Devotional | 4 Keys To Every Success Story
God wants you to prosper and have good success in everything you do!
'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 make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.' Joshua 1:8
In your job, your marriage, with your children, your relationships, your health, and your finances—EVERYTHING.
Here are 4 keys to success:
- Knowledge – the power and pursuit of knowledge.
- Work – the importance and value of a work ethic.
- Sacrifice – a healthy way to sacrifice along the way.
- Experience – enduring through failure and prosperity.
Knowledge
Whatever God calls you to, whatever your occupation or vocation, you will need to pursue knowledge. You will need an education—not necessarily a college education, but knowledge in your field.
'Hear the word of the Lord, You children of Israel, For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.' Hosea 4:1,6
Verse one states God wasn’t happy with the people, because there was no truth, mercy, or knowledge of God in the land. Verse six states that the people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. You don’t need the knowledge OF the world, but you need the knowledge that is IN the world. You need knowledge for your trade or vocation, but with a foundation in the Word of God.
The foundation of wisdom and knowledge is a reverence for the Lord. True prosperity and success come by obedience and meditating on the Word of God day and night. The knowledge of God is limitless and cannot be exhausted.
'Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises,' 2 Peter 1:2-4a
All the things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him, is an indication that knowledge will also affect the next three keys. God’s knowledge and the knowledge of God are the foundation for EVERYTHING in life.
Work
Work is the image of God in man. You are created in His image, and one of His images is work. Your job is not strictly secular or sacred; every job is spiritual. Work is a celebration of your humanity, an act of worship to God, and a way to love and care for your neighbors.
If you don’t work when you CAN work, you are compromising your humanity. Your work is your ministry, and your faithfulness in this ministry may determine what other ministry you will see in this lifetime.
'And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.' Genesis 2:2
God worked. Work is holy.
'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.' Exodus 20:8-11
Slaves work seven days a week, but not servants of God. You are called to work and then rest—in God’s image—work and rest. God gave Adam a job before He gave him a wife. Deuteronomy 28 talks about the blessings of obeying God. I bless you in the field, in the city, the fruit of your ground, everything you set your hand to.
'Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.' 2 Timothy 2:15
A worker can be a student, a pastor, a stay-at-home parent, a waiter, or a mechanic. All work may or may not require toil and sweat, but all work is holy and sacred.
'And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.' Colossians 3:17
It is important to thank God for your job and to work as though He is your boss. Work is worship to the God who gave you the gifts, knowledge, and occupation.
'For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.' 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Paul was serious about work and our need to work. In this passage, he is saying, if you don’t work, you don’t eat. Your work is holy and your paycheck is holy.
'Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.' Ephesians 4:28
This is one reason you give 10% to the Lord: it came from the Lord. God is the source of your strength, wisdom, and intelligence to work. He’s the source of your income.
You don’t work just to get, you work to give. Your money is not holy or unholy until you mix it with faith for the purposes of the Kingdom. It all belongs to God.
Sacrifice
There is no success and prosperity independent of sacrifice. Often, we only hear the end of a success story, but every story contains sacrifices. The Christian discipline of sacrifice before God will prepare you to prosper in anything you set your hand to. There is a price to be paid, whether it is those who paved the way for you, or your own sacrifice.
'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.' Romans 12:1
Notice it is by the mercies of God, not by the wrath of God. There is no guilt or shame involved. Walking with Jesus and becoming a living sacrifice is not a one-and-done. It is a daily discipline to engage your mind and body. A perpetual daily sacrifice brings about a transformation that affects every part of your life.
'Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.' Matthew 16:24-25
Denying selfishness, selfish ambition, and self-will is a daily practice. Daily saying: not my will, but yours be done. God’s will can’t be done until your will is submitted to Him.
'And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.' Romans 12:2
You can be transformed by the renewing of your mind—the sacrifice of yourself. You can demonstrate God’s perfect will by being a living sacrifice through renewing your mind. Most people don’t fear God’s will, or coming change, but they fear loss.
'He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.' Matthew 10:39
Your sacrifice is transformed into seed sown. There is always a death of something old before the resurrection of something new. Sometimes you may need to sacrifice friends and/or family when you are not strong enough to stand against unbelievers. You may have to sacrifice some hobbies that are not necessarily sinful, but you must let them go in order to embrace what God has for you.
''But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ’ Philippians 3:7-8
There may be things in your life you will count as gain that are precious to you. You may have to sacrifice those things in order to see change, success, and promotion. Those things are not where the value lies, but Christ is the greatest value. He will add to you what you need to handle success.
Experience
Not all your experiences are necessarily good or pleasant. You will have failures and setbacks as you grow in maturity.
'For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.' Proverbs 24:16
A righteous man who falls, rises again—learns and moves on. The wicked fall, and it is a calamity. You need experience, and you need to learn from people who have experience. You will learn from your successes, but also from your mistakes.
Failing doesn’t mean you’re a failure, and God never forsakes you when you do. God wants to teach, train, and discipline you, even in failure, to better equip you to help others avoid mistakes. Nobody in the Bible succeeded without some failure.
'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.’ Romans 8:1
This Scripture gives a degree of confidence when you fail; it was not God who caused it, and He is not placing blame on you. God is not the one hurting, harming, or making you sick or poor to teach you something. He is good and loving, and when you ask Him, He will teach you through your mistakes. He is good at bringing good from your mistakes, but He does not cause the mistakes. God brings beauty out of ashes, but He doesn’t burn your house down. He loves you so much and He wants to turn all things together for your good—every experience, good and bad.
There is no substitute for experience no matter how much book learning you have. God says in Joshua 1:8, Let not this book of the law depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein. There’s a point where you have to gain the experience. You need to go through it. You learn from your mistakes, and you can learn from others’ mistakes.
'The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you' Philippians 4:9
'But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.' 2 Timothy 3:14-15
Follow the path of a mentor, coach, or godly example. Paul says in this passage, do what you have heard, seen, and learned from me. You are not called to be perfect or to follow a perfect leader, but to follow them as they follow Christ. An acknowledgement of your own weakness will add to the potential of this key to your success.
'And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.' Romans 8:28
