“By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor, and life.” (Proverbs 22:4)
During your school years, you could probably name the student in your class considered most likely to succeed in life. They may have attained a high grade-point average, shown leadership ability, or been popular. It would be interesting to meet that person today to see how they measure up to those early expectations.
Success. Do an online search, and you will find numerous pointers on how to find the path to achievement in life. Identify your passions. Set goals. Stay focused. Develop knowledge and skills. Manage your time. Manage your money. The list goes on and on.
Success as our culture defines it may give us many of the things we desire, but it comes with risks. We are told if we work hard, we can become anything we want. We can be “the best.” To an extent, this is true. But the problem with this way of thinking is we may be setting ourselves up as the “supreme being” in our life. We’ve got this! It’s all through our power, not God’s.
The actual word success is only found once in the King James Version of the Bible in Joshua 1:8, yet the key to true success is found throughout its pages. The Book of Joshua opens just after the death of Moses and before the children of Israel have taken possession of the Promised Land. Now God is giving Joshua instructions on leading the people into the land. The key? It wasn’t hard work or clawing his way to the top. It was obedience to God and His Word.
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shat make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
If we were to develop tips for success using the Bible as our example, our list might look something like this.
10 Steps to Success
| Psalm 1:1-3 | Meditate on and delight in God’s Word. |
| Proverbs 16:3 | Commit our plans to God. |
| I Kings 2:3 | Obey God’s laws and commands. |
| Proverbs 22:4 | Display humility. |
| Luke 16:10-11 | Be trustworthy. |
| Philippians 4:6 | Don’t worry. Pray. |
| I Samuel 18:14 | Make God your partner. |
| Malachi 3:10 | Give God His portion. Be generous. |
| Mark 9:35 | Display a servant’s heart. |
| I John 1:9 | Confess your sins and shortcomings. |
Obviously, there are many more verses of Scripture that can guide us through life. In your personal prayer and study time, search out others that will give direction and insight into God’s plan for you. You may also wish to study the lives of some in the Bible who succeeded—or perhaps failed—to see how their life choices affected how successful they became. (Some suggestions: Joseph, David, Solomon, Saul (the king), Paul, Judas.)
You can succeed in God!
Lord, I want to succeed in life but only in ways that honor You. Help me to align my goals and ambitions with Your Word. It is only when I submit myself to Your plan and Your will for my life that I truly achieve success. If I forget, stop me—remind me. Help me to be all I can be for You.
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