TODAY’S DEVOTION (Saturday 11th December 2021)
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 345TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS.
I am glad we are in another glorious day in the 12th month of the year. God has been speaking to us about so many things that has to do with our salvation.
He has indeed fortified us with amazing grace. I believe for the rest of this month and even the year to come, He is able to carry us through!
Friend, life is full of challenges but when you have a good God by your side, it does not matter who is not on your side. One with God is more than one with a million supporters.
Let reiterate what I have always said; I am fully persuaded that “if God be for us, it takes a fool to be against us!” We have seen so many miracles this year, as a church.
Our God is indeed alive and well. He has been strategically intervening in the battles the enemy has been mustering against us, using men under his sway. To Him belongs all the glory.
Let me begin this word today by differentiating between a successful life and a fulfilled one. Many thrive to lead successful lives, but very few aims for a fulfilled one. To be successful is different form to be fulfilled.
People may laugh at you for not being successful, but none can laugh at you when you are not fulfilling your life on earth because none has the measuring line for that except God. In fact, people may even cheer you up for not living a fulfilled life; especially when you succeed in what is not God’s plans for your life.
I want to submit to you that you could be happy when you are successful but can never be joyful. The joy of the LORD comes from the fulfilment of his plans and programs for our lives.
THOSE WHO KNOW WILL TELL YOU THAT THERE IS NOTHING AS JOYFUL AND PEACEFUL AS LIVING A FULFILLED LIFE.
As earlier stated, a fulfilled life is not necessarily a successful life by the world standards. The Bible is very clear on that.
For instance, Lazarus in the story of “the Richman and Lazarus” was not successful by the world standard. But he died fulfilled. He made Heaven. But the rich man was successful by the world standard. He had servants, dogs, and all the heart desires. But he was not fulfilled. He died and went to hell.
To be fulfilled is to actualize “God’s will” for your life in this life and the life to come. It is to lead your life in such a way that you do not miss eternity with Christ in the next life.
I define a fulfilled life as a life that is spent doing all of God’s will for it. Not some of His will, part of His will or none of His will, but all of His will for your life. It is a life that served its generation according to the will of GOD. But a successful life is not always a life that fulfilled God’s will for it in this life or the life to come. Many successful lives succeeded outside the plans of God for them.
In the Church today, you find many of us striving for success even if it is outside God’s will for us. Many of us do not know that when a Christian succeeds by the world’s definition of success, he or she is a failure in God’s sight.
We do not know that in Christ there is no successful polygamist, land grabber, scammer, harlot, thief, corrupt politician, assassin, worldly artist, or corrupt preacher or banker. Any of these successes is a life not fulfilled and a failure in God’s sight and will lead someone to hell.
In Christ you do not succeed when corruption set in. It is the prosperity of the wicked that is defined as success by many in the world.
If you look at even gospel ministry, there is no difference.
Ministry today, for many of us is about ridding the best jeep, living in the best house, commanding the largest crowd, being called to the statehouse of our nations to preach, and been sought after by the rich and mighty. That is the success in ministry for many.
HENCE, ALLOWING THE GOSPEL OF GREED AND COVETOUSNESS TO FILL OUR HEARTS.
Jesus started and ran gospel ministry the way He want us to all start and run it. In His example, He showed us that we do not go seeking for the rich and mighty. The rich mighty should see the glory of God in our lives and come seeking for us.
But even at that He showed us that we should not build our ministries around them.
There was a time the rich and mighty sought His audience in John Chapter 12:20-26, He never gave them what they wanted. He gave them what they needed. He responded by preaching the gospel of dying. The disciples had excitedly came to inform Him of the development but got a shocker when He told them that a seed of corn must fall and die in other to multiply into the hearts of men.
Only God knew the agenda of those guys who came looking for Him.
We should not forget that Jesus being God came to show us what ministry success is by Heaven’s definition or standard. For Heaven our success in ministry is measured on the indices of fulfilment; that is how much of God’s will is being done through us, not how many people or the quality of men our ministries are able to attract.
If seeking success by the world’s standards the way we do today was it, Jesus would have accepted the big guys who came seeking for Him and built His ministry around them like many of us do today. He would have brought them into His ministry and made some of them pastors to retain them so that they would be financing His ministry.
He would have used them to satisfy a carnal crave for great financial returns, and pierce Himself with many sorrows like so many us pastors have done today.
YOU SEE, WE WILL ALWAYS PIERCE OURSELVES WITH MANY SORROWS EACH TIME WE SEEK TO BE SUCCESSFUL BY THE WORLD STANDARD.
God has a different standard of success and man has his own. The two are not the same. In God, success is measured according to divine will not human calculation. Success is all about how much of His will is being done through us.
The fulfillment of God’s will through a man is what God looks at when measuring success, not how much money he may be making or earthly goals he may be achieving.
We must understand that there is good success and there is bad success!
Good success is a success that will lead you to Heaven. Bad success is a success that will lead you to hell. It is governed by greed and covetousness. It is a success that is achieved by using men as tools, and trading the eternal for the earthly. But good success is different! It is a success that will lead you to eternal rest with Christ.
Good success is not governed by greed and covetousness but by righteousness. It is achieved by following the ways of the LORD and doing only His blessed will. Our devotional text this morning says;
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success”
Good success begins with a RIGHTEOUS WORD from the LORD, and continues with a RIGHTEOUS WORD from the LORD, and ends with a RIGHTEOUS WORD from the LORD. It is activated by seeking first the Kingdom.
Jesus spoke about this success when He said in Matthew 6:32-34….
“For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (NKJV).
IN EFFECT, JESUS WAS SAYING THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE ONLY ADDED WHEN WE SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND ITS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Sadly, our spiritual blindness does not let us see this scripture clearly. Good success is a product of righteousness not struggles!
If you want good success in your marriage, righteousness is the key. If you want good success in your ministry, righteousness is the key.
If you want good success in your business, righteousness is the key. If you want good success in your career righteousness is the key. If you want good success against your enemies, righteousness is the key.
The Bible made it clear in proverbs 14:34 that
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (NKJV).
The easiest way to sow a seed of reproach in a strive for success is to seek it the world’s way. The harvest may not come in this life. Like the rich man in the Lazarus story; the harvest may come in the next life.
Jesus showed us the more excellent way to seek success when He said in Mark 8:36-37
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [in the eternal kingdom of God]? For what can a man give as an exchange (a compensation, a ransom, in return) for his [blessed] life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?” (Amplified version).
What more can I add to these blessed words of Christ than to humbly request that you make them and every truth in this devotional today your meditation. Save yourself form this perverse and crooked generation.
LET THE SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY
“And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured. And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; Genesis 39:1-8 NKJV