“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”—Psalm 27:1 (NIV)
I love books. I recently came across “Experiencing Success God’s Way,” written by Charles Stanley (2000). I was intrigued by the idea of success from God’s point of view. I know He supports success, but I’m always leery of the fake prosperity gospels that some churches proclaim. I was curious to see what Dr. Stanley had to share. What exactly does success look like by God’s definition?
Pastor Stanley provides several examples of men in the Bible whose ordinary lives became extra-ordinary when they had the courage to follow God’s leading.
Before I jump into what I want to share with you, I want to say that these examples of men are just as easily examples of us as women. God’s value of men and women will never be defined as we define it. He knows, appreciates, and loves the complexity, worth, and strength of both men and women. When we read the Bible, we must remember that these God-breathed selections of historical recollection is for our benefit and are examples that we can share in and relate to as individuals be it male or female.
I especially enjoyed the chapter where Pastor Stanley broke down God’s personal success pattern for each of us. He provided some great examples with Joseph, Moses, Paul, and David.
Stanley gave shape to Joseph’s success as, “Vision followed by years of faithful preparation, trust and obedience resulting in years of service, authority, and reward.” Pastor Stanley clarifies it with this, “What we often do not perceive is that God is building a strong pattern of experience, skill, trustworthiness, honesty, integrity, and character into us, so that when the time comes for us to be in a position of authority or influence, we will be ready.”
He then moved to giving examples of success for Moses and Paul. “Seemingly unrelated events without the person having a vision of success followed by a definite and specific call of God followed by faithful obedience and trust.” Pastor Stanley broke it down like this, “Many people today grow up knowing “about” the Lord but not knowing the Lord personally. They go through difficult and sometimes devastating experiences in their lives and then one day, they come face-to-face with the reality of God and the reality of their own lives.”
The final example Pastor Stanley offered was that of David. “Anointing by God followed by success built upon success.” Christians raised in godly homes who, “come to know the Lord early in their lives. Then the Lord seems to direct them into a very specific avenue of ministry/service. They continue to grow and mature, becoming increasingly conformed to Christ. Their effectiveness as witnesses to Christ also continues to grow. Their life pattern is one that reflects a pattern of moving from strength to strength.”
Some had the vision and trained faithfully, others with no vision eventually coming face to face with God’s calling and still others who were anointed early on and chased down their calling. But none of these callings were without hardship and challenges. The journey to becoming more Christ like is not a transformation for the easily offended or light hearted.
Joseph, sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape and thrown into jail. He never forgot the the 2 dreams God had given him at a young age. His perseverance to see God’s call on his life completely fulfilled delivered him into success, prominence and power. When he arrived at this place of prestige his heart was to serve God.
Moses had no vision for his life. Adopted into wealth, had a terrible temper, he murders an Egyptian and flees for his safety to a remote desert for 40 years. God comes calling for Moses to return to his Egyptian heritage and talk with Pharaoh and tell him to let His people go. Moses argues with God about his worthiness. He eventually submits and follows God into another 40 years in a desert. Just the place he was qualified to be.
Paul would spend countless days in jail without food or water and at times, waste deep in sewage. On numerous occasions he was beaten one whip shy of death and rejection was the norm for him. Paul’s early credentials revealed he was well educated both scholarly and biblically and he was also highly respected by society. As a man who could travel and speak freely, had access to the synagogues and who knew the Jewish people and their customs, Paul could thoroughly explain to them how Christ fulfilled the word.
I’m personally thankful for Paul because He paid a high price to bring the gospel to the gentiles (anyone who is not a Jew). This call also brought on inner turmoil with His Jewish upbringing and customs. But instead of pleasing man, Paul chose to please God and for that, I will be forever grateful to know and experience the redeeming love of Christ.
David was trained as a shepherd subject to natural terrain and enduring various weather elements. Protecting his sheep from predators, nursing them to health, delivering babies, his grass roots start was only a shadow of where God would take him. As the defender of his heard he was a warrior and familiar with a simple but deadly weapon. A sling and stones. This simplistic tool would bring down the Philistine Goliath and secure the Israelites as the free nation he would eventually rule as king.
