The musical ministry Jesus Culture believes that Christians who embrace God's process and timeline in their lives are not only able to survive all of their problems, but even manage to thrive in the midst of things.
Youth pastor Banning Liebscher, founder and director of Jesus Culture, writes on their website that thriving means "growing in wisdom, character, faith, endurance, strength, and more."
"Growing isn't always comfortable, but it's exhilarating and rewarding," he says. Personally, Liebscher says he had seasons in life where he had nothing, and there were seasons where he had everything. But in both seasons, Liebscher always had Christ's strength to lean on, so he managed to thrive in every situation.
"Similarly, when you read the Psalms, you find David spoke about all kinds of circumstances, ranging from celebratory to terrifying. He wrestled with impossibilities, fear, heartbreak, disappointment, betrayal, anger, and grief. But every time, the wrestling drove him back to the source of his strength: God," Liebscher says. "And every time David accessed that strength, whether in the field, a house, a cave, or a castle, it led to his thriving."
However, Liebscher says the Enemy is going to do whatever he can to keep Christians from thriving. When faced with difficult moments, the Enemy would encourage people to wish they were in someone else's position, resist the lessons God is trying to teach them, rush the process, or skip important steps in the process.
"Falling for any of these will prevent us from thriving and will ultimately put us in dangerous places. Avoiding these will enable us to find our strength - God - and grow regardless of the season or circumstance," he says.
On the other hand, God is intent on establishing a good root system in one's life, although Christians don't always recognise it. "Because we don't feel passionate about what we are doing, or because it's harder than we thought, or because it's boring or slow, we think we should be somewhere else. But that's not how God works," says Liebscher.
The pastor says Christians should keep their eyes focused on God and avoid distractions so they don't miss what God is trying to teach them at the moment. "Make no mistake: God is trying to grow you exactly where you are," he stresses.
