OBEDIENCE is success.
As you step out and do what God is calling you to do, you already have your success story.
Any and all “results” are HIS success.
God truly is the only One Who can change a heart or bring about any type of change.
So our question needs to be,
“Lord, what are You calling me to do?”
And then our responsibility is simply to obey, following Jesus’ example Who said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34).
Be faithful to do the work
and faithful to leave the results up to Him,
The Change Maker.
Where then is boasting? It is excluded (Romans 3:27).
Where is worry and despair about the lack of results? It is taken to prayer (Phil. 4:6).
Period.
Listen to these words from Daily with the King by W. Glyn Evans as it expresses this very same thought beautifully:
“I must learn what Jesus learned: ‘to be obedient unto death’ (Philippians 2:8, KJV). All true obedience is unto death. That is a reversal of the world’s standard. ‘I will obey if’ is what the world says. The if means there must be a happy ending. Anyone will meet conditions, even drastic ones, if he gets his own way in the end. But that is not the obedience of Christ. His example was, ‘I will obey regardless.‘ For Him the ‘regardless’ was not a heavenly deliverance but a cross.
True obedience is always successful. It always accomplishes God’s will. It is immaterial to me whether my cancer is cured, my promotion achieved, or my loved one saved. If I have obeyed, that is enough. I am successful. Beyond that, it is God’s business. If I insist on a happy, selfish outcome, then I am meddling. The instant I obey, success is automatic–God’s success, not mine. Therefore, obedience carries in itself its burst of praise. I am jubilant, not because my ship has come in, but because it has gone out. Maybe I will never see it again, but that is beside the point. The point is, I have launched it unto God and now He is responsible. So I praise God because He is working and I rest in His activity.
I must be careful to obey for obedience’s sake, and to love obedience for the Lord’s sake. What a level to live on, loving it for His sake! In this I have the example of my Master, who said, ‘I delight to do your will, my God’ (Psalm 40:8, TLB).” (January 9th’s entry)
Follow Him and have success everywhere you go.
He will lead you.
Ask. And walk in moment by moment obedience.
If you would like to read more on this topic, check out this excellent article by Sharon Hodde Miller entitled Obedience Over Outcome.
This is such a great reminder. I pray that this encouragement meets you right where you are in your today circumstances.
And if you are currently discouraged by a lack of ‘fruit’ from your hard work, click here for more encouragement.
(originally posted 4/6/17)
