True Success

"If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord you God will set you high above all the nations on earth" (Deut. 28:1-2). Sometimes God allows us to fail before we succeed. How we respond to failure reveals who we are living for. For the believer death precedes success. We really need to die to our old self life and then be resurrected to a new Christ life. This happens as we fully surrender our lives to Him. Remember the "kernel of wheat falling into the ground and dying" before there was any fruit. The theme of obedience runs as a thread through out the Bible. In many cases, as with the above verse, obey and hear are used synonymously. Hearing the Lord implies obedience to what He instructs us to do. There has been an over emphasis on the theme of success in some circles. We have modern day "Pastors" who are little more than motivational speakers. Some are involved in huge TV ministries. Rather than preach repentance of sin and salvation through faith in the finished work of Christ, they preach the "Gospel of success." This kind of "Flesh success" is attractive to some but really leaves a bad taste in the mouth of discerning unbelievers. I do believe God is the God of success All true success is a gift from Him. All that He proposes will be carried out "Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven". There are Biblical principles when applied to business, they just plain work. The principle "He who is greatest of all will be servant of all" tells us that the business that best serves their customers succeeds. The "Golden rule" always comes up in any sales training I have taken. Even the world has adopted Biblical principles for success in business. However as believers our success is rooted in our relationship with Christ. When our abilities are separated from Him success is short-lived. I know a man who is a multimillionaire, I watched his life fall apart as he fell deeply into sin. He has gone from being a wise business man to a very reckless decision maker. His violent anger has alienated his best employees and his extreme instability has destroyed all credibility. His vast empire is crumbling because disobedience and sin exact a terrible price in a sinners life. True success is living for the Lord in an intimate, obedient, love relationship with Him. As we daily reaffirm our commitment to trust Him with all our hearts and follow His ways in all we do, our lives will come into alignment with His purposes. This will ensure that His purposes are being fulfilled through our lives. This is the meaning of true success. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.