Heb10:9 Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second.
I was addicted to success motivation books back in the days. I just love that feeling of 'I can make it'. At a time, American motivational speakers and writers made huge sales and penetrated the hearts of young minds desiring to be successful.Their high sounding rhyming words were fascinating too.
They told stories of men that became successful against all odds. Hearing those stories ignited in me a drive to succeed. Most motivational authors taught us to set goals, write them down, imagine the gains of success and pursue it vigorously. I did all these but I felt empty in all my pursuit.
My view about success was one-sided because I saw success from their own standpoint not God's. It was about ephemerals not the eternal. The endpoint is woven around material increase and fame. What comes to your mind when you hear thr word 'Success'?
So many desire success but only few people are pursuing success from the right perspective. Those guys involved in armed robbery, kidnapping, internet fraud and ritual killing want to be successful. Behind those heinous acts is the drive to succeed. Politicians want to succeed by winning election at all cost not minding the process.
However, God sees success differently. If Jesus is on the earth today, by our standard, we may call him a failure. Why? He may not have cars, houses and properties. Don't forget that during his days on earth, he said he doesn't have a place to lay his head (Luke9:58).
He didn't have a royal donkey, he borrowed the one he rode into Jerusalem. What about Paul? I doubt if that man had designers in his wardrobe. He was always on the move yet they were successful according to God's definotion of success.
What is success from God's standpoint? Success is the progressive actualization of God's plan for your life. That's how God define success.
What matters to God is for you to be right at the centre of His will for your life. You can venture into a thing and be successful but it may not be in God's perfect plan for your life.
Jesus came to the earth on a divine mission, he pursued it, finished and left. Paul knew his assignment here on earth, he pursued it and left likewise the Apostles and other kingdom heroes.
God wouldn't lower his standard for success and define it our own way. Find God's perfect will for your life and pursue it. That's where true success lies.
Father, I receive the grace to discover your perfect will and fulfil it In Jesus name. Amen