Thriving Life

Thriving Life

Fear of the LORD leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm. Proverbs 19:23

My dad taught the agriculture classes at the high school I attended as a teenager. I took one class from him in which I learned the names of all the woodworking tools, and I built a set of bookcases for our home as a final project.

Two other students worked together to build a greenhouse, and it was quite impressive. Walking through the plastic veil was like walking into another world. On the inside, they had created their own miniature Garden of Eden.

Inside the security and protection of the greenhouse, the plants grew perfectly. Because of the barriers to the outside, there didn’t appear to be any bugs. They could control the temperature, the amount of food, and the water each plant received. Disease, if it existed, was limited. Inside the greenhouse, the plants did more than just survive; they thrived.

It wasn’t surprising to me that all the farmers in Plantersville wanted one. Those students kept building until they had filled our tiny town with more than one hundred greenhouses!

Today’s verse says that fear of the Lord leads to life. In Hebrew, the word for “life,” chay, means to be alive, green, and overflowing like a waterfall. When we call upon God, he wraps a protective barrier of safety and security around us, and he gives us just the right amount of love and nourishment to lead us to abundant life. As our love for him grows, we are perfected in much the same way as plants in a greenhouse. Though intruders and disease may enter our world, they can’t devour us because God is in control.

TODAY’S RX

If you’re trying to survive on your own, turn to the Lord and you will thrive.

Father, put up the necessary barriers in my life to protect me from harm. Allow me to thrive in your presence. I desire to grow and mature as a believer and to be a beautiful creation in you.