From Surviving to Thriving

Keven Newsome
May 19
3 min read

Are you thriving—or just surviving?

It’s a question that hits different when life is heavy. When we’re emotionally exhausted, spiritually drained, or just trying to make it from one day to the next, it’s easy to go numb. And numbness doesn’t just affect your feelings, it affects your faith.

But God didn’t design us for survival mode. He designed us to thrive. And in this week’s Thrive Together message, we looked at Ephesians 4:17-24, where Paul lays out how to move from survival to transformation. It begins with one simple truth: if you want to thrive, you have to start living different.

Think New (Ephesians 4:17-18)

Paul tells the church not to live like the Gentiles anymore. Their old way of thinking, rooted in futility, darkness, and self-indulgence, had to go. That kind of thinking leads to spiritual numbness and separation from the life God intended.

You can’t grow spiritually until you change the way you think.

God wants to renew your mind. He wants to break the cycles of shame, fear, isolation, and self-reliance. But renewal doesn’t happen accidentally. It takes commitment. It takes exposure to God’s Word, time in His presence, and community with other believers.

If your loudest weekly voice is the world and not the Word, your thoughts will always drift back to futility. But when the Holy Spirit rewrites your thinking, you start to see life differently. And that’s where thriving begins.

Love New (Ephesians 4:19-21)

Your thoughts shape your heart, and your heart shapes your actions. Paul says the old life is marked by calloused hearts and unchecked self-indulgence. But in Christ, we’re called to love differently. You can’t say you love God and live like His morality doesn’t matter.

Loving new means embracing truth over comfort. It means letting God soften the parts of your heart that have grown hard. It means naming the sin, repenting of it, and allowing God to realign your desires.

If your heart feels numb, if worship feels empty, or if conviction feels distant, it’s time to ask, “What am I still holding on to that I need to let go of?”

God’s not calling you to guilt. He’s calling you to freedom.

Live New (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Finally, Paul calls the church to take off the old self and put on the new. Like changing clothes, it’s a deliberate, daily choice.

Living new isn’t about becoming someone else—it’s about becoming who you really are.

The old you, the broken, malfunctioning version, was never meant to exist. Sin broke the design. God’s plan is to restore you to his original design for you...whole, holy, and thriving in His purpose He created you for.

That means making hard choices. That means saying no to comfort when it keeps you stagnant. That means stepping into righteousness, truth, and transformation.

Not to earn God’s love, but because you already have it.

Your Invitation: It's Time to Start Living Different

Are you tired of hiding the mess behind a closed door? Of looking like you’re thriving while quietly withering inside? You don’t have to keep pretending. You don’t have to keep surviving. You were made to thrive, and it starts by thinking new, loving new, and living new.

So...surrender your mindset to the Spirit, let go of sin that’s numbing your heart, and make the hard, holy choices that lead to restoration. You don’t need a brand-new life, you need to become the version of you that God already designed. That’s the real you. That’s the thriving you.

Take a moment to reflect: