True Success
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What is true success? Over the holidays I was also able to re-read an excellent article by Reb Bradley called, Solving the Crisis in Homeschooling. I can’t recommend this article enough. The Lord used it again to speak volumes to me about my own heart. As I have said before, I am a planner. I LOVE to plan. I LOVE to check off my boxes, cross off my to do list. I guess it makes me feel successful…like I have accomplished something. But in reading this article again, the Lord pointed out some things to me that I would like to share.
Obedience is the highest success!
In our world we tend to measure success by the fruit we see from our own works. Whether we are talking about work, home management, parenting, or marriage, we feel we are successful if we see results. Is that not right? Well, let me share this quote from Reb Bradley’s article about what true success is:
In the Christian life it is important to understand that our highest success is not measured by the effect we have upon others, but strictly by our obedience to God. In other words, God does not credit us that someone came to faith in Christ through our words – He credits us for our obedience. We obey and speak the truth – God bears the fruit (1 Cor. 3:6).
…and this quote:
Shortly after I first planted Hope Chapel in 1987 we were visited by Pastor Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand. (They both had been tortured for years in communist prison camps and are the godliest people I have ever known.) During their visit Sabina asked me how the church plant was going. I responded, saying that I believed I was in obedience to God to be in Sacramento planting the church, so anticipated that the church would be a success. For that statement she firmly rebuked me. She looked me in the eye and declared, “Obedience is the highest success!”
Wow! I can see how this applies to so many areas of my life. How often do I feel like a failure because I don’t see the results of all I “do”…when in reality God counts it as success because I am simply obeying. Oh how I want to see that fruit, though! I want to see the good character in my children, a home that is running smoothly, a successful home business…but here again I am looking to the future at something I am striving for.
As I talked about in yesterday’s post, living like this prevents me from being “all here” today. All God asks of me to be a successful wife, mother, homemaker, etc., is that I obey Him each moment of the day…and then leave the future results/fruit up to Him.
I have more to share, but will do so in another post.
Have a blessed day in the Lord,
