Assess Your Success

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE

Do you consider yourself successful?
What methods are you using to measure your success?
Are you daily recognizing the Source of your success?

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  – Luke 5:4-7 (NKJV)

Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. – Psalm 127:1 (NKJV)

Assess Your Success

Po Bronson, New York magazine writer and author of several books, once stated: 

“Failure is hard, but success is far more dangerous. If you’re successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money and opportunity can lock you in forever.”  

Bronson is on to something! We must be cautious to guard our pursuit of success carefully, building with things that last and that carry eternal value.

In Luke 5:1-11, we meet some struggling businessmen who worked in the fishing industry. They had been up all night, slaving away with their nets, and had come up with absolutely nothing to show for their long night’s work. When daylight finally came, they disembarked from their boats and began washing their nets on the shore.

Jesus, needing a place to teach that was away from the crowds but within hearing distance, climbed into one fisherman’s boat –  a businessman by the name of Simon Peter. After speaking to the crowds, He made a proposal to Peter: “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter patiently explained to Jesus that they had been doing just that for the entire night. However, he decided to give it a try. You know what happened next – his crew found themselves overwhelmed with fish!

Unless you are following Jesus and obeying His Word, your labor is in vain. Simon obtained the huge catch of fish only after obeying the instructions of Jesus. When we embark on the Kingdom business ventures that God is calling us to, using our God-given skills and abilities, and as we begin to obey God’s direction and guidance, He begins to bless our work and to cause us to succeed – His way.

When we begin to experience success in God’s way, it brings us to a place of humility. “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am
a sinful man, O Lord!’” (Luke 5:8) Simon looked at his weakness compared to God’s strength, and could only respond by falling to his knees!

Recognizing God as the source of all success gives us the power and strength to give up our efforts to pursue worldly success. God calls us to trade worldly profit for Godly profit, trading in temporary treasure for treasure that has eternal value (Matthew 6:19-20). 

Just like Peter, we have the opportunity to give up today’s temporal success for tomorrow’s eternal reward: “And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.’ So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.” (Luke 5:10-11) Moments after landing that incredible catch of fish, notice what Peter did. He left it all to follow Jesus.

Today, assess your success from God’s point of view! Jesus isn’t primarily concerned about how much profit a business makes or how successful we are.  He cares more about how we make a profit – in ways that align with His word – and what we are doing with all that He has entrusted to us.

Are you using your temporary resources to bring about godly profit?

Godly profit and success:

• Has everlasting, eternal value
• It is acquired through obedience and proper stewardship
• It is the reward of service
• It is used to build the kingdom of God

Worldly profit and success:

• Has limited or temporal value
• It is acquired by power and might
• It is its own goal
• It is used to feed the lusts of the flesh

“Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right.” – Proverbs 16:8

My prayer for you today is that you would recognize the Source of all success in every area of your life, and that you would begin to live a life that is filled with Godly success.