It dawned on me long ago that “success” means something very different with God than most human societies have viewed it. Consider the people the Bible commends. Job, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob were all quite wealthy. Suh-weeeeet! But, news flash! Their wealth wasn't why God saw them as successes!
But hold on! There's Moses. He started out – his first 40 or so years of life, in fact – as a prince, a member of the royal court in Egypt, the most powerful nation in that part of the world. The next 40 years, Moses was an obscure shepherd living at the edge of a desert, far from any large center of power and civilization. His last 40 years were, to say the least, interesting. The highlights were miraculously defeating the ruler of Egypt, meeting with God “face to face” and constant fellowship with God. But this was in the context of leading, for 40 years, several hundred thousand complaining former slaves from captivity to a Promised Land he would never (Ouch!) enter.
Then there's men like Elijah, Stephen and Paul. Elijah subsisted for some months on food brought to him by ravens, scavenger birds, all the while (and for much of the rest of his life) being hounded by the forces of the king of his nation. For another couple of years Elijah lived (as far as others could see) off the kindness of a widow. Not exactly the modern vision of success!
Stephen, well, he got stoned … not with recreational chemicals, but with large rocks … to death. I wonder how many university students have that as their life's ambition! Paul, well, he did travel much of his known world – not in first-class accommodations, though. But in the process he got stoned almost to death (or did die and God resurrected him), got whipped by sadistic Roman jailers, spent a couple years in jails and prisons (which were very far from sanitary places!), and ended up having his head chopped off. Short of being nourishment for cannibals, this is about as far from virtually any culture's ideals of success as one could get!
I've probably dragged this out more than necessary – brevity isn't my spiritual gift – but clearly, God's vision of success for His people is far from any culture's norms! At the principle level, His vision is easy to state: total faith in and reliance on God! That was easy … what's for dinner?
Well, wait! Whether it's the wealthy Abraham, the enigmatic Moses or the battered itinerant preacher Paul, they did tough things, not entirely understanding the immediate purposes or eventual outcomes. From the points of view of their cultures, they did crazy things, all because God told them to do it. As some nowadays would pointedly put it, they heard VOICES! They totally trusted God while they did the “crazy” things. They totally trusted God while leaving behind familiar homes and friends, and abandoning successful trades and careers. They totally trusted God: even when facing down kings, emperors and governors; even while face to face with mobs; even while their muscles were being bruised and their bones were being crushed by stones; even as their head was being hacked off.
Ummmm … yeah! Do I trust God to obey Him even in things I understand (or think I do) but look a very little inconvenient or uncomfortable? What about things I don't fully understand? Do I trust God to do things that seem even just a little crazy? Do I so trust God that my life is less precious to me than God and His purposes. It shames me to think to answer just the first question!
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