What Does It Mean to Thrive?
Life With God in an Unfinished Season
By Joe Milton
This week, I felt the weight of the unknown. The future of work is shifting, technology is changing faster than any of us can keep up with, and I found myself anxious about where it all leads and where I fit.
Then a quiet truth settled over me: God does not need me, but He wants me (Acts 17:24–25; Ephesians 1:3–7).
I do not have to perform to earn my place with Him. The questions have not disappeared. Learning to trust Him is a lifelong journey. But an uncertain future does not mean He is absent.
Maybe you are carrying your own version of that weight. You expected steadier work, a relationship that lasted, or enough money to stop worrying about next month. When you are trying to follow Jesus, disappointment can become a question about God: If I am trusting Him, why does my life feel this way?
In early October, Gallup reported a sharp decline in young adults’ life ratings. Through the first three quarters of 2026, 44% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 qualified as “thriving,” down from 64% in 2010. Adults ages 30 to 44 were at 45%. The measure reflects how people rate their lives now and what they expect in five years.
Christian faith gives us a deeper understanding of thriving: life with God, receiving His love and being shaped by Him, whatever our circumstances.
A good life is life with God
After Israel’s rebellion, Moses pleaded for God to accompany His people toward the land He had promised them. “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here,” he said (Exodus 33:15). The promised land itself would not be enough without God.
That challenges how we imagine a good life. We may picture God helping us reach the future we want. Moses reminds us that God Himself is our greatest good.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus calls blessed those who mourn, who recognize their need before God, and who suffer for following Him. Their blessing rests in His kingdom, God’s gracious rule, and His promises of comfort and life in His presence. Pain itself does not earn His favor (Matthew 5:1–12).
This life with God comes through Jesus. He gave Himself to rescue us from sin and rose from the dead, bringing those who trust Him home to God. Our welcome rests on His saving work (1 Peter 1:3–5, 18–21).
His presence is already ours. God’s Spirit lives within those who belong to Christ and helps us in weakness, even when we cannot find words to pray. We do not have to produce a feeling of closeness to make Him present (Romans 8:9–11, 26–27).
The good God is working toward
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). The following verses explain His purpose: making us like His Son and bringing us into the fullness of life with Him (Romans 8:29–30).
That does not mean every event is good or that we will understand what He is doing through a particular loss. His purpose reaches beyond the outcomes we hoped for. His Spirit helps us learn to trust, love, and live as God’s children.
His ways are better. He is good. He can be trusted, even when we do not understand what is happening or would not have chosen it.
Hope in the meantime
Peter describes believers who have hope through Jesus’ resurrection while still grieving through trials. God’s presence and genuine sorrow can belong to the same life (1 Peter 1:3–9).
You can bring Him your disappointment, pursue better circumstances, and receive help from friends, your church, or appropriate professional care. You do not have to feel better before taking the next faithful step.
One place to start: name one disappointment honestly before God, then share it with someone you trust. When words will not come, His Spirit prays for you (Romans 8:26–27).
Thriving begins with belonging to God and living with Him now. The One who is with us in our unfinished lives is leading us toward a restored creation, where we will live with Him and death and sorrow will be gone (Revelation 21:1–5).
He does not need us. He wants us.
