Bless Your Heart Devotions: Fortitude - We are made to thrive.

After a monsoon storm (southern definition: gully washer) we see many trees that have broken or fallen over. Although I personally didn't think the wind or rain was strong enough to knock over a tree, evidently it was. In the desert, trees do not grow as large, having shallow roots to take advantage of all the moisture they can. Lacking strength and endurance these shallow roots, along with sandy soil allow them to tip over easier than their Eastern cousins.

Fortitude is part of the strong root system that anchors our character and is synonymous with courage, bravery, endurance, resilience, mettle, moral fiber, strength of mind, strength of character, strong-mindedness, backbone, spirit, grit, steadfastness.

Am I a person who at the slightest pressure throws up my hands and gives in?  Or am I a person who in the face of adversity digs down deeper, "planting my feet" to face the oncoming storm, patiently and courageously enduring the struggles that truly serve to make me stronger? (Read Luke 22:41-44 to see Fortitude in action.)

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.  Psalms 1:1-6

The "soil" we plant ourselves in has an effect on how deep our root systems go. It is much more enjoyable to reach only for easily attained moisture, but strength and endurance is gained by digging deeper to a more sure foundation and partaking of the water table itself.  

 

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Mat 7:24-27)

If we be “doers of the Word and not hearers only” then we are not meant to wither, we are meant to THRIVE!  Some of the lyrics to the following song “Thrive”  by Casting Crowns says:

Joy unspeakable, Faith unsinkable, Love unstoppable, Anything is possible

We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives
Its time for us to more than just survive
We were made to thrive.