3 Keys for Flourishing Spiritually
My heart fell when my daughter handed me a lovely potted orchid on Mother’s Day. Not because I don’t love orchids—I do. Not because I didn’t appreciate the gift—I did. Orchids are exotic, delicate, and pleasing to look at, and I’ve purchased a few of them in my life. But I never had success sustaining them. I kill them, one-by-one.
Until now. This one is still standing, as lovely as the day she first entered my home. I’m so proud of her. I named her Opal. An opal is a delicate gem and something to treasure. So is Opal my Orchid and the daughter who gave her to me.
The difference?
Determined to find success this time, I read the care instructions provided by the nursery. And I followed them. The directions are simple, and my orchid is flourishing.
A Flourishing Life for Orchids: 3 Simple Steps
- Nourishment
Two ounces of warm water once a week. I set a reminder on my phone for Mondays: water orchid. It dings at 9:00 p.m. Leaving a measuring cup near the plant makes the task a cinch.
2. Light
Orchids prefer indirect natural light, so I placed Opal in a south-facing window. I rotate her one-eighth of a turn when I first greet her in the morning.
3. Environment
Orchids love humidity. Because my primary bathroom offers space, ideal light conditions, and humidity, she thrives there.
A Flourishing Christian Life: 3 Keys
Sometimes it’s difficult to flourish spiritually. Life is hard and drains our inner resources. Fortunately, we have the Bible to turn to for direction. Three keys in Scripture parallel with my orchid’s needs:
- Nourishment
Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
(Matthew 4:4 NIV)
We must have sufficient nourishment to flourish spiritually. The Word of God is essential. Notice Jesus says every word from God in this verse. It’s an ongoing process. Every day. Carve out some time and set a reminder, if needed.
A friend receives a daily Bible verse alert on her phone. She reads it, contemplates it, and incorporates it into a brief prayer. For help establishing spiritual habits and meeting spiritual goals, check out this PDF: Developing Spiritual Goals.
- Light
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
(John 8:12 NIV)
Jesus is the spiritual light of the world, but we must seek His light. I rotate my plant by inches daily to ensure enough light reaches every leaf, stem, and petal. When we turn toward Jesus daily, His light shines, and we find it even in our darkest moments.
When we grow accustomed to walking with Jesus each day, we find He shines even in our darkest moments.
- Environment
And let us consider how to we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—
(Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV)
Because we need a suitable environment to grow our faith, we surround ourselves with like-minded people. We fellowship, worship, and serve together. As orchids need a humid environment, we need a spiritual atmosphere to thrive and help others thrive.
My orchid depends on me to help her flourish. Christian flourishing depends on something outside ourselves as well—salvation through the Holy Spirit. We flourish when we help others flourish, and, more important, we glorify God when we flourish.
What helps you flourish spiritually?
We flourish when we help others flourish, and, more important, we glorify God when we flourish. Click To Tweet
I loved having orchids when I lived in Florida. This post was a great reminder for me today. Thank you.
I’m sure Florida was a great host for orchids. Now you have spectacular Colorado plants to enjoy.
Great advice, spiritual growth is key to our faith. It is more than just getting saved.
Very well said, Martin.
Hi Candyce,
I once named a plant Lazarus. You can imagine why–poor thing.
Your analogy is spot on. It’s sad to me that so many Christians remain outside
of church following Covid. The church body truly needs nourishing.
Blessings,
Tammy
Tammy, your comment made me laugh. I’m not in the habit of naming my plants, but that could change. I agree about post-Covid and church attendance patterns. And I hear many young parents say today, “Oh, we do church at home.” They are missing so much that a young family needs to grow and flourish spiritually.
Thanks Candyce. I recently bought another orchid to try again because I killed many in the past too. It is amazing how we need the same kind of nourishment in our faith.
Good luck with your orchid! I don’t know if I would ever have tried again if I hadn’t received mine as a gift from someone significant in my life. It is amazing how much our needs parallel with God’s other creations.
You shared a beautiful analogy, Candyce. I can picture you turning the orchid each morning. When we position ourselves to receive nourishment from God, He provides. He nourishes me spiritually when I remember to ask Him to teach me as I read the Bible.
I love how you stated this – “when we position ourselves to receive nourishment from God, He provides.” It’s exactly what I meant. Thank you.
A delightful analogy, Candyce. Praise God he DOES shine even in the darkest moments! I can’t imagine life without him.
Thanks for stopping by, Nancy! How different our life would be without him.
I love all flowers and plants, but I’ve never been brave enough to attempt to grow orchids. You’re during great! Opal is beautiful. Your message is beautiful, too. I appreciate how you shared how the care of Opal works upon the same prinicples as caring and nourishing our spiritual growth. Thank you, Candyce.
I assumed you would be a pro with orchids. I’ve always been intimidated by them in the past and probably expected them to wilt. And they did. I just had read and follow the directions. So far, so good. Many take aways can be found in God’s creation.
Great post, Candyce! I especially liked, “When we grow accustomed to walking with Jesus each day, we find He shines even in our darkest moments.” Spending time with Him each day helps me to flourish in my walk with Him!
He’s always there, isn’t He? In time, we learn this and so grows our trust.
I feel nourished and refreshed by quiet time to collect my thoughts and meditate on God’s truth. There’s a lot of noise in this world. It does me good to shut that out sometimes.
Yes – we have to seek the right environment to find rest and nourishment. It rarely happens organically due to the noise.
I really enjoyed your experience learning to help Opal, your orchid, thrive and how you used this as analogies for thriving in our Christian life. Thanks, Candyce.
Thank you, Kathy! Hope you are having a great summer!
Candyce, I love your lessons from the orchids. We do need nourishment, light, and the right kind of water (living) to be alive and productive. I have an orchid in my bathroom also and it thrives.
A bathroom offers the humidity orchids need. I’ve never had one in the bathroom before, but I’ve never had one to thrive before this one either. They used to intimidate me. That’s wheee reading the care instructions helps. Just like reading God’s Word in the Bible.
Candyce, I immediately thought of the lofty goals we all set to ‘lose a few extra pounds’ when I began to read your Daily Spiritual Goals. We don’t accomplish either set of goals instantly. But as pound by pound drops, we see the discipline pays off.
The same with my spiritual goals – reading God’s Word first thing in the morning sets my mind and body in the right frame. It reminds me that I am HIS and nothing will happen that HE won’t be there with me. That takes a ‘load’ of pressure off, and I am eternally grateful for that.
Thanks for sharing this comparison. The hope is that the intrinsic rewards we receive will become our true motivation. Spiritually, the closer relationship we enjoy with God becomes the motivating factor for putting in the time. In your weight loss scenario, feeling better and having more energy becomes one of the motivators.
Hmm… difficult question. Not because I can’t think of anything, but because there’s so much I have to be thankful for. First and foremost though has to be my relationship with God. Looking for, and finding, Him in every aspect of my life is something that keeps be both humble and thankful ma’am.
Two great qualities to have as a flourishing Christian – humility and gratitude.