God put on my heart when I needed it most:
You are a beautiful flower in My garden. I send rain and sunlight to nurture you and help you grow. You are protected under the care of the Master Gardener, never to be plucked or taken away from Me again.
May we stop trying to manufacture fruit and start abiding in the Gardener’s Care.
God is glorified when His followers bear abundant fruit to advance His kingdom on earth (John 15:8). While attending church and worshiping in community each Sunday is important, it is even more vital for us to be fruit-bearers throughout the week. Thriving occurs when we realize that “worship” isn’t just the songs we sing on Sunday, but also the way we interact with others and God on Tuesday afternoon. A “living” sacrifice moves, acts, and bears fruit throughout the week.
I have never claimed to be a great houseplant caregiver. Still, a kind lady at church gave us a plant – we named him George – thinking that giving it a name would help us remember to water it. It doesn’t always work, but we’re trying. The idea of worship only once a week is like watering a plant just once a month – it might survive, but it will never thrive. Community is the “greenhouse’ that encourages us, but the “fruit” is meant to be shared with a hungry world outside the greenhouse walls.
In which area of your life are you just “maintaining” (simply trying not to break it), instead of practicing “stewardship” (seeking God’s guidance to make it flourish)?
God didn’t call you to merely survive in the world; He called you to be a light to it. Survival is about avoiding death, but thriving is about embracing Life. Choose to abide today.
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11, emphasis added).
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1 ESV).
Faith Walk Ministries, Inc. 