Flourish: A Winning Perspective To Help You Through Tough Times

By Michael Abrokwah

Ever catch yourself spending way too much time looking back at your hurts instead of figuring out how to overcome the hurdles facing you?

Perhaps you felt a deep thirst to thrive despite your challenges. If so, you'll be relieved to make room for this one truth: the perfect situation to flourish does not exist, but you can create one! You can join the company of many men and women who changed their lives and impacted their communities. These were ordinary humans, like you and me, who achieved much with little.

How did they thrive where others withered, leaving behind them the impressive legacies we read about in the Bible?
They lived by one winning perspective: that with God, you can flourish in spite of your challenges.

In Flourish - A Winning Perspective to Help You Through Tough Times, Michael Abrokwah dives into the lives of many of your biblical heroes and explores the reasons they became the people we admire. In this rich study of the scriptures, you can expect to uncover:

 

The power of God

Why you settle,

Your invitation to thrive,

and proven keys to flourishing.

Flourish is a personal invitation to a journey that will draw you closer to God. You will discover and overcome what hinders your growth.

You can also look forward to walking away from this journey equipped with the keys to thriving in all seasons of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Abrokwah
• Release date: Oct 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781777106225

Michael Abrokwah

Michael Abrokwah is passionate about people and their endless potential. If there was a soundtrack to his life, it would go something like this: “I believe we were created to Flourish”. He strives to live UNCAPPED and is happy to tag alongside anyone who wishes to do the same. Mike is a Minister @ Milestone Churches (aka Toronto Church of Christ), he has been married for 20 years, loves golf, running (when it's over), learning, and coaching from a holistic perspective.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

THERE IS A CONFLICT in my heart. I was born with it and it will always be a part of me. I think it’s a gift from God. I was born with an inquisitive mind; I questioned, challenged, and confronted limits and the status quo. My curiosity was often rewarded in my childhood, but it also got me into more trouble than I care to recollect. This tension is a gift with a burden. I embrace it now as part of my DNA and I’m learning to be at peace with it.

I’ve always believed God created us for more, and becoming a true follower of Christ crystallized it for me. Over the years, this conviction has grown and pushed me to search the Scriptures, avoiding the traps of the name it, claim it fake prosperity gospel preached today. To flourish, according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is to grow, succeed, be in one’s prime, prosper, and thrive. This definition will exclude ninety-nine percent of us. No wonder many of us do not consider ourselves to be flourishing in life.

A biblical definition of flourishing means something different and more profound. Consider Psalm 92:12–15:

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,

they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

planted in the house of the LORD,

they will flourish in the courts of our God.

They will still bear fruit in old age,

they will stay fresh and green,

proclaiming, "The LORD is upright;

he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."

We perceive in this passage, and the many others mentioned throughout this book, that flourishing is all about God and how you strive to be righteous in whatever climate you find yourself. That’s why everyone can flourish. That’s why Daniel was able to Thrive in Babylon. [1]

Why do some flourish where many others wither? I think there are two groups of people: the engaged and the disengaged. The engaged are active participants in their life stories. These stories are neither ideal nor perfect, but the tapestry of their lives reveals a fair share of grace-filled acts of faith. The disengaged, on the other hand, are shrouded by a cloud of disappointment. They hold onto past failures while believing their fears about the future. Sadly, they are chained down by regrets and painful pasts allowing them to diminish the power of the Word in their lives.

In short, this disheartening loop of disappointments has left them devoid of hope and incapable of flourishing in their current season of life or their unfavorable climate. Throughout Scripture, God does his best work when the conditions are bleak. From Moses’ humble beginnings in the crocodile-infested Nile, to Daniel overcoming incredible odds, God has always turned messy situations into miracles. He leaves us a trail of love notes filled with hopeful messages for his name’s sake.

As you journey with me through this book, approach each chapter with this definition in mind:

To flourish in an unfavorable season is to acknowledge your limitations while challenging limiting beliefs.  It is to encounter God’s power so you can live ambitiously for Christ, all the while changing lives around you. 

In what I hope will be an inspirational and practical book, I tackle the exciting truth that it is possible to embrace our difficult circumstances and stay engaged enough to flourish within them. But how? This book inspires readers to see beyond their brokenness and challenges, encounter God’s power and his ability to shape their perspective and experience his ordained destiny for their lives.

Getting the Most from This Book

While I began writing this book well before the global pandemic of COVID-19 claimed millions of lives, leading to severe isolation, economic hardship, emotional trauma and all manner of uncertainty, its contents have never been more affirmed or more relevant.

I wrote this book to inspire an in-depth Bible study, hence the many references to Scripture to redirect your attention, hurts, joy, aspirations, and unknowns back to Christ. My prayer is that God will speak to you through the passages, stories, and biblical characters to help you see yourself in their stories and share in their victories as you overcome and thrive.

Set aside a block of time, pace yourself, treat your reading like a journey or a retreat to connect with God.  Allow him to uncover the deep truths revealed in his Word and this book. Pause and reflect as you read. I encourage you to note down and share with your friends what you are learning and discovering about God and yourself to cement your learning. Where necessary, look at the Scriptures referenced. I am more interested in your incremental growth than rushing to finish the book and gaining less from it.

