Now is the time ... To Make Way for Success

There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. Proverbs 14:12

I recently unpacked some diaries of mine from the mid 1970s. It was good to read again of incidents I had long forgotten. One thing that made me smile was a note about having a book party. In those days we did have Tupperware parties but we also had Successful Living Christian book parties. I noted that I had spent $12. In those days no doubt that was a lot of money. (Colin still cringes when I go shopping in Christian bookstores, wondering how much I will spend!) I think the books were aptly named “Successful Living” for in them I found many helpful insights for my life.

I believe God wants each one of us to live life successfully. In preparing Joshua for leadership of Israel after Moses’ death, God said to him, “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 God make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8.

In Proverbs (above) we read that there is a way that seems right but it is not the way of ultimate success, in fact its end is death. In other words we can have great ideas about how we should live our lives but unless it’s a ‘God idea’ it will not end in success. In Deuteronomy 12:8 it says, "You shall not at all do as we are doing here today--every man doing whatever [is] right in his own eyes--".

Just like Frank Sinatra sang “I did it my way”, many people believe they can ‘do life’ without God; that if they don’t do anyone any harm and live according to the laws of the land, they will have lived a successful life, therefore when they pass from this life to eternity they can plead their good works. Sadly that is very mistaken thinking which we should not let pass without a warning, lovingly given. Only by choosing God’s way, which is through Jesus Christ’s atoning death for us, can we live successfully on earth and for all of eternity.

It remains a challenge for Christians today to do things God’s way. In our pre Christ life we did what was right in our own eyes. Sometimes it may have worked, sometimes it failed dismally. Now, after we have submitted to Jesus Christ as Lord, we turn to a new way of living and doing life…… God’s way. The only way to real success is to do things his way. He wants us to prosper in all our ways and to lead a full and satisfying life. We must make way for our success by allowing his ways to become our ways.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that you want the best for me. You want to see me succeed in life so please grant me your grace to make good decisions that are based upon your Word and your way of doing things. Amen

Now is the time... To Release the Flow

….those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25

I recently had afternoon tea with a lovely elderly lady who is ‘long and strong’ in the Lord. She had previously shared with me her struggles with the weaknesses of aging; lack of sharp memory, deafness and a growing fear of venturing out of her home or inviting others in. Later in our conversation she shared how she spends considerable time reading her Bible and praying each day and yet she feels very ‘dry’.

There are good reasons for her difficulties but as I pondered on that today I thought that it is very possible and easy for us to get into that spiritually dry position ourselves. I remembered again the illustration of the Dead Sea in Israel; a sea which is so full of salt that it cannot be used for irrigation. What is the reason for this strange phenomenon? The Jordan River constantly flows into the Dead Sea, a salt water lake 8 times saltier than the ocean, but there it stays. It doesn’t have any outflow – nowhere for the water to go. It evaporates and also leaches into the soil (I suppose), and the minerals just build up in the remaining water.

I think this may be one reason for my friend’s dryness. She is taking in fresh ‘water’ by spending time in the word of God but by closing herself off from the world around her she is stemming the flow of God’s Spirit through her to others. We are made for relationship and the blessing comes from being a blessing to others. Jesus said, that in giving we shall receive (Luke 6:38). We have to receive from God and allow his Spirit to move in our lives in order to have something worthwhile to offer to others, but in order to keep the supply coming in we have to use what we’ve been given.

If you have been feeling drying lately perhaps you need to see if you have been releasing the flow of God out of you to refresh others. The world around us is hungry for love, acceptance, friendship, peace and joy, all the things God freely gives to us as we spend time with him. Remember he also said, “Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8.

Prayer: Father God, thank you for the flow of your Spirit freely given to me to enrich my life. Help me to use it, not just for myself, but also to be a refreshing blessing to others. Amen