What is Success?
A question rarely asked, yet often assumed. In this secular world of ours we are taught a language of love. It’s a common language, which permeates through all the cultures; geography is no barrier to that secular language we are fed.
It tells us that we need to be popular; we need to have a lot of people know us to be likeable. It screams to us that it’s better to know someone of worth, as that may rub off on us and make us worthy.
We seek possessions; we crave to satisfy our ever-saturated world of goods, the next best thing, the car, the biggest and broadest T.V. It has no end. No quicker have we bought the latest craze and our neighbour has a better one!
Then we strive to meet the cost of that.
If we would take the time to kneel before the Lord, to ask him what success really is, we would come into a new revelation and understanding.
Recently, I came before God and I told him of my human needs (like he didn’t already know!), friendships, possessions and the like.
Now I’m not terribly beholden to these things, however, I am human and we all want to be valued and loved. We all need to feel secure, to have a sense of belonging and identity.
It may be said, by some, that we should already know our identity in Christ and we should feel a sense of belonging in God’s Holy community of believers, However, God doesn’t say it’s wrong to enjoy the pleasures of this world, after all, with all it’s sin, it is still a beautiful world full of good things.
It’s okay to enjoy friendships and God delights in sending us gifts whether they be flowers or the latest digital craze.
It’s when we make these things our idol, when we crave, can’t be satisfied without it, don’t feel complete unless we have it, even worse, when in its absence we feel deeply insecure.
So, I asked God, ‘Tell me Lord, what is success in your eyes? Tell me Lord, what will truly make me happy and even when the road is rocky, I promise to try to stick firmly to it, trusting that you know what you’re doing.”
God replied, “Success is not how many people know and like you, it’s not about prestigious people fellowshipping with you nor is it about possessions, what you have or where you live or even what you live in. No, success is none of these things. Success, is Faithfulness to me, Obedience to me and righteousness.”
What a revelation! To think that it could ever be as simple as that. I’m delighted in learning from God in this way.
The second lesson I’m learning is how to achieve ‘these’ successes.
Righteousness always seems to be the biggest struggle, not that I’m a very sinful person. I’m just reminded that I seek to be like Jesus and it’s tricky to be perfect like him. But, righteousness isn’t about works anyway, is it? For when we accept Jesus into our hearts, we receive righteousness.
I am reminded of the verse in 2 Corinthians 5:21:
’God made him who had no sin to be sin, for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’
It’s not ever by works that we become righteous. It is God who makes us righteous; it’s from him and not through anything we ourselves could do.
We would benefit from daily seeking more and more of his righteousess. Indeed, we would find success. I believe there is power in it.
A question rarely asked, yet often assumed. In this secular world of ours we are taught a language of love. It’s a common language, which permeates through all the cultures; geography is no barrier to that secular language we are fed.
It tells us that we need to be popular; we need to have a lot of people know us to be likeable. It screams to us that it’s better to know someone of worth, as that may rub off on us and make us worthy.
We seek possessions; we crave to satisfy our ever-saturated world of goods, the next best thing, the car, the biggest and broadest T.V. It has no end. No quicker have we bought the latest craze and our neighbour has a better one!
Then we strive to meet the cost of that.
If we would take the time to kneel before the Lord, to ask him what success really is, we would come into a new revelation and understanding.
Recently, I came before God and I told him of my human needs (like he didn’t already know!), friendships, possessions and the like.
Now I’m not terribly beholden to these things, however, I am human and we all want to be valued and loved. We all need to feel secure, to have a sense of belonging and identity.
It may be said, by some, that we should already know our identity in Christ and we should feel a sense of belonging in God’s Holy community of believers, However, God doesn’t say it’s wrong to enjoy the pleasures of this world, after all, with all it’s sin, it is still a beautiful world full of good things.
It’s okay to enjoy friendships and God delights in sending us gifts whether they be flowers or the latest digital craze.
It’s when we make these things our idol, when we crave, can’t be satisfied without it, don’t feel complete unless we have it, even worse, when in its absence we feel deeply insecure.
So, I asked God, ‘Tell me Lord, what is success in your eyes? Tell me Lord, what will truly make me happy and even when the road is rocky, I promise to try to stick firmly to it, trusting that you know what you’re doing.”
God replied, “Success is not how many people know and like you, it’s not about prestigious people fellowshipping with you nor is it about possessions, what you have or where you live or even what you live in. No, success is none of these things. Success, is Faithfulness to me, Obedience to me and righteousness.”
What a revelation! To think that it could ever be as simple as that. I’m delighted in learning from God in this way.
The second lesson I’m learning is how to achieve ‘these’ successes.
Righteousness always seems to be the biggest struggle, not that I’m a very sinful person. I’m just reminded that I seek to be like Jesus and it’s tricky to be perfect like him. But, righteousness isn’t about works anyway, is it? For when we accept Jesus into our hearts, we receive righteousness.
I am reminded of the verse in 2 Corinthians 5:21:
’God made him who had no sin to be sin, for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’
It’s not ever by works that we become righteous. It is God who makes us righteous; it’s from him and not through anything we ourselves could do.
We would benefit from daily seeking more and more of his righteousess. Indeed, we would find success. I believe there is power in it.
James 5:16, ‘Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. ‘
I think righteousness is the thing I’m going to ask God for more of.
I remember God’s teaching in this way:
I think righteousness is the thing I’m going to ask God for more of.
I remember God’s teaching in this way:
F.O.R.
Faithfulness, Obedience and Righteousness
So in any situation we can ask ourselves:
Am I being faithful to God?
Yes?
Am I being obedient to him?
Yes?
Am I seeking his righteousness?
Yes I am…
Then I am a success.
Blessings,
Christina Mckenzie
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