Posts tagged success
Bible in a Year – Day 71: You Stole Fizzy Lifting Drink
Mar 11th
Today’s Reading: Joshua 5, 6, 7 & 8
Success and failure. For any leader, there is a double-edged sword. You make decisions – calculated, but risky – and, when they work out in your favor, you are hailed as a hero. When they don’t work out, though, there is hell to pay. For Joshua, his honeymoon period as leader of the people of Israel came to an abrupt halt when the troops were routed at Ai.
Understand that just prior to that pummeling, Joshua and the Israelites had enjoyed an incredible victory at Jericho using one of the strangest military tactics in history. It was a plan that could have only worked if God was in it. And so, armed with new confidence in God’s ability and willingness to route their enemies, Joshua sent out his men to make quick work of Ai.
There was only one problem. There was a key piece of information that Joshua didn’t have. He didn’t know that one of his own people had defied the command of God when they conquered Jericho. One man had messed it up for everybody by stealing what was to be devoted to God. As I read this, I couldn’t help but think of Gene Wilder’s rant toward the end of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971).
“It’s all there, black and white, clear as crystal! You stole fizzy lifting drinks! You bumped into the ceiling which now has to be washed and sterilized, so you get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!” – Willy Wonka
God basically says the same thing in Joshua 7:10-12:
The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. (Joshua 7:10-12)
You lose. Good day, sir!
And so, armed with this new information, Joshua slinks off to find out who made him (and, in his eyes, God) look like a fool. Of course, he finds that person, a man named Achan, and “takes care” of him. The Israelites then go on to route Ai with the help of God and some of Joshua’s military prowess.
And then, we get this great scene of all the people of Israel coming together between two mountains and reading the law of Moses – just as God had commanded. The series of events is an incredible reminder of how God’s plans can work, if only we follow them. Sure, Joshua and the people of Israel had a bit of a hiccup when they failed to follow God’s instructions, but when they corrected their error, God’s path was still there for them – waiting for them to come back.
He does the same for us – marks out a path and waits for us to walk down it. Sometimes, we stray, but the path is still there. We just have to get back on it in order to go where God wants us to go. And, once there, we’ll realize that his plans were always better than ours anyway.
Bible in a Year – Day 61: More Than We Deserve
Mar 1st
Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 8, 9 & 10
It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 9:5)
Sometimes it’s easy to forget how we got to where we are. Even the smallest successes in life have countless parts that contribute to the whole. Every milestone is the combination of our efforts, the efforts of others, fortunate circumstances and maybe a little luck. Every achievement requires us to realize that we didn’t do it alone. Whether you’re the president of the United States or the president of the neighborhood soccer league, you should give credit where credit is due.
And so it is with success for God’s people, too. Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness (and through plenty of tough times) and, along the way, they fought and won many battles. But the biggest battles would lie ahead – battles with the nations that inhabited the land and with the pride that would inevitably creep into the hearts of the people of Israel as they began to conquer those nations.
You see, that’s the down-side of being on God’s team. When we’re truly playing by God’s playbook, we’re going to win. But when we win, it’s easy to forget who the victory truly belongs to. When a team wins the Super Bowl or World Series, how often do they give credit to their strength and conditioning coach? How often do they sing the praises of the equipment manager? And yet, without having been conditioned for the game and without having properly maintained equipment, they would have never achieved what they achieved.
The same is true for us. God is the ultimate equipper, the ultimate coach and the ultimate fan. He gives us what we need when we need it, shows us how to go about using what he has given us and cheers us on to victory. Then, as we bask in the glow of success, we so often leave him behind – confident in our own skills and knowledge.
Moses’ charge to the Isrealites was a warning to not allow their own pride to disguise what was truly going on. They had done absolutely nothing to deserve this incredible land. There was no reason in the world for God to give it to them. The only reason that they could escape from Egypt, survive in the wilderness, defeat other armies and take possession of this incredible land was that God had made it so.
And the same applies to us today. God has made some incredible promises to us and we have no right to claim them. We don’t deserve anything from him. We haven’t earned anything. And so, Moses’ words to the Isrealites are as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago. It is not because of our righteousness or our integrity that we accomplish anything in life. All of our successes, all of our possessions, all of our strengths are God’s to give and take away. May we always see the blessings he gives us and, more importantly, be gracious when we fail – knowing that sometimes we get what we deserve and sometimes we get far more.
Beyond the Straw
Sep 14th
Isaiah 33; Isaiah 34; Isaiah 35; Galatians 1; Psalm 107:10-22 NIV
You conceive chaff,
you give birth to straw;
your breath is a fire that consumes you. - Isaiah 33:11
For those of us who have tried and failed to achieve things of significance on our own, we are acutely aware that we “give birth to straw” – that the things we try to create are often worthless. For others, they may have had a lot of success building things on their own. They may have a harder time swallowing these verses. You see, the chaff and straw were the parts of the wheat fields that were leftovers – the useless part.
