Limitless Success Defined by Infinite Truth

What is your definition of success? What do you dream (or daydream) about? Where does your mind go when you think about what is possible through your work with those you lead?  

Because of our finite minds, we often come to a roadblock as we daydream about possibilities—the realities of our weaknesses and limited abilities quickly come to mind.

It’s true as humans we are constrained by our weaknesses. This is why we need a supreme source for guidance and strength. The God who made us gives us His Word to provide perfect direction. God’s Word is limitless. He tells us it is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Ronnie Stevens puts it this way, “Scripture is the product of an infinite intellect (an infinite mind), and it never stops opening itself to those who care about what it says and who ask the Lord to show them.”

Here is what God’s Word says about success:

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).  

To be clear, God is not suggesting that we can perform our way to success. His Word is clear throughout the Bible. Our success is never about us. In fact, our own self interests and pride are often our biggest constraints to the type of true success God wants for us.

Consider the example of those who built the Tower of Babel. They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4). They not only wanted to make a name for themselves, they wanted to build a utopia to protect their way of life. Their self-preservation kept them from the ability to bless others and fulfill the work God gave them. The Bible is clear: disaster is imminent when we live and work for ourselves, especially when we give ourselves the credit. For more examples like this, see what drove King Nebuchadnezzar to eat grass like an Ox (Daniel 4: 28-37) or King Herod to be struck down and eaten by worms (Acts 12:21–23).

God’s Word leads us away from temporary glory and our own selfish definition of success by leading us to a more accurate definition. This is possible when we keep His Word on our lips and are careful to follow His ways. God’s Word tells us that when we follow His Son and lay down our lives as Jesus did (John 15:13) it’s possible to do unimaginably great things (John 14:12-14). This truth, like much of the Bible, does not seem possible to our finite brains. This is why we must center our hearts and minds on God’s Word and help point each other to its truths.