A Note of Encouragement

from Ciloa

A woman standing on a cliff, rejoicing with the rising sun

Our path is like the first gleam of
dawn, shining ever brighter
till the full light of day.

Success?

Volume XVI, Issue 17

April 25, 2016

Success...so misunderstood, so desired...by Janet Perez Eckles

A few days ago, I sat at my desk, sipping my morning fruit and veggie smoothie, and with each sip, I delighted in my favorite Bible verses.

All of them nourished my soul. But when I read this one, the message lingered in my head, urging me to dig deeper.

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

The command is simple with an inviting, promising result. But the word succeed jumped out at me.

What does success mean to the Lord anyway? And what does it mean to me?

The world defines success as a satisfying result and the ability to reach realistic accomplishments. To us Christians, success might mean rolling up our sleeves and furiously going through a to-do list of work for the Lord. As exhaustion presses, we keep going, sacrificing our health, our family and our sanity---all with the objective of reaching success in our Christianity.

A stressed woman, her hands rubbing her face

But if we were able to accomplish all of this, would we then feel successful and satisfied? Or would there always be higher levels to reach, more tasks to accomplish, and more places to go? Before we know it, the stress to achieve would start all over again.

That morning as I put down my smoothie, I exhaled a long, deep breath and made a new decision. I would not work for success, but rather, live IN success.

The process is simple. It begins not as a onetime decision, but a daily habit, a moment-by-moment resolve to commit and hand all over to God.

That includes not only our work but, without reservation, placing before Him everything---our daily attitude, our thinking, our approach to the ministry, our reaction to the good, the bad and the busy. And while there, we also hand over our desires and goals.

Once all is placed in God's hands, we can take on the tasks, but leave out the stress. Then our plans reach His success because our steps follow His path. Relief washes over us as it always does when we obey Him.

That's when our days have the glow of success, and at night, when we slip under our covers, we will rest our head on the pillow of peace.

Seeing the best of Life,

Janet

Janet Perez Eckles...2015 Finalist, Don Quijote Award for Excellence...has dedicated her life to reaching people around the world with the Gospel. Through her physical blindness, she helps them see the best of life with Christ's eyes. Discover her ministry at www.janetperezeckles.com.

* Leading picture caption is adapted from Proverbs 4:18.

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