How to Achieve Success in Life- God’s Way

Success…such a loaded word. Oxford Languages defines success as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” Everyone wants to succeed in life. No one wants to be a failure, and yet we so often live in this place of wondering if we will ever truly succeed! We work so hard, and it all can seem so fruitless! So, what does it mean to be a success in life, and more importantly, as a Christian to be a success for God?

Recently, I’ve been reading through the major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel) in the Bible. Don’t judge me, but the majority of them are so difficult for me to get through! Can you relate? They are hard to understand, and what I do understand is depressing! I typically read in the King James Version because that’s what I grew up reading, but this time through, I decided to read them in the New Living Translation to see if I could glean anything that my brain wasn’t catching in the KJV.

As I began the book of Ezekiel, the Lord began to impress some truths on my heart, and I want to share those with you today!

The World’s Definition of Success in Life

First, let’s talk about what we have been conditioned to view as success in life. Success as the world sees things is so superficial. As Christians, we know this, yet we fall into the trap of viewing things through the world’s lens and not God’s.

Success as viewed by the majority of the world involves financial gain, power, and prestige. Someone is thought to be successful when everything they do flourishes, and they are well-spoken of by everyone.

Success is having a lucrative job, having a beautiful home, driving a nice car, and having smart, good looking kids. You are said to be successful when your business ventures succeed, and everything goes well- when everything you touch turns to gold (literally and figuratively)!

Even in ministry and church work, we think of success as huge numbers and droves of people coming to hear our message and responding positively to it! We have been groomed to view all these as landmarks of success.

When We Don’t Measure Up

So what happens when we fall short of these marks? Maybe you aren’t seeing the success you’d like to see in your business. Perhaps your home isn’t the beautiful dream you would like it to be, or there is more month at the end of your money. Maybe, try as you might, you’re a mama who is run ragged and still can’t keep up. You are doing your best in every area, and yet you feel like…wait for it…a failure.

Your mind goes to all the ways that everyone else is successful and you are a failure. Maybe you have a child who is struggling to learn or even has a difficult mental or physical challenge. Is it possible that maybe you’ve let your mind stray into thinking that you try so hard, and it seems everyone else has success in life, and yet you are a failure? You wonder why it is that you just cannot measure up no matter how hard you try!

The Lie

Then, there is this kicker that Satan would like to put in your mind: “but God promises those that follow him success.” Maybe the passage from Psalm 1 about the righteous person even flows through your mind..

And the enemy whispers, “See! God’s word isn’t true! You’ve been promised success in life, and yet you are such a failure! God’s word promised that if you followed Him, everything you do would prosper, and it’s not!”

You pause and open your ears to what Satan is trying to sear into your mind, and you begin to believe that maybe he is right. After all, God’s word does say this, and yet, it doesn’t seem to be true. Not in your life! You’ve given your life to God, and yet, you feel like such a failure!

Friend, stop! Look me in the eyes and hear me!! We must know our enemy! Jesus said this of Satan:

It is his job to whisper lies into your heart until you are so debilitated by them that God cannot use you! He is a master of twisting God’s word to fit his nefarious purposes. He’s done it from the dawn of time. If he can get you to doubt God’s word, he has you right where he wants you and you will ultimately fail. So know your enemy, and don’t listen to his lies!

The Resolution

How do we combat this lie with the truth? Well, let’s allow ourselves to consider the possibility that, just maybe, the problem lies with humanity and their notions and not with God! Maybe God just doesn’t view success and prosperity the same way we do!

Remember at the beginning, I mentioned Ezekiel, and you probably wondered how that tied in? In the first few chapters of Ezekiel, God called him to do something. He called him to do something GREAT! He even gave him this amazing vision of angelic beings and His own glory to prove that HE was calling him. God told him exactly what he must do- he must go and declare His judgments on the people of Israel, and then, God says this:

I’m sorry? Come again?? Did you catch it? God called him to do something BIG, and then immediately told him that the people would not listen to anything he said. What? That doesn’t sound like “a tree planted by the rivers of water…and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Why would God set Ezekiel up for failure like this?

I think the answer lies in this: God doesn’t see success as we see success. God defines success as faithfulness. He didn’t call Ezekiel to turn the entire nation around, he called him to faithfully proclaim his message to the people. Success wouldn’t be measured by the millions that Ezekiel’s message would bring to their knees and back to God, because we know that that didn’t happen. Ezekiel was a faithful messenger, declaring the word of the Lord, despite knowing that he would never “succeed.”

In God’s eyes, however, Ezekiel’s success was measured by his faithfulness and obedience. No matter what anyone else said or did, he was successful because he was true to the call placed on his life and walked in obedience. Truly, he would be successful because, and only because he did exactly what God called him to do!

Where Does that Leave Us?

So what about us? How do we apply this truth to our lives? We purposefully take off the rose-tinted glasses the enemy has given us and look at things through God’s lens.

Many of my readers are mamas, so I’ll start with you! God has called you to the ministry of motherhood and homemaking and I know that you often feel like a “failure.” How do I know? Because I’ve been there…often!

You know what though? God hasn’t called you to perfectly clean floors, no laundry piles, and scholarly children. He’s called you to be faithful. To bring up your children in the fear of the Lord and teach them His ways. He’s called you to work diligently with your hands and He knows your frame! He made you! He knows when you are too weary to take another step- when you’ve given your all! If you are walking in obedience to this call, you, my friend, are a success in life! Forget what the world or the enemy says!

Maybe God has called you to a business or ministry venture. You have poured your heart and soul into it, and yet it seems to have failed. You see no fruit for your labors, no signs of success, and yet, you were so sure you were called by God to this place! Friend, don’t give up here!

Maybe God has wonderful lessons to teach your through your perceived failure. Perhaps you are on the brink of a breakthrough, and maybe God has something amazing in store for your venture. Maybe He will even move you on to another opportunity, but even if He doesn’t, know this: you are a success in life! Why? Because God called and you answered in faithfulness and obedience!

Conclusion of How to Achieve Success in Life

In conclusion, I want to encourage you today to pursue what you have been called to do passionately for the sole purpose of being faithful and bringing honor and glory to the Lord. Maybe you will meet with some measure of success as the world views it, and maybe you won’t, but would you join with me in seeking after the ultimate success in life? To hear these words when it is all passed:

Someone once said that true success can only be measured in light of eternity. It is so true! So keep being faithful and obedient where God has placed you! In that place, regardless of the outcome, you will be a success in life because God measures success SO differently.

Talk to Me About Achieving Success in Life!

Let me know how you are feeling on this subject! Do you struggle with feelings of failure? Or questioning the call of God on your life? I hope this was helpful! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Additional Encouragement and Resources

How to Cope When Life Is All Too Much – Life on Broomsage Hill

Three Great Ways to Relieve Anxiety – Life on Broomsage Hill

Let’s Fix Our Eyes On the Changeless One – Life on Broomsage Hill

You Version Bible App- Connecting everyone, everywhere, to God’s Word every day.

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