Tuesday 19 June 2018

UNSUCCESSFUL SUCCESS


“What will Success look like?”

This is a question that is often always asked by coaches or instructors while setting goals. Some call it the big picture but this usually describes what the end should look like.

Unfortunately for those who do not have a strong imagination or are yet to train themselves to visualize and see beyond what the physical eyes can see, describing the big picture can be some sort of a struggle.

A few weeks ago, my wife sat beside me and asked me a question that birthed this post. Her question was; ‘what does success mean to you and what would it look like for us?’

She usually doesn’t ask these sort of questions (that’s my forte) so coming from her, I knew there was more to it. So instead of giving her a normal general definition of what I thought success was, I paused and reflected on it for a very long time (and she didn’t move an inch which confirmed to me it was serious business) before responding.

To help me gain some more insight, I consulted the Webster dictionary and it gave me two interesting definitions for the word success:
  1. the gaining of wealth, respect, or fame
  2. satisfactory completion of something

Now the unfortunate thing is that the first definition is what a large majority of people have adopted as the only definition of success.

The more I stayed on the first definition, the more convinced I was that this wasn’t what the Lord needed me to see. This was also coupled with the fact that my wife was demanding to know what SUCCESS meant for us.

2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

This was Apostle Paul’s success story and it did not comprise of the things he has (possessions). Unfortunately, we live in a world today where even believers measure success by the possessions they have. Where success in ministry is measured by the size of the congregation. Where your packaging and bank account balance means much more among believers than your character and the fruits of the spirit.

And the Lord began to open my eyes to see so many people going about doing things and “prospering” in those things but the things they were doing was not what He has apportioned for them to do and the score sheet in His hands showed they were failing.

I then remembered the vision a sister once shared with me how she was driving out in the morning and she saw droves of people trooping out in a hurry heading out to their various “places of work” and the Lord was showing her that He did not send these people on the vocations they were pursuing and how most of them have never even asked Him what He apportioned to them.

We prayerfully did a check and confirmed that we were exactly where God needed us to be, more responsibility was coming and we are currently being positioned for it and we gladly accepted the responsibilities in faith trusting Him to provide all that we need to execute all He commands us to.

So my question to you reading this post today is; Are you doing what God created you for? Are you fulfilling purpose? Can you really say with no iota of doubt that you are running your race and you are right on course?


Food for thought…

No comments: