SUCCESS!: According to God

SUCCESS!: According to God
Brad Reiches
Sep 5 2006 01:01AM

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Tuesday, September 5, 2006
GodThoughtsWired!

"Success:  According to God!"

I would argue that the most successful person who ever lived was Jesus Christ.  Of His own life He said,

"I glorified You (God) on the earth,
having accomplished the work which
You (God) gave Me to do."
John 17:4

 

The Bible teaches us that, just like Jesus, each of us has been given "work" to do.  "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in" (Ephesians 2:10).  God "prepared beforehand" certain things for Jesus to accomplish, and such is the case for us as well.  Therefore, we can surmise God's perspective on success:

TO THE DEGREE THAT WE ACCOMPLISH
THE WORK WHICH GOD HAS GIVEN US,
TO THAT DEGREE WE ARE SUCCESSFUL.

Ok, we're off to a good start, however we're not finished yet.  In my opinion, no study on biblical success would be complete without a look at Joseph.  Here's why.

"The Lord was with Joseph,
so he became a successful man...
The Lord caused all that he did
to prosper in his hand."
Genesis 39:2-3

Isn't that powerful?  How would you like something like that to be said of you?  It's possible, you know?  But before you go asking God to make you like Joseph, be warned.  When the Bible says in Genesis 39:21, "But the Lord was with Joseph," and then again in verse 23 of the same chapter, "Because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper," JOSEPH WAS IN JAIL! 

This stunning reality provides us with some critical clarification regarding God's views on success:

SUCCESS IN GOD'S KINGDOM
IS NOT NECESSARILY DETERMINED
BY PERCEIVED FRUIT...
BUT BY PERSISTENT FAITHFULNESS.

Just as a book cannot necessarily be rightly judged by its cover, we need to be very careful how we "judge" one anothers "success."