Failure or Success? - Part 2

The previous post presented perceived situations of failure: a job loss, a project that flops, singleness, childlessness, poor health, poverty, and so forth. We noted that these scenarios look like failure in our human evaluation, but that because God’s definitions are different, God might actually view those same circumstances as being successful. How can success be achieved in the midst of such negative situations? What is success in God’s eyes? What are the successful objectives that can be achieved in any set of circumstances?

True success is trusting God.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD.” Jeremiah 17:7 (all verses NASB)
“And without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11:6
God clearly states that if we want to be pleasing to Him and be successful in His eyes, we must have faith. We have to trust Him. Faith is what made the Old Testament martyrs successful in spite of seeming failure (Hebrews 11:39). During good times, trusting God is so easy that we don’t even give it conscious thought. It is harder to trust in times that seem like failure, but just as necessary. When nothing seems to be working, and everything seems to be falling apart, God wants us to have faith in Him. Success is saying, “Father, I don’t understand what is happening, but I depend on You to work out Your plan.”

True success is faithfully serving God.

“In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” I Corinthians 3:2
“What does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’s commandments.” Deuteronomy 10:12-13
“The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” Ecclesiastes 12:13
We are to follow God day after day without turning aside when we don’t see the results we are looking for. Jeremiah faced opposition from everyone else, but he faithfully gave God’s message for decades, and God was pleased with him. God does not ask us to be in charge of the results. He does ask us to faithfully serve Him. If the progress is painfully slow, our efforts are continually ineffective, or the number of people to whom we minister is pitifully small, we are to remain true to God, obeying what He asks us to do. Solomon, a man who had every kind of worldly success that can be imagined, realized that following God was the only true success. Success says, “Father, I don’t see the results, but I will keep serving You anyway.”

True success is focusing on God’s Word.

 “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:2
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” Joshua 1:8
When life does not go as we expect or desire, we will be discouraged and defeated if we do not focus on stabilizing truth. With all of the additional challenges that come in trying times, we need the Bible to tell us how to respond. We also need the Bible to be the bedrock for our troubled souls. We must remember that there is a difference between God’s idea of success and our own, that there is a difference between God’s understanding and ours, and that there is a difference between God’s sovereign control and our pitiful attempts. We are going to be reminded of those truths only as we direct our hearts and minds often to the Word of God. When we remember God’s truth, our faith is strengthened and our obedience facilitated; the result is that God is pleased. A response of success states, “Father, I am dependent on Your Word to protect my thoughts and direct my actions.”

True success is honoring God.

“Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth.” Jeremiah 9:23-24
“So that the proof of your faith . . . may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” I Peter 1:7
“To the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:12
True success comes when we realize that we are not the central character of our lives. Success is not about our plans, objectives, or achievements; it is about the work of God. If we experience what looks like earthly success, we must deflect the honor and glory to God. In our seeming failures, we can still give praise to God and exalt Him. We do that personally by submitting to God in appreciation of His good plan, though unknown to us. We give God honor publically when we give Him credit for everything, verbally express our trust in Him, and respond in a way that points others to Him. When God receives the honor that He properly deserves, we cannot call the situation a failure. Honoring God is achieved when we privately acknowledge and outwardly proclaim that God is amazing enough to accomplish good things in any situation. A heart that understands success declares, “Father, may You be lifted up through my life in both good times and bad.”

None of these responses is dependent on being healthy or keeping a job or having beautiful children. In fact, they are more noticeable and poignant when we perform them in less than ideal circumstances. When we follow the principles above, God is pleased, and we are successful, regardless of what circumstances look like.  When our lives look like failure, we must remember that God does not evaluate with the same criteria we do. When He accomplishes His purposes, any “disaster” can be a triumphant success.