Finally, at the end of each chapter, you will find four questions for reflection. They are designed to help you map out your steps toward flourishing. Resist the temptation to simply scan them and move on. They have the power to set your transformation in motion if approached with honesty and humility. While it may slow your pace a bit, lasting growth is a gradual process.

May Paul's words to the Colossians be fulfilled in your life: Christ in you, the hope of glory Amen.

Michael Abrokwah

Toronto, Canada 

PART I

Where Do You Start?

Chapter 1

A picture containing music Description automatically generated

In God’s Company

I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.

Isaiah 45:2

YOU ARE INVITED TO flourish. You may not know it, feel it, or see it, but the invitation remains, and you are not alone in your doubt. The refreshing and brutally honest depiction of the men and women God called to greatness is one of the primary reasons I find the Bible trustworthy. Their strengths and weaknesses are so exposed, and I wonder if any of us would be comfortable having a Jupiter-type light shone on the intimate details of our lives. The Bible uncovers everything! Before they came to be known as heroes, saints, or scholars, the men and women in the Bible lived ordinary lives.  They were mere humans, like the rest of us—weak, and sinful.

We don’t feel better about ourselves when we read about their failings and limitations, but their lives give us an overdose of hope. Every examination of any biblical character is rife with evidence of God’s mighty hand at work, cultivating seeds of trust in his ability to transform anyone’s life—from a despised shepherd to a revered king (1 Chronicles 11:9).

Blinded by the hardship of our tough times, it’s easy to ignore our personal invitation to flourish as Christians. We don’t realize how much the world has conditioned us to see the bad, the worst, and the ugly in people and situations. We begin with our pessimistic outlook and attitude and dwell on horrid pasts or difficult experiences.  We infuse our tainted and adulterated views on anything that resembles hope or a chance at a new beginning, or on anything different from the misery we embrace as the norm.

But if we look close enough, with care, compassion, and grace, we will learn to see as God sees. We will become as hopeful as God and inspire people to greatness as God does. We might call Gideon a wimp who would never amount to anything, yet God called him a mighty warrior (Judges 6:12). David was a murderer, but God described him as righteous (1 Kings 15:5). Jonah was a man saddled with deep depression and he ran from his God-ordained mission because of the wickedness of the Ninevites. Yet our compassionate God led him to repentance and restored him (Jonah 4:11).

How about the church in Corinth? We see sinners who were immature, divisive, and dissentious: a troubled church and a messed-up group of people. Our Corinthian brothers and sisters were embroiled in lawsuits, greed, chaos, immorality, power struggles, and church politics. They struggled with doctrinal issues about marriage and divorce, the resurrection, communion, spiritual gifts, et cetera. But God saw saints in need of inspiration (1 Corinthians 1:2–9) and modeling (1 Corinthians 4:14–17).  These represent the core concepts I hope to explore and impress upon you to help you on your journey of flourishing in an unfavorable climate. Let’s see how Paul used inspiration and modeling in the Corinthian church.

Inspiration

Inspiration begins when you allow yourself to see things differently. Possibilities abound, doors open, the scales fall off, a new energy kicks in, faith and hope infuse your life, and the paradigm shift sets a new world and vision into motion. It also happens when you surround yourself with those who’ve done it, those whose successes and even failures you can learn from. After all, you become like those you associate with. One reason many people flock to the gym at the beginning of a new year is that they are looking for association and inspiration. I believe inspiration is an invitation to greatness. Jesus seasoned his teachings with inspiration.

Why? Because it is the first key to lasting transformation. It’s what we see God bless the Corinthian church with. The introduction of the biblical text we know as First Corinthians is heartwarming, inviting, and loaded with life-breathing words powerful enough to inject hope and faith into any dead or dejected soul. Paul, the apostle, through God’s leading, saw the church foremost as holy, sanctified, set apart in and for Christ (v. 2). Disciples in Corinth were no less than any other Christians. They were not second-class citizens, aliens, or immigrants lacking integration.  They were called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours.

Paul takes it further—by using the associating phrase their Lord and ours, he elevated the weak faith of the Corinthian disciples to his fiery faith in Christ Jesus. Isn’t that inspiring? There’s more!  Paul encouraged them saying, I thank God for you (v. 4), you’ve been enriched in every way (v. 5), you don’t lack any spiritual gift (v. 7), and Jesus will keep you faithful (v. 8). And the most inspiring words any soul could cling to were penned to move them from sinners to saints: God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (v. 9).

I camped on these passages for a moment to reflect on how privileged we are as children of God. Jesus made this possible. He came to give us life, to set us free, to bring us hope. In Jesus, we have reasons to stand tall under whatever load we are carrying. In some cases, our tough times are self-inflicted. Caused by our need for more. Whatever your more is, it is a problem. It keeps you wandering and starving rather than feasting on your blessings in Christ. That is why our caring Christ says in Matthew 11:28–30 the following assuring passage:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

You and your burden are both invited to come to Jesus; to be inspired. Accept the invitation. Become the unburdened disciple Jesus came to redeem.

