Your Success Has Been Determined By God

There is a general belief in my Country that born again believers cannot really succeed in business without compromising their faith. The economic system is believed to be so warped that one has to be at least ‘slightly crooked’ to succeed. Whilst it is true that things are not the way they ought to be, we must realize that promotion comes from God who lifts up one and puts down another so that the success of believers cannot be frustrated by an economic system which God can manipulate for the believer’s good. Just like with every area of life where one has to believe God, we have to learn to bring God into this very unusual economic system and watch Him maneuver it for our good.

Psalm 75: 7 “It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall.”

The believer’s success, anywhere in the world, has been determined by God and is not to be determined by the economy. This is one of the several benefits of being a child of God. However, we have the power of choice to either succeed or fail depending on where our trust lies which would be our focus. Instead of focusing on the God of the whole earth who controls time and chance, we are often so focused on the problems of the economy and our inability to successfully surmount them, that we build our businesses round these challenges. Yes, they may be insurmountable to man but not to God who won the victory and lets us enjoy the benefits. We just need to be focused on Him and ensure that we hear Him as He tells us when to make a move and what move to make. He is more interested in our success than we know and has a major stake in our success.  

Ecclesiastes 9: 11 “I also saw something else here on earth: the fastest runner does not always win the race, the strongest soldier does not always win the battle, the wisest does not always have food, the smartest does not always become wealthy, and the talented one does not always receive praise. Time and chance happen to everyone.”

The challenge with a lot of us is that keeping our eyes on God is tough. It suggests seeking Him, trying to know His mind and getting to know Him; it takes patience. Also, as you keep your eyes on God, you are bound to begin to see changes in your life that make you more like Him and though we are believers, we don’t really want to be like Him; we would rather be like the world because we think becoming like Him makes one suffer loss. So we would rather do anything else than gaze on Him trusting Him to move for us. The devil is playing games with our minds. The secret of true success lies in God; our success is in Him who rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrew 11: 6 “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”

Proverbs 11: 23a “the godly can look forward to a reward.”

If seeking Him provokes a reward, how then can we suffer loss because we are like Him? If you seek Him, He has promised that you will find Him. If you find Him, you will love and be like Him. Our God has and will never fail so how then can we fail in becoming like Him? Despite the circumstances, you will succeed. Your success has everything to do with God and nothing else. He will work everything for your good but in His own way and time.

Proverbs 11: 28b “But the godly flourish like leaves in spring”