God doesn't want His children just
to drudge through life, not looking forward to the future, simply
doing what is expected of them and not enjoying anything. He
doesn't want that. Yes, the Christian life is not always easy; you
might be persecuted for your faith, sidelined because of what you
stand for, or you might be pruned by God to bear better fruit in
future. But through that whole process God wants you to be able to
experience His joy, for the joy of the Lord is our strength. He
wants you to live with hope in your heart on a daily basis. Even
Peter sang hymns whilst being locked up in prison (Acts 16:25). All
the Jewish feasts except the Day of Atonement were celebrations of
the goodness of God. They were truly joyful feasts filled with
dancing and singing, and it just shows us what God wants for us. We
were once in Jerusalem on a Friday night when their Sabbath
started, and wow it was joyous! They got together in circles and
danced and sang, laughing and rejoicing, family and friends
together in unity. It was a wonderful sight to behold, and I
realized that it was and still is the true heart of God for His
children. The Christian life is a victorious one because Jesus
bought us with a high price. He doesn't want Christians just
laboring through life, no, He wants Christians to thrive. The word
thrive in a thesaurus can mean to flourish, prosper,
succeed, boom, bloom, blossom, increase, be healthy, and so on.
But I know for a fact that most
Christians do not feel this way, because for most of my Christian
life, I haven't felt it either. Most Christians are stressed,
anxious, worried, downtrodden, tired, sad, etc. I have felt most of
these emotions in my life too. But God has given us resources and
tools to use to live a flourishing life, and since I have started
to apply these in my life, I have felt a change within me. Even
though circumstances haven't changed, I enjoy my life so much more.
In chapter 2, we discussed our emotions and how to handle that.
That is the first step towards wellness. Here, I would like to
discuss the PERMA model with you (
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/soft-skills/perma-model/
- 3 March 2022). The PERMA model represents the five core elements
that need to be healthy in your life in order to live a flourishing
life. These elements are mentioned all over the Bible, and although
we know these things, it truly helped me to see it all together to
be able to practically apply it to my daily life:
P-Positive emotions: Increasing
positive emotions
E-Engagement: Engaging with the
world and our work (hobbies)
R-Relationships: Creating deep and
meaningful relationships
M-Meaning in life: Find the meaning
and purpose of your life. Why did God create you?
A-Achievement: Achieving goals
through cultivating and amplifying your talents and strengths in
life
We will discuss this more in detail
now, but what I love about PERMA is that it is all biblical and
within our control. Jesus has opened the pathway to Heaven and His
grace for us. Now we can do our part by making sure that we really
give attention to all five core elements, and then we can be well
on our way to living a flourishing life.
(Excerpt from
Flourishing: God's way by Ilze Henderson)