The Secret to Guaranteed Success
Guaranteed success?--Who does not want to walk into every meeting, event, date, relationship, etc with the mindset of "I KNOW I've got this!"
For this post success is defined as the "accomplishment of a purpose" (Google) and I would suggest "the accomplishment of His purpose."
I have recently been meditating on Numbers 13 & 14. The quick context is God is about to take the Children of Israel into His promise. They had been victorious over slavery and were beginning to find their freedom. They were experiencing a physical manifestation of God's leading with the pillar of fire and cloud. Now, God was positioning them to fully embrace His promise of the land. The spies came back with a bad report, with the exception of two, that accentuated all the reasons why the people would not be successful in this venture.
Then Caleb speaks up, "Do not rebel against the Lord! You should not fear the people...The Lord is with us" (Num. 14:9). Caleb's recipe for guaranteed success in the face of awesome challenges was the very presence of God. Only a few verses later when the people decide to walk into the promise; but on their own terms, Moses says, "Why do you transgress the word of the Lord? It will not succeed...for the Lord is not in your midst" (Num. 14:41/42).
In both instances it is the presence of God that indicates success or defeat. How do we know His presence in the daily grind?--we can ask ourselves the simple question of, "Where in His Word are my steps substantiated?" By His grace, let us "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12) walking in obedience to His loving will and in so doing rest assured of His abiding presence and constant success ("This book of the law should not depart from your mouth; contemplate it day and night in order to do it; for then you will make your way successful"-Josh. 1:8). God's presence is success guaranteed.
For this post success is defined as the "accomplishment of a purpose" (Google) and I would suggest "the accomplishment of His purpose."
I have recently been meditating on Numbers 13 & 14. The quick context is God is about to take the Children of Israel into His promise. They had been victorious over slavery and were beginning to find their freedom. They were experiencing a physical manifestation of God's leading with the pillar of fire and cloud. Now, God was positioning them to fully embrace His promise of the land. The spies came back with a bad report, with the exception of two, that accentuated all the reasons why the people would not be successful in this venture.
Then Caleb speaks up, "Do not rebel against the Lord! You should not fear the people...The Lord is with us" (Num. 14:9). Caleb's recipe for guaranteed success in the face of awesome challenges was the very presence of God. Only a few verses later when the people decide to walk into the promise; but on their own terms, Moses says, "Why do you transgress the word of the Lord? It will not succeed...for the Lord is not in your midst" (Num. 14:41/42).
In both instances it is the presence of God that indicates success or defeat. How do we know His presence in the daily grind?--we can ask ourselves the simple question of, "Where in His Word are my steps substantiated?" By His grace, let us "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12) walking in obedience to His loving will and in so doing rest assured of His abiding presence and constant success ("This book of the law should not depart from your mouth; contemplate it day and night in order to do it; for then you will make your way successful"-Josh. 1:8). God's presence is success guaranteed.
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