For 40 years Moses reigned successful among the Midianites before God brought him to the bushing bush to get his attention and re-direct Moses to his purpose. Your success is irrelevant to your purpose.
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do no be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
God says to Joshua, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Prov. 3:4, So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
Until now, I'd never thought about success being good or bad. You were either successful or not, but today, the Spirit kept leading me to focus in on "good" success which implies that there is bad success or success that leaves you unfulfilled. The drive for worldly success often takes us out of alignment with God's purpose.
Walk in purpose and good success will find you.
Former NFL lineman, Jason Brown spoke recently about how his decision to stop playing football was inspired by God and his late brother's sacrifice. At age 26, Jason Brown signed a $37.5 million contract--one of the largest at the time for any NFL lineman. A few years later he would decide to end his football career early. "People tell me that I'm crazy, they downright tell me that I'm stupid--OK?--to walk away from millions of dollars. Because if you have the opportunity to play in the NFL, it's supposed to be a no-brainer," Brown said. After the St. Louis Rams cut him from the team in 2012, Brown took a long, hard look in the mirror. Instead of fighting for a position on another team, Brown decided to walk away from it all. "A big inspiration, he said, comes from my older brother. He was slain in service, serving our country over in Iraq and Afghanistan." Brown said he was living the life of entertainment and materialism but wanted to make a leap toward service to honor his brother. "God told me he had something greater in store for me."
Brown's success met up with his purpose.
Moses spent 40 years in voluntary exile in Midian after killing the Egyptian. So running from his past Moses (out of alignment with God's purpose for his life) went on to build and accumulate great success. He married, had two children, had a great job keeping the flock of Jethro. was looked up and admire by the people. From a worldly point of view he was a success, but in order to dwell in good success he had to come in alignment with his purpose.
As Jason Brown said, "God had something greater in store for him."
The burning bush was Moses attention getter to reroute him back into his purpose. Brown's loss of his brother was his attention getter. We can spend decades running and while on the run convince ourselves that life is good. The crowds can cheer and the money can flow, but apart from purpose, it is 'good' at best.
Good news: although we may lose our way God never does. We cannot outrun what He has called us to. Oh we may delay it. We may make it more painful than intended, but ultimately we surrender to the calling. Our shortcomings are but a hiccup in God's plan. There are some things we simply cannot stop. I love this list I recently stumbled upon showing that God equips us for His calling no matter our weaknesses.
Abraham – Was old.
Elijah – Was suicidal.
Joseph – Was abused.
Job – Went bankrupt.
Moses – Had a speech problem.
Gideon – Was afraid.
Samson – Was a womanizer.
Rahab – Was a prostitute.
Samaritan Woman – Divorced.
Noah – Was a Drunk.
Jeremiah – Was young.
Jacob – Was a cheater.
David – Was a murderer.
Jonah – Ran from God.
Naomi – Was a widow.
Peter – Was a waverer
Martha – Worried about everything.
Zacchaeus – Was small and money hungry.
The Disciples – Fell asleep while praying.
Paul – A Pharisee.
Each built up success apart from their calling until God stepped in and forced them to deal with what they were running from. He rerouted them towards their purpose.
No matter how hard we try, we cannot thwart God's plan for our lives.
Rom. 11: 29 , "for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable." (NIV) or as it reads in the Message Bible, "God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded."
That's comforting to me, that even as I wandered through my maze of darkness and confusion, God's plan for me did not change, He simply needed to get me back on track.
God is our GPS guiding and rerouting when necessary to get us to our calculated and intended destination.
What is your burning bush? What is God using to get your attention?
Trust and listen. He's guiding you to your purpose.
Your good success.
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