Defining Success

 

We hear Jesus speak about His purpose at different times. In John 10:10, He summarizes, “I have come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.”

And when He entered ministry, He noted, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.   He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

When facing the cross, Jesus said, “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour‘? But for this purpose I came to this hour” (John 12:27).

Jesus continually brought Himself into alignment with a bigger purpose in life.   We all need this.  God created us for purpose.   We need to tap into it to find our place of joy and satisfaction.   And just like Jesus, it will contain a growing self-sacrifice.  

Just like with Jesus, this can also bend over time in how it looks.  When searching for purpose, here are some questions we can ask ourselves:

·         What are some common themes in your life?

·         What do you look most forward to doing?

·         What comes easy to you?

·         What do you most hope for others to such an extent you will sacrifice for it?

·         Who do you admire most, and what is it that makes you want to be like them?

·         Why did God give you the family you have and what do they need from you?

Success can be ever eluding.  Have you noticed this?  When you are young, you think success means you have a job.  Then as you get a job, success means that you are better than others at it or at the top of the leadership organizational chart.  Then, later in life, it might be based on what you own and your accomplishments.   Often, we also see it by who thinks we are successful. 

Yet, none of these relate to our purpose or how it looks to be successful in God’s eyes.   When we get to the end of our lives, we want to have Jesus say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  

Considering the bigger picture of eternity, where do you fit? What does the shape of the puzzle piece look like, and how does it fit into the environment around you? 

As an example, for myself, many years ago, I put a picture together that had many components, and it was around of a common them of prayer, teaching and supporting others. 

All these things that give me great joy have two common themes: one is that they come from the Holy Spirit flowing in my life, and the other is that they are focused on causing others to grow, develop, and flourish in the Lord.   I believe that that is the overall purpose that God calls all of us to do. 

For me, I think coming from the intercession, even in leadership development, I don’t find anywhere near the same joy and satisfaction from developing others' leadership skills as I do from seeing them grow in the Lord and flourish. It is the power of God operating in their lives that gives me great joy.  

So, coming back to the questions, the first three are mainly answered above. Looking further at the third question, finance, economics, analytics, software, and my fields of healthcare, education, and finance also come easily to me. I can see where God has blessed me in these areas.

Getting to the next question, what do you hope for others to the extent you would sacrifice for it?  Top of my list is those who are suicidal.  Remembering the years that I walked through life wanting to die every day, my heart goes out to those suicidal.  When I read about Zoraya, my heart broke for her.  I longed to do something about it but didn’t know how to connect.  My heart also goes out to kids in foster care, the disabled, addicted and others with mental health issues. 

Sometimes, I think that some of the areas I have had passion around comes from fasting and praying for them.  For instance, some years ago, I fasted and prayed 40 days for young people.  After this, I have always had this passion around seeing them flourish in the Lord and love the Word of God.  Because of this, I volunteer at my church with the youth program. 

When I look at my life, my greatest area of passion in hoping for others is freedom from depression, trauma, shame, a lack of identity, and anxiety.  Seeing God heal people with these wounds brings me such great joy.  There is nothing like it.  This is because I remember this pain for myself and wanting to die every day. 

When I look at the people in my life and who I most admire and would like to be like, it is those who have a close relationship with the Lord and from that place, open the door for the transformative power of God in other’s lives.  My first pastor, who was also very prophetic, had a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit.  When I talked to her, it felt like talking directly with Holy Spirit.   There is also someone like this who is a Chaplain at my work.  I greatly admire his relationship with the Lord and want that for myself.   Both of them are also involved in shifting the atmosphere and God pouring out His Spirit.

Years ago, as I was praying for a young lady, I prayed that she would have a deep, intimate relationship with the Lord. I prayed that she would see Him looming large in everything and that her life would be about walking with Him. I prayed that she wouldn’t do anything significant with her life but live in this significant relationship. As I was praying, I started sobbing uncontrollably. I realized this was everything I wanted in life.

On the last question, why did God give me the family I have, and what do they need from me? I think part of this is my passion for prayer, healing, and freedom.   Most all my family has something significant related to their health they need healing and freedom.   Over the years, God has done no small amount of miracles in their lives.  I am so grateful for this and have had the opportunity to walk along with them on this journey.

So this comes to the place of defining success for myself.  How do I define it for myself? 

1.     What is most important to me is depth with God.  I love being His friend and having Him show up at every turn. I love when I encounter Him and when I can see and walk in the Kingdom realm.

2.       Seeing my family flourish is next in line as the most important part of my life.  When they are not flourishing, I do not feel like I am flourishing either.  Their health and success is greatly tied to my satisfaction in life.  

3.       Next, seeing the Bride flourish is important to me. Whether this is the least, young adults, or the overall body of Christ, I am most satisfied when I see God moving in our midst and people flourishing.  And not just flourishing, but ready for His return.  I have a passion for His return and the Bride ready.  I get all the more joy when those with trauma, depression, disabilities, or other limitations are impacted by the Lord and set free.

4.       Lastly, I find great joy in being able to lead, especially as it relates to developing others.  I love to see others flourish and I am grateful for opportunities to invest in leaders.  It brings me great joy to make room for them and see them flourish. 

Years ago, I hired a young lady that my boss was going to let go.  Over time, she moved from being an entry-level employee to becoming a high-level analyst.  Her salary doubled more than once as she stepped into greater and greater responsibility.  Someone asked me once, what happened to her as she used to be insecure and crouched over, always looking at the floor.  She had become this confident and competent woman who looked totally different.  This brought me such joy.  There is this unspeakable joy that comes from the privilege of leading others and seeing them flourish. 

Lord, it is always good to go back to the basics and define what is most important.  Help us to live according to Your purposes and in a way that brings You glory.  Let us live out our purposes with passion and faith in the fullness of your Spirit.