Job
2:10 - Job replied, “You are talking like a fool. Shall we accept good from
God, and not trouble?"
What is your measure of success in life? Is it related to results? Or a bucket list? Or happiness? Experiences? In all likelihood it is a measure based on a personal perspective. You decide for yourself what is successful.
Did anyone ever ask God what His measure of success is for us?
Good times are our measure of blessing, but Kingdom progress is God's measure. When we read the story of Job it makes us want to question God on why He permitted evil, instead of seeing God determining a kingdom result. If difficulties never happened then faith would become complacent. So for the sake of the Kingdom, God allowed Job to face great difficulty.
In this culture, convenience & comfort are more valued than Kingdom & character. We do everything we can to get ourselves out of discomfort, including dropping God, discarding faith, and dumping our duty. Living a certain lifestyle takes precedence over serving Jesus. That's the sound of foolish talk.
Job somehow saw a Kingdom view in spite of his great pain. So instead of looking for a way back to comfort, he continued his path of character.
Character is forged from dealing with difficulty. Complacency often comes from living in comfort. The two are different paths to walk, and trials make us choose. Unfortunately, those choices don't just affect us---they affect the generations to come. They teach our kids what to value as success: character or comfort.
As humans, we will always struggle with seeing a Kingdom view...but don't let that excuse us from staying on the road of character. The path may be dark at times, but the destination is far better. Even Job's questions of God did not detour his path, and God honored him for it. And having God's honor is far better than any comfort on earth (just ask Jesus).
What definition of success needs adjusted in your life?
What is your measure of success in life? Is it related to results? Or a bucket list? Or happiness? Experiences? In all likelihood it is a measure based on a personal perspective. You decide for yourself what is successful.
Did anyone ever ask God what His measure of success is for us?
Good times are our measure of blessing, but Kingdom progress is God's measure. When we read the story of Job it makes us want to question God on why He permitted evil, instead of seeing God determining a kingdom result. If difficulties never happened then faith would become complacent. So for the sake of the Kingdom, God allowed Job to face great difficulty.
In this culture, convenience & comfort are more valued than Kingdom & character. We do everything we can to get ourselves out of discomfort, including dropping God, discarding faith, and dumping our duty. Living a certain lifestyle takes precedence over serving Jesus. That's the sound of foolish talk.
Job somehow saw a Kingdom view in spite of his great pain. So instead of looking for a way back to comfort, he continued his path of character.
Character is forged from dealing with difficulty. Complacency often comes from living in comfort. The two are different paths to walk, and trials make us choose. Unfortunately, those choices don't just affect us---they affect the generations to come. They teach our kids what to value as success: character or comfort.
As humans, we will always struggle with seeing a Kingdom view...but don't let that excuse us from staying on the road of character. The path may be dark at times, but the destination is far better. Even Job's questions of God did not detour his path, and God honored him for it. And having God's honor is far better than any comfort on earth (just ask Jesus).
What definition of success needs adjusted in your life?
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