Mark Hall - Thrive Student Edition. Digging Deep, Reaching Out

ZONDERVAN

Thrive Student Edition

Copyright 2014 by Mark Hall

ePub Edition May 2014: ISBN 978-0-310-74758-1

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hall, Mark, 1969

Thrive : digging deep, reaching out / Mark Hall, with Tim Luke. Student Edition.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-310-74757-4 (softcover) ISBN 978-0-310-74758-1 (epub)

1. Christian teenagersReligious life. I. Title.

BV4531.3.H35 2014

248.8'3dc23

2014014304

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design: Tim Parker/Provident Label Group
Cover photography: iStockphoto LP
Interior photography: iStockphoto LP
Interior design: David Conn

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 /DCI/ 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Reagan Farris
youve been my Timothy since you were young,
and Ive watched you grow into one of my Pauls.
Your passion for Jesus, for his church,
and for your family challenges me.
We learned to thrive together.

Your brother,

Mark

CONTENTS

Y ou were meant to do more than just survive. You were meant to thrive.

You were not meant to struggle to make it through the week, the day, the next hour. You were not meant for your world to feel like a weight, for the break of dawn to be the starter pistol for another meaningless day. You were not meant to be shackled by anxiety, worry, and fear. No, you were meant for so much more.

You were meant to have life and to have it more abundantly. That is the promise of the eternal God.

You were meant to dig deep and to reach out.

You were meant to know God and to make him known.

You were meant to point to the one hope, the one anchor, the one true source of joy, peace, and contentment for the entire human race. His name is Jesus.

Surviving is for those who have no hope. Thats not you not if youre Gods child.

You were meant to thrive.

Im not saying you wont have trouble in this life. Only the false teachers of the prosperity gospel claim otherwise. They promise prosperity while using Scriptures written from prison or during some of the lowest moments in the lives of godly men. Out of Jesus twelve disciples, only one escaped martyrdom, and he was exiled to a desolate island. Without exception, all of us will have some bad days. But Jesus tells us to take heart. He has overcome the world, which means we can thrive amid it all (John 16:33).

When I was in high school, the word thrive was not in my vocabulary. It felt like the best I could do was to survive. As I struggled with attention deficit disorder and dyslexia, school days felt like a mix of labor camp, summer camp (recess and lunch), and the next embarrassment that lurked right around the corner. At times, my life still feels that way. At times, I feel like Im still trying to survive.

If we are honest, we can look back on the last year and say we only survived it. We survived school. We survived with most of our relationships intact.

Some of us have not survived very well. Maybe our circle of friends has changed. Maybe our families are different than they were this time last year, and we have survived some major storms. In fact, a lot of us are in survival mode right now:

If I can just get to this weekend...

If I can just get to summer vacation...

If I can just finish this project...

If I can just beat this sickness...

If I can just make enough money for next semester...

If I can just get through this one class...

I remember looking at the clock in high school and thinking, Only eleven more minutes. I dont think theyre evergoing to pass. Im never going to get out of this place. Im goingto grow old and die in this room. If I can survive just elevenmore minutes, Im done with this.

If youre not careful, you will live your life with that same survival attitude.

A few years ago, I was visiting with a group of friends from high school. Back when we were in school, we were quiet nice, but reserved. Believe it or not, I was too. None of us really did much in high school, which is sad when I think about it. It wasnt until later in life that we emerged from our shells. Thats how we know were thriving we grow and change. But others from high school are the exact same as when they were seniors in high school. They never grew up.

You know, my friend Karen said, it seems like some people never left the beach.

We overheard some guys at a table close by say things like Man, I was glad to just punch that clock Friday and Dude, I cant wait till summer. Were heading down to Panama City Beach.

Surviving.

Every day, theyre just surviving.

You were not made to survive life. Or to survive school. Or your family. You were not made to exist until you can get over the next hump or get to the next break. You were created for one purpose: to know God and to make him known.

You are not living the life you were created to live if survive is your word. You were made to thrive.

Point to Remember

We were meant to thrive and not just survive.

A certain tree has become a source of inspiration to me.

Somehow the tree keeps popping up in everything I do. Ive spoken about it in concerts and to student groups.

I even used it as an illustration in one of my previous books, Your Own Jesus.

Now my student ministry is called Thrive. This book is called Thrive. Casting Crowns latest album is called Thrive. And that album includes a song called Thrive.

The tree is located at a spot in Geneva, Alabama, named The Junction because it sits at the confluence of the Choctawhatchee River and the Pea River. I was on staff at nearby First Baptist Church of Samson early in my career as a youth pastor. For most of the last decade, I have served as co-student pastor with Reagan Farris at Eagles Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia. Reagan was one of the students in my youth group at Samson. Several years ago, Reagan and I took our Eagles Landing student group back home to Samson on a ministry tour. I wanted everyone to see The Tree.

When we were growing up in South Alabama, we always called it The Tree. You know it must be special when a tree gets a name and that name is just The Tree. In that region, if you ever said, Hey, were going to The Tree, everybody knew what you meant. The mammoth oak tree is more than three hundred years old. Its been around longer than the United States of America.