Success!

Success!

Joshua 1:8 KJV

[8] 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 shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Oxford Language dictionary defines success as 'the accomplishment of an aim or purpose'. I note that this definition does not make any distinction between good or evil aims or purposes. It simply defines it from the perspective of the end, not the means. This is why the world has been unable to provide any clarity on what success really looks like. How do you know if what you hold is the real deal or not? How do you even determine if you are on the right path towards that which is the real deal? These questions, I believe, are the focus of the verse above, which also provides the answers we are looking for. At the top of the list of priorities is the need to define the aim or purpose, so you can determine how to achieve it. Joshua here had an assignment, which was to lead the people of Israel into the land of promise. How do you take a stubborn, rebellious people into a strange land, if you do not have the right kind of help and guidance? 

God knew what Joshua needed, and He came to provide these. Again, it is noted that in order to access all that God was providing, there was a role for Joshua to play. The thing about success from God's perspective is that it will demand something precious from you. The natural man's greatest attribute is his sense of 'independence', where he thinks he can make it on his own without help. For all who will access all that God offers, that sense of 'independence' wil be one of the many things that would have to be given up. What God gives in replacement is that which has been effective for all of time, which is His Word. Reflect on this: right from creation, the Word of God has been at work. The Word continues to work wonders in the lives of all who are fully submitted to His authority. God does not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of our freewill, but be sure that He will display His splendor in the lives of anyone who dares trust Him with his/her all. 

The Word of God is His recipe for success. In the Word are solutions to all of life's problems and there has not been any human issue from any generation or dispensation that the Word of God has not been able to solve. By daily and constant meditation on the Word, you get insights and information that others do not have. Your pursuits and priorities are guided by the One who knows the end from the beginning. You are quick to obey whatever instruction you are given, because you know the power of the One who gives it. Of course, when you obey God, He moves on your behalf. When you do what pleases God, He is pleased to bless you on His terms. This is where true success is defined, the type that the world cannot understand. It is not defined by physical possessions but by a life that is possessed with pleasing God. It is even called good success; that extra that God gives makes it worth pursuing. If you have tried and are tired of the world's pressure, come to the One who gives without reproach, and your eternity will be glad you did. God's time of favour is here.