Each day I receive letters, emails, posts, and tweets urging me on in my quest for success. Many are marketing efforts by those wishing to sell me something - a plaque for my years of service, entry into an elite organization, enrollment in special training so I can make a lot of money.

Success once meant achieving something. Today the word has expanded to include the process of working toward that something. "Attempting" is the new goal. "Achieving" is lost in the process.

Winston Churchill once said, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." With all due respect, Mr. Churchill was wrong. What he described may be passion, compulsion, or utter stupidity, but not success.

I've never known anyone happy with just attempting. We can learn and benefit greatly from the experience. But we long to reach the summit, run a marathon, build a business, get that degree, etc. We yearn for that ultimate, defined goal. Without it, we have no direction.

The world looks at success in terms of what we acquire - fame, wealth, prestige, power, personal value, self-esteem, the esteem of others, championships, trophies, honors, awards. Not surprisingly, God takes a different view.

In the search of a wife for Isaac, the old servant prayed, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham." Some translations say "good speed" instead of "success". The Hebrew word actually means encounter. The servant was asking that his actions follow God so that His desire would be met.

Sometimes success involves our actions, sometimes God's. David was wise in all his ways (had great success), (see 1 Samuel 18:14). He prayed for God to send prosperity (grant success), (see Psalm 118:25). But always, David's success focused on God-following Him, obeying Him.

When Jesus walked this earth, He also stressed following and obeying, but He no longer referred to success. He spoke of love.

Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it. (Luke 11:28) Whoever serves me must follow me...If you love me, you will obey what I command...obey my teaching...remain in my love...I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 12:26;14:15,23a;15:10a,11)

The secret of success is simply this: In all things...love God, follow Him, obey Him.

Success is not determined by the outcome of your actions, but by whether you do what God tells you to do. The outcome lies in God's domain alone.