God has already decided that you would be successful. He decided BEFORE you were born that you would succeed in everything you do. Since God has already made the decision about your success then what is keeping you from succeeding?
Success, it’s your choice, is the theme of a small group I teach in my home 3-4 times a year. It’s a 12-week series of lessons I have learned over the years regarding success. The goal of that small group is to infuse the attendees with the truth regarding success and persuade them that success is their choice and all they must do is prepare to receive it! I am here to tell you that God is already on your side, now it’s time to acknowledge this truth and start living a successful life.
What is success? The answer to this question is up to each individual and how God “wired” them. However, I believe the RESULT of success has a lot to do with wealth—with money. Ecclesiastes 10:19 says, “A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life happy, and money is the answer for everything.” I was once asked, “Of the five problems you currently face, how many would solved if I had all the money I wanted?” Out of the five problems I faced, money would have been the answer to all of them! This may not be the case for everyone, but for me, at that time, money would have handled all my challenges.
Some of you are cringing as you read this. Why? For some reason, the topic on money makes people nervous, especially RELIGIOUS people. What’s wrong with being successful and having lots of money? Well, you may say, “Money is the root of all evil!” Really? Then why don’t you give ALL your money away? Why do your even bother to work FOR money? Rid yourself of that burden and send it to me!
Some may say, “What about mother Theresa? She was poor and found success in caring for the poor.” Wrong! Mother Theresa was RICH. She had millions of dollars pass through her hands. She could not have done what she did without money! She used money as a slave to serve her purpose. She learned how to receive money and put it to work to advance God’s kingdom. Your God-given purpose may be different from mother Theresa, but you will need money to fulfill it!
Money is necessary. It is not evil. It has no personality or power. Money is neutral and can be whatever WE WANT it to be. Money can be food on the table, a beautiful home, nice cars, clothing…you name it! In the right hands, money blesses; money brings joy, happiness and peace wherever there is an abundance of it. Money is NECESSARY to spread God’s Kingdom on earth, to preach the gospel to the nations, to help the poor and disabled. Money can be used to SOLVE a multitude of problems. Money is a symbol of a successful living and is a slave to those who have a right attitude toward it.
I’ve heard it said that “money isn’t everything.” That’s usually said by people who have little of it! As a matter of fact, I have found that people with little money are occupied by it the MOST! Their lives are dictated by their LACK of money! I find when I have plenty of money I don’t think about it much. However, when there is a lack of money, just about everything reminds me of that lack. People who lack money make decisions based on money. The food they eat, the cars they drive, the homes they live in are all dictated by money. How much one offers to God is based on how much money one has. Is this right? Should money have that much power over us? People with lots of money are less occupied by it and can make their own decisions without money being the final decision maker. If money is the final decision maker, doesn’t that make money the master and you the slave?
God WANTS YOU to be rich. He DESIRES for you to be successful and prosper abundantly. Whether you do or not is up to you. I began having success when I stopped burying my talents in the sand and started putting what God gave me to work. For corn to grow in a field, that field needs to be cultivated. The farmer plows the land, breaks up the soil to enable it to receive the seed and the rain more easily. As a farmer, we need to prepare our heart to receive the blessings God wants to bestow upon us. We have to PREPARE for the success God wants to bestow upon us.
For me, I needed to prepare my mind. My thinking stunk! I had limiting beliefs that held me back. My mind (which is part of my heart) had to be renewed. I began by listening to CD’s about success. How do successful people think? What do they do? I listened over and over and over until my thoughts began to change. As my thoughts changed so did my life.
I didn’t start out my success journey with the Bible. As a Christian, I was brainwashed to believe that God didn’t care about success, money, and having nice things. He only cared about the church and how much I served Him in the church. Therefore, why bother to go to the Bible for THAT reason. The Bible was only to keep me on the straight and narrow until my suffering on earth was over and I would then receive my reward AFTER I died. Pathetic!
But by God’s mercy I connected with some amazing ministries that helped me see that God not only cared about my success, but shows us in His Word HOW to be successful. I appreciate the following men who have enlightened me so much: Gary Keesee, Steve Gray, Mike Murdock, Kenneth Copeland, Bill Johnson, Andrew Wommack, just to name a few. Through their ministries, I began to see that God cares about my success, for my success demonstrates His goodness. After all, what father wants poor, broke, bankrupt children. Well, neither does God! There’s no glory for Him in that!
I was hungry, I wanted MORE. I got into the Bible. I purposely bought one with NO NOTES or COMMENTARY. I wanted to hear from God and let Him reveal His Word to me—and He did and still does every single day! I discovered the truth about success according to the Bible and that is why I decided to do a small group in my home based upon Biblical principles of success. If you want to succeed, the best place to learn is from God Himself!
Not only did I read the Bible, I started reading books about success. I hated to read and had to overcome that…I HAD to if I wanted to succeed. I started with 20 minutes a day. Who can’t read for 20 minutes a day? I worked up to a couple of books a month. Little by little, word by word, page by page, my life changed BECAUSE my thinking changed.
You will never live a life beyond the limitations of your thinking. It takes work to change the way we think. We must consciously change our mind and eventually those new thoughts and ideas get firmly planted into our heart, or subconscious mind, where those changes become permanent and effortless. I had to consciously think that God wants me to succeed and now you CANNOT convince me otherwise. Once our heart is persuaded of God’s desire for us to succeed, succeed we will!
You were born to be a success. However, whether you are successful is your choice. Are you tired of living a mundane life of being average? DECIDE that you want more. That decision will lead you on a journey of acquiring the knowledge you need to get out of the “average American rut”. Over time, as you purposely improve your thinking, life will start to get better and you will find yourself succeeding in everything you do. May God bless you and make you successful beyond your wildest dreams!