"Everything is falling apart, so I should just focus on surviving instead of thriving."
How it sounds in your head: Things are getting worse everywhere - economy, wars, diseases. Maybe I should just try to make it through instead of expecting anything good. It feels selfish to want to thrive when the world is collapsing. Survival mode is the only smart option now.
"The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green."
-- Psalm 92:12-14Religion teaching 'hunker down' Christianity instead of Kingdom advancement - enemy wants you defensive, not offensive.
Adults around him are stressed about money, gas prices, and politics, creating an atmosphere of scarcity. The message everywhere is 'brace yourself' instead of 'breakthrough is coming,' making survival feel like wisdom.
During a FAMINE when everyone was in survival mode, Isaac planted crops and reaped a hundredfold the same year - he became so wealthy in the middle of economic collapse that the king asked him to leave. Thriving in crisis is the Abraham blessing.
I REFUSE the lie that I'm called to survive instead of thrive. IT IS WRITTEN that the righteous FLOURISH like palm trees, even in the desert. I am a covenant son under the BARAK blessing - I am blessed in famine, blessed in recession, blessed when others are fearful. IT IS WRITTEN that even in the valley of the shadow of death, my cup overflows. I don't shrink back in dark times - I shine brighter. My thriving is not selfish; it's a testimony that my God supplies all my needs. I am the head, not the tail, above only, not beneath.
Your Father isn't asking you to shrink and survive - He's watching you like Isaac with a hundred-fold harvest in your hands while everyone else hoards. He's RUNNING toward you with the seed bag, not the ration card.