{"id":808,"date":"2022-01-10T04:12:02","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T10:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/?p=808"},"modified":"2022-12-19T13:25:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T19:25:31","slug":"success-is-faithfulness-and-its-freeing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/success-is-faithfulness-and-its-freeing\/","title":{"rendered":"Success is Faithfulness&#8230; and its Freeing!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you ever had one of those projects where you just felt unsuccessful? Nothing went right. Your plans failed. You didn\u2019t accomplish what you set out to do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or maybe you\u2019ve had a day like that? I sure have.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I planned to get up early to exercise &#8211; but something kept me lying awake half the night so I slept in<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I hoped to get everyone off to work and school in a good mood &#8211; instead there was bickering<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I wanted to finish that work project before the deadline &#8211; instead I got sidetracked by urgent tasks<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I hoped to avoid the traffic at the market &#8211; yet it seemed the busiest it has been in weeks<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I tried a new dinner recipe &#8211; instead I burned the sauce and we settled for toast and cereal<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And then you lie down at night, only to realize you forgot to hang up the wet laundry to dry. \u201cWhat an unsuccessful day,\u201d you say!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe you have had a month, a year, or an extended season like that? The standard you set for your work, your ministry, your role, or your character wasn\u2019t met, and you\u2019re left feeling a little bit like a failure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we begin a new year, and some of you sit down to plan some goals for yourself in 2022, I want to propose another perspective. What if we also measured our success by our faithfulness?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Reconsidering the measurement of success<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For most of us, we think of success as achieving a goal or task. We feel successful when what we set out to do turns out well or desirable. That\u2019s success. But what if success also included dedication and loyalty, integrity and consistency? Could those also be signs of success? What if success was as much about faithfulness as it was about achievement?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Success is defined by performance. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faithfulness by constancy.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Success is defined by accomplishment. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faithfulness by devotion.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Success is defined by achievement. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faithfulness by commitment<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Success is defined by attaining a goal. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faithfulness by being true to a promise.<\/span><\/i><sup><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[1]<\/span><\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe for too long we have defined success in our role, career, or ministry through the lens of achievement and not through the framework of being faithful to where God is calling us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is not to say that deadlines, goals, and targets aren\u2019t needed. They are. But so is obedience and faithfulness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>A Biblical measurement<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After defeating the Amalekites, King Saul strutted back to Canaan with a cabinet of trophies. The Israelites had defeated their hated enemy. A huge national success, correct? Maybe not.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look at Samuel\u2019s response:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as He does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d 1 Samuel 15:22<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God cared more about Saul\u2019s obedience than his achievement of victory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus references the same things during His sermon on the mount. (See Matthew 7:21-23)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Scripture there is a strong emphasis on obedience. Certainly, God is not against setting goals and accomplishing them but, most of all, He wants our obedience. He wants our daily lives to be structured around abiding, serving, and loving (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">faithfulness<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), rather than doing, achieving, and attaining (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">our common understanding of success<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faithfulness could be completing a training but also taking the time to ask your son about his school day.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faithfulness could be writing a grant for support but also making midweek chili for your family.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faithfulness could be graduating with a theology degree but also cleaning up after an event.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faithfulness can be the seen and the unseen acts. The momentous and the mundane. It\u2019s hearing God and responding with obedience. I believe that is what success truly is.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>My Takeaways<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m encouraged as I think about how I view my days. What does faithfulness look like for me today? I hope you are encouraged as well. Encouraged that your success today is not measured by what you accomplish but by how faithful you are to God\u2019s calling for you as a spouse, pastor, leader, employee, or friend. May God help you be free from the cultural pressure of performance and embrace the simple call to be obedient and faithful to God\u2019s will for you today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-reading-box-container reading-box-container-1\" style=\"--awb-title-color:#333333;--awb-margin-top:0px;--awb-margin-bottom:45px;\"><div class=\"reading-box reading-box-center\" style=\"background-color:#f6f6f6;border-width:1px;border-color:#f6f6f6;border-top-width:3px;border-top-color:var(--primary_color);border-style:solid;\"><div class=\"reading-box-additional\">\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Growth Point<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s time to start measuring our success not by our achievement but by our faithfulness to God\u2019s call for today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scripture Point<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read Matthew 7:21-23. What do you believe God is saying about success in this passage?<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Action Point:<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does faithfulness look like for you today? Take 15 minutes one morning this week and pray for God to reveal how you can be faithful to His calling for you that day. End your day with 15 minutes of reflection. What thoughts are you feeling about your day and your pursuit of faithfulness?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\"><h6><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[1] <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mail.google.com\/mail\/u\/0\/?shva=1#inbox\/FMfcgxwBVzvgmpjDmgvNKvqFFCKtwVCT\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/mail.google.com\/mail\/u\/0\/?shva=1#inbox\/FMfcgxwBVzvgmpjDmgvNKvqFFCKtwVCT<\/span><\/a><\/h6>\n<h6><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bible.org\/how-does-god-measure-success\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/blogs.bible.org\/how-does-god-measure-success\/<\/span><\/a><\/h6>\n<h6><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westmont.edu\/success-faithfulness\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.westmont.edu\/success-faithfulness<\/span><\/a><\/h6>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-growth","category-productivity","category-eng"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":812,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808\/revisions\/812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}