True Success: Live and Lead Without Losing Your Soulਨਮੂਨਾ

The crew scrambled and worked. Chopped and cut. Sweat, slept, then woke up and did it all again.

After months of back-breaking effort, the team leader finally called for a break. He sent the youngest, most nimble man scurrying up the tallest tree to get a bird’s-eye view of the jungle they were clearing.

“How are we doing?” the leader called up.

“Good news,” shouted the man. “We’re more than halfway there!”

The crew cheered.

“Here’s the bad news,” the man continued. “It’s the wrong jungle.”

Frustrated, the leader yelled back, “Shut up. We’re making great time.”

This old management fable reminds us of something we often forget. Going fast and finishing first is not the same as true success, especially when we’re going in the wrong direction.

We see this again and again in Scripture.

• Saul became king but did not follow the Lord.
• Aaron won the people’s approval by melting their gold into a calf.
• Abraham tried to help God by having a child through Hagar, which led to heartbreak, jealousy, and generations of conflict.

Each of them made progress, but it was not the kind God had in mind.

For those who serve, whether in ministry or the marketplace, the pressure to move fast, work hard, and deliver results can feel like the very air we breathe. Expectations run high. And success is measured by outward signs: growth, reach, revenue, and praise.

How many people did we serve?

How much money came in?

Are we ahead of where we were last year? Or at least ahead of others around us?

And to be fair, those can be good things. Important things. Sometimes even God-things.

In Jesus’ parable of the talents, the master praised the servants who invested wisely and brought back more than they were given. God delights in fruitfulness. He calls us to stewardship.

But he also calls us to trust. To slowness. To surrender to his agenda.

David was a man after God’s own heart, and he certainly knew the pain that came with going his own way. But he also knew the beauty and power of success, God’s way.

He was anointed as king while still a teenager, but he did not rush the throne.

He served faithfully in Saul’s court, even as Saul grew jealous and violent.

When given the chance to kill Saul and take the crown, David refused, saying, “I will not lift my hand against the Lord’s anointed.”

He would not shortcut God's process, even when it looked like the door was wide open.

Instead, David spent more than a decade as a fugitive. Hiding in caves. Misunderstood and mocked. It was the slow work of steady surrender.

But when the time was right, Scripture says: “And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies was with him.” 2 Samuel 5:10 (NLT)

David did not claw his way to the top. He waited. And when God raised him up, it was not hollow success. It was holy.

This week, let’s pause the hustle. Let’s examine that pressure we feel to perform. And then, let’s explore what it looks like to pursue the kind of success that only God can bring—his will, in his way, in his time.

Prayer
Lord, your ways are often counterintuitive, but they are always best. Teach me to trust you and not rush you. Help me stay with you in every moment of this day, so that when I lay my head on the pillow tonight, I can call this day a success.

Tomorrow, as we continue to explore, you’ll discover the beauty of moving beyond the “Bless me, Lord” life and stepping into something far deeper.