The Hands of Success

A desire to be successful is something that is born inside everyone. We come out of the womb not just survivors, but unwritten success stories. Sometimes individuals choose the wrong path and end up far from success, but they began with that desire. It’s why we work. It’s why we dream. It’s at the very core of all our aspirations, and God is the one who intrinsically wove it into our DNA.
With that addition to our internal helix, God also gave us some great instructions to bring it to fruition. He told us in Galatians chapter 6 to make a careful exploration of who we are, and the work we have been given, and then sink ourselves into it. He wants us to live life the most creative way possible. Now I don’t know about you, but that sounds like some good advice to me. So we dive in. We jump off the ledge of mediocrity and land in the pool of reality. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes there’s not near as much water of acceptance in that pool as we thought.
But we’re fighters. We are not quitters. So we roll up our sleeves and work hard - really hard - at becoming that great success story. We try to make a reality that success God quilted in to our makeup. Sometimes we get frustrated, because things don’t move as quickly as we would like. But God understands our frustration. After all, He is the one who put it in us.
In the Old Testament we get a great snapshot of what God has for us and how long it takes to achieve. When Moses went up on mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, he was gone for a long time. Forty days, to be exact. Think about how long that is. Imagine if your boss didn’t come to work for forty days. You would get frustrated because there are deadlines to be met and meetings to be attended. So frustrated were the children of Israel in the wilderness for forty days with no leader. No direction, and no work. Basically no gauge for their own success. Enter, the “Golden Calf.”
While Moses was on the mountain the people created a Golden Calf to worship. The Bible tells us in the seventh chapter of Acts that “They rejoiced in the works of their hands.” Ironically, while they were forming things with their hands, God was forming the Ten commandments with His. Interesting don’t you think?
Many times we are so impatient that we bully our way through life to achieve a pseudo success, instead of leaning on God and trusting Him for true success. We take the quick road, or the fast track to achieve what we think will work out well for us and our families, only to find that what we once rejoiced in, now has become our Achilles heel. We need to be patient, and trust in God. We need to work hard, but not force the hand of God. There is always a season to wait on the Lord, and there is always a season to run through troops, and jump over walls. It is our job to discern which is which. By knowing the season of life that we are in, we can work with the hand of God to bring success in our lives. Otherwise, we merely rejoice over something we have made. We will quickly learn that when we work with the Creator, we are able to find true success.