Also, worth mentioning is that Joseph came across as a “better than you” arrogant brat. Moses’ hot temper would eventually cost him the ability to enter into the Promised Land. Paul was originally Saul, a man who persecuted Christians and who consented to the murder of Stephen, a godly man. David was an adulterer and a murderer.
These are examples of people with varied skill sets and back grounds. Struggle and hardship were part of their journey. Basic and ordinary, scholarly and fierce, each of them fell short. Without exception they missed the mark.
What was their strength in staying the course? When they failed, what brought them back to Christ? How did they find their way when life got difficult?
Surely it was their humbleness. They knew the value of repentance and submission. They understood the importance of using their weakness as a teaching tool and they used their faults to draw them closer to God.
When we submit our lives to Christ our ordinary things became deep seated roots that provides the ability to weather life’s storms. It keeps us in place and grounded to the love of Christ and His extravagant heart for relationship and redemption.
Praise be to the One and only God who loves us enough to work with us, to mentor us and to be faithful even when we’re not. Despite our humanness God honors our attempts at translating His heart for His people. He is the God who is able to take our meager offerings and multiply them a thousand fold.
May we never experience a relentless fear based on the world around us but rather a relentless fear of not fulfilling what God has for us. May we pursue a deeply satisfying, richly rewarding life of accomplishment that is much bigger than we are and only possible through His power and His strength.
NOW LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
Self-Reflection
These questions are in no way a substitute for healthcare professionals or any level of professional counseling. I’m an advocate for taking care of oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These questions reflect my heart, NOT my profession.
This questionnaire is an opportunity to journal your thoughts and feelings. It can serve as a launching pad on which to evaluate your heart condition as you understand it. My hope is that you will take the truths you discover about yourself and hold them up to the Light to evaluate them against who God says you are.
Here are the 3 types of success patterns that Pastor Stanley shared with us:
Vision followed by years of faithful preparation,
trust and obedience resulting in years of service,
authority and reward.
“What we often do not perceive is that God is building a strong pattern of experience, skill, trustworthiness, honesty, integrity, and character into us, so that when the time comes for us to be in a position of authority or influence, we will be ready.”
Seemingly unrelated events without the person having
a vision of success followed by a definite and specific
call of God followed by faithful obedience and trust.
“Many people today grow up knowing “about” the Lord but not knowing the Lord personally. They go through difficult
and sometimes devastating experiences in their lives and then one day, they come face-to-face with the reality of God
and the reality of their own lives.”
Anointing by God followed by success built upon success.
“Christians raised in godly homes who, “come to know the Lord early in their lives. Then the Lord seems to direct them into a very specific avenue of ministry or service. They continue to grow and mature, becoming increasingly conformed to Christ. Their effectiveness as witnesses to Christ also continues to grow. Their life pattern is one that reflects a pattern of moving from strength to strength.”
- Can you relate to any of these patterns? Which one, in what way?
- What is your attitude toward fear? (ie does it ruin things for you, does it challenge you)
- How do you feel about failure?
- Is fear redeemable? If so, in what way? If not, why not?
- In what way can you relate to the failures listed for Joseph, Paul, Moses and David? Which failures? And if not their failures, how would you describe yours?
- Are you able to submit your failures to God?
- What types of doors do you think humility can open?
Talk to God about your answers. Give Him praise, ask Him questions and then listen for His gentle response.
Take Action
Use God’s word to take control over the traumas in your life. Whenever you feel terrorized by your thoughts take them captive by replacing them with the truth of God’s promises in His word.
Here is a scripture for you to print, cut and carry with you and/or post in places where you will see it often. Ground yourself in God’s truths not Satan’s attacks. Encourage your heart and mind every time you are reminded of His great love for YOU!
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”—Psalm 27:1 (NIV)
When you read God’s Word say to yourself: The Author of all the world and everything in it loves me and desires for me to be successful. He has my best life at the forefront of His love for me. There is no one in all the earth that I need to fear because God is the One who has the last say so and it will be good for me.
