Do you have God’s type of success?

It is great to have a lifestyle that perpetuates success; yes a lifestyle that is successful; that gives birth to success. It is good to be a hard worker. Yes, diligent; focused and fruitful. God loves success. God is successful! God wants us to birth fruit. Is your lifestyle successful?

Godly success is different from worldly success. Which one do you have?

Prince, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, all seemed gifted – and yet lost so soon. They exhibited a raw God-given gift. This gift, the ability to use music to calm the fears of its listeners; to use music to remove its listeners from their reality and put them in a different place at a different time – was genius! And so their trending gifts were wildly accepted, beloved among all cultures, nations, classes and peoples.

They were the world’ superstars; lifted up and celebrated. They made the world happy and feel good about itself. They were gods. They could do anything. Unfortunately it turned out that they were not as strong. It turned out that they could not cope with the world’s adulation. It turned out they themselves had no joy or peace – and in their times of low – which was often, they turned to drugs and prescriptive medication to do the very thing they did for others. They found that others’ burdens were just too much to bear. Unfortunately they got help from something so detrimental – to enable them get away from their own realty. Only if someone had told them, or only if they had listened to Godly counsel! Such counsel that determines what true success means. Godly success feeds off God Himself. The vessel pours out, but is forever filled by a faithful Source. You don’t need to look elsewhere, but to Him. Godly success is not from us and because of us; it is from Him and because of Him.

The world used them to escape, but they needed an escape themselves. They needed a safe place. It is such a burden to use your gift to make others escape – and you in turn be trapped by this very success.

Success is good. It is the heart of God that we become successful. God promised Joshua success in Joshua 1. Yet the same success could become a trap if we lift it up above God. What was meant for our good can indeed be exploited by the devil, used beautifully in this life – yet work against our own good. May our eyes be open to what pleases God. I pray we will be very sensitive to God and not chase success at the expense of knowing God. I pray that our successes will not bring a wedge between us and God. When the world overtly celebrates your success, take a check. It might be that your life is very pleasing to the world; and if so, then that is dangerous. Because holy things never please the world!  

Linda Faith

Linda faith is the editor of Jewels Magazine. She co-pastors along with her husband Revival Worship Church, Tampa. She is a prolific writer and powerful speaker, inspiring many women to be all God has called them to be. She is the founder of Joy Women’s conference which reaches out to empower, inspire and motivate women in their faith walk.