Success On God’s Terms

THU, 22 AUG 2019

‘Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do.’ Deuteronomy 29:9 NIV

Two men were talking and one said, ‘Do you know the secret of success?’ The other replied, ‘No, what is it?’ The first man said, ‘I can’t tell you.’ His friend asked, ‘Why not?’ The first guy said, ‘Because it’s a secret!’

Success, as God defines it, is not a secret. He repeatedly says in His Word that He wants us to be successful in life. But as our faces differ, so does God’s plan of success for each of us differ. Success is simply discovering God’s will for your life and doing it. Consider high definition television (HDTV). This technology makes possible an additional hundred lines of resolution on a screen so that the picture is virtually lifelike. The industry calls it ‘super clarity’. Whether you stand five metres away or half a metre, the picture looks perfectly clear—no fuzzy lines, no distortions, no shadows.

What would a successful life look like in high definition? In order to find that level of clarity, you need to dig into God’s Word and find out what He thinks about success. ‘Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do.’ When God created man, one of the first things He told him to do was ‘be fruitful, and multiply.’ (Genesis 1:22 KJV) In the book of Job we read the words, ‘Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.’ (Job 8:7 NKJV) But God-ordained success comes with a caveat, and it’s non-negotiable: God will bless you—in order to make you a blessing to others.