Modeling

We need mentoring to thrive. We need people involved in our lives. These are people we intentionally invite in our lives and discuss areas we want them to help us with. Some call it discipling, training, coaching, or modeling. If our goal is to become the best student of Christ we can be, then coaching is a must. If we want to grow into the likeness of Jesus (Luke 6:40, Ephesians 4:13, Colossians 1:28), flourish, and enjoy the full spectrum of life in Christ, then we can’t be a silo. You can’t do it alone. Don’t be deceived—you can’t imitate what you don’t see.

In order for inspiration to lead to application and the ultimate goal of abundant life in Christ, we need examples to follow. We must imitate those who have gone before, those mature in Christ, who seek to call us to Christ ALONE. Look at these examples. Moses could have stayed in Pharaoh’s palace, but Hebrews 11:24 says this about him: By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. No wonder God called him to save the Israelites. To mention a few more examples, Jesus showed us how to pray (Luke 11:1–13), how to love (John 13:5–19, 34–35), and how to forgive (Matthew 18:21–35). He exhibited self-control (John 19:11), a God-trusting spirit (Matthew 6:25–33), and God’s compassion (Luke 15).  Jesus could have sent the Word from heaven, but he brought the Word to us (John 1:1–2) and demonstrated it for us.

Jesus showed his disciples what it meant to walk with God, overcome, and live a productive life. Jesus gave them hope. The Corinthian church also needed to see a living example of discipleship. This example was the second missing secret ingredient there. Here’s how Paul described their need for modeling in 1 Corinthians 4:14–17:

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason, I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

Blame and shame create defensiveness in all of us. Paul had ample sinful habits to bring against the church, but he chose the path that helped the church to succeed. He addressed the issues in a way that disarmed the people and inspired them. Paul helped them see who they could become. He gave them a vision and devised a plan to execute it.

First, he warned them. A warning is not blaming or shaming; it is loving (v. 14). Here, the compassionate father in Paul wanted the best for his children. He understood their need to grow, mature, and become all that Christ wanted and intended for them. Second, the solution was to send Timothy. The inspiration was fitting, and the prayers were much needed. But the church would benefit from seeing a living example of what Paul was writing about, what he was inviting them to.  Paul commended Timothy as one who had learned much from him (2 Timothy 3:10–16), was familiar with his teaching, believed in the consistency of the gospel, and lived out discipleship as Paul taught in every church (v. 17).

I think the secular world is miles ahead of the religious world in this respect. The Navy makes Marine Corps out of civilians, Sherpas guide amateur hikers to summit Everest, LeBron James has repeatedly led a team of average NBA players to the Finals, and the corporate world is where more than a few ordinary people have become heroes. Why does the church seem to be different? What can we learn from these examples? What drives these people—fame and money?

If Jesus used his team of misfits, zealots, fishermen, and tax collectors to change the world, and do more than any Marine, mountaineer, or champion will ever do, then what are we missing?

Start Your Engine – You Are Not Alone

Many people feel capped, trapped, unfulfilled, and uninspired. It is not uncommon to feel imprisoned by failures and awaiting the life hoped for or believed God intended. Some are crippled by an unmanaged recurrence of regrets and are carrying burdens Everest-high, chained down by hurts painful enough to block any possible progression and hope of transformation.

For most of us, it is in our nature to look for what’s ideal and perfect in relationships, churches, jobs, schools, etc, with stress-free and risk-free conditions and favorable climates. However, these lack adventure, require little faith, don’t really build character, and are void of some key elements required for the kind of breakthrough that glorifies God.

The world is filled with people who struggle daily through marriage and parenting issues, health challenges, abuse and addictions, career and financial troubles and even unfulfilled dreams.  Some can rise above and thrive, but many just live, settling into and accepting their misery.

Many whine, lacking both an attempt to change or a clear path to get up and walk (John 5:8). They blame God for their hardships, like Mary did when Lazarus died (John 11:21). Wherever you are, no matter the difficulty, you have a choice. You can blame or reframe. In Romans 15:4, we find one reason the Bible was graciously given to us:

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

The Bible is more than history; more than a reference guide in our time of need. It gives us encouragement, hope, and a reminder of the God we serve. In the Bible, we see God’s powerful work and relationship with the men and women he called to move and change the world. Their stories reveal their limitations and remind us of their victories and how, with God’s power and promises, they flourished in their unfavorable conditions. Their messy lives and missteps can be overlooked, but their stories of victory remind us that God can redeem any situation and turn it into a miracle.

We know we are in good company when we can identify with the likes of Peter, James and John (the ungracious sons of Zebedee), Esther, Joseph, Moses, David, and Abraham. But our invitation to greatness and to flourish is far more powerful than being in good company with these heroes. We are in God’s company! Great things happen in God’s company.

The biblical evidence of God’s power and his ability to infuse life and hope into any situation are indisputable (Romans 5:5). Consider the following people and their titles; Abraham changed from an idol worshiper to a righteous man described as a friend of God and made the father of many nations (Joshua