Of course, to someone looking for a good deal on straw, I suppose the straw has value. And that is what we find so often in this life. We have redefined success to be those things that we are good at. In other words, on our own, we can build buildings, make money, have political or business power, etc. Therefore, we look at those things, gather them together and then call them success. That way, when we achieve any of these things, we can feel successful.
The problem though, with success as with straw, is that no matter how we define it, the “best” of the wheat (and of life) is not found in the straw or “successes” that we dabble in. The best is something other – something only found when we leave the straw behind and run to catch up with the harvester. God, the great harvester is working hard in this world. His definition of success is very different from ours. His understanding of the wheat field is much greater than ours. Therefore, it’s only when we decide to move past the straw of this world, that we get a real glimpse of the best that’s out there.
Blessed or Not?
Aug 20th
2 Chronicles 10; 2 Chronicles 11; 2 Chronicles 12; 1 Corinthians 14:1-19; Proverbs 20:15-24 NIV
The story of Rehoboam highlights just how complicated our relationship with God can be. Throughout the story, the writer makes it clear when Rehoboam was following God and when he wasn’t. The writer also makes it clear when there were consequences for Rehoboam’s actions.
However, in Rehoboam’s life, as in ours, there had to be times that were “in between” – times where he wasn’t really following God closely, yet was having success in his kingdom. I’ve had similar moments in my life where I assumed that because I was being successful that I was following the plan of God.
There are serious flaws in this thinking, of course. The first is that it seems that God sometimes gives us a “grace period” when we head off in the wrong direction. He gives us time to figure it out and make a course correction. The second flaw in thinking, however, is worse than the first. It is when we assume that God’s desire is for us to succeed (in the way we most often define success).
There are plenty of TV preachers (and many more non-TV preachers) who insist that God wants us to make lots of money, get lots of promotions, drive nice cars and live in big houses. Now, let me be clear, I don’t think God is necessarily opposed to those things. I just don’t think any of those things are God’s main interest, nor should they be a litmus test for whether or not we are “blessed”. In fact, I think the whole concept is a lie and a trick from the author of lies.
If we can be tricked into thinking that we can measure God’s love by how much money we have, how healthy we are or how comfortable our life is, then it becomes really easy, in times of discomfort, to convince us that God doesn’t love us at all. In fact, if we judge anyone’s love by whether or not they make our lives easy, we might conclude that no one loves us!
However, when I look at the story of Rehoboam, what I see is a never-ending love of the Father. Like a parent disciplining a child, God didn’t simply allow Rehoboam to do whatever he pleased, but instead, gave consequences for his actions. But through it all, God loved Rehoboam and was ready to extend a hand of grace whenever it could be received.
I’m glad He does the same for me.
Finding Purpose
Aug 6th
1 Chronicles 22; 1 Chronicles 23; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16; Psalm 91:9-16
There are some great words about the wisdom of the Spirit in the passage from 1 Corinthians today. Be sure to read it!
But the thing that has stuck with me all day is this idea of purpose that’s presented in 1 Chronicles. David loved God and wanted to honor him by building an incredible temple. The nation of Israel hadn’t had a temple in a really long time and David, once appointed king, realized that he had all the resources at his disposal to build something really worthy of the Lord.
His heart was in the right place. What he wanted to do was nobel. Yet, God stopped him from going forward with the project. Now, God had his reasons – David had fought a lot of battles and killed a lot of people to secure Israel – but the bottom line was this: God had not purposed David to build the temple. For that project, he would prepare David’s son, Solomon. And that’s where I find my lesson in all of this.
You see, I, like many others, have an urge – a desire – somewhere deep down inside to be great. I want to accomplish great things and leave a legacy that lives on long after I’m gone. And it’s not entirely a selfish thing either (although, if I’m honest, those feelings of pride and self-assurance slide in all too often). No, sometimes my desires for greatness are to accomplish something incredible for God. What if, for example, I could somehow manage to provide clean water for the world? I often think about what I would/could do if I had access to the billions of dollars of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. I could do great things!
I don’t really think about the fact that maybe God hasn’t purposed me for those things. Maybe he’s purposed me for the things I’m doing right now. Maybe I’m not supposed to do the great big huge thing, but a lot of little things. Or, perhaps, like David, he has purposed me to make preparations for the great thing that is coming. Whatever it is, I always want to seek out what God’s purpose is for me and follow that, rather than trying to force him into my own plans.
