30 Days - an Overview of the Bible in Just Thirty DaysSample

Success

Jack Higgins was a world-famous author. His eighty-five novels have sold over 150 million copies and made him a multimillionaire. At the pinnacle of his career, he was asked what he wished he had known when he was younger. He replied, ‘I wish someone had told me that when you get to the top, there’s nothing there.’

Many people work harder and harder climbing the ladder of success only to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall. If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.

Proverbs 16:1-9

What is the secret of true success? True success comes from having God at the centre of every aspect of your life: your family, money, work, possessions, friends, pleasure, and so on.

It is not wrong to plan ahead. It is assumed in this passage that you will do so. You may have plans for your job, your family, your church, your holidays and so on. Whatever your plans, you want them to be a success. In this Proverb, we see the secret of success:there is a condition and a promise (v.3).

1. The condition of success

‘Commit to the Lord whatever you do’ (v.3a). What does this mean?

• Confide with God

To commit your plans to the Lord means to speak to him about his plans – to make plans together with him. There are two ways to go through life: either we decide we are perfectly capable of running our own lives. – we don’t need anyone else, not even God. We make our own plans, without God, to please ourselves. This leads to pride and independence (v.5).

Alternatively, there is the way of faith. God wants the very best for your life (Jeremiah 29:11; Ephesians 2:10). You discover his plans as you humbly yield your will to him. That is what it means to become a Christian. Stay in that attitude daily, willing to give up anything that clashes with his plans.

I remember hearing the actor David Suchet, when he had recently become a Christian, being asked on the radio whether there were certain roles he would turn down. He replied, ‘That is a very difficult question. All I can say is now when I am offered a part I go away and pray about it and if I feel it is wrong I turn it down, whereas before it would have been, “How much?”’

• Consult with God

This means making all your plans together with God. It may be a help each day to go through your diary committing each event to the Lord. Perhaps at the beginning of each year plan ahead with God. You need not go to absurd extremes. You don’t need to pray about whether to get up in the morning. Certain things are common sense. God does not intend us to be robots – he has given us freedom of choice within the parameters of his word. God will be concerned about anything of concern to you.

2. The promise of success

‘He will establish your plans’ (v.3b). What does this mean? God is sovereign (vv.1, 4, 9. ‘The Lord works out everything for his own ends’ (v.4). God works within events to bring about his purposes. This does not mean that only good things happen to us but that in and through everything, good and bad, ‘The Lordworks out everything for his own ends’ (v.4b). God will work everything out for the good of those who love him (vv.6b–7). Or as St Paul puts it, ‘In all things God works for the good of those who love him’ (Romans 8:28).

There are no loose ends with God. Everything is under his control. Doors may shut and there may be disappointments or doors may open in marvellous ways. Whatever happens, ‘The Lord determines your steps’ (v.9).

This does not necessarily mean material prosperity or a life without difficulty (v.8) but it does mean a successful life. True success lies in a right relationship with God and a right relationship with other people.

God gives you the freedom and responsibility to make plans. It is positively right for you to do this. And yet, God relates your decisions to your destination. This is not a reason to be passive or fatalistic, but rather it is an encouragement that you can rest assured that God is in ultimate control of your life. You need not be frozen in a state of indecision. You can trust that God will work out everything for good for those who love him (vv.6b,7; Romans 8:28).

Success can be so dazzling. Many people think they would like a fast car, a big house, loads of money, a touch of fame and the self-confidence these things appear to bring. However, God does not define success in these terms (vv.5–8).

You may want to pray that God would change your understanding of success. Then you will start to experience the thrill and fulfilment of true success: a growing relationship with the God who made us and right relationships with other people.

Begin today by committing to God all your plans for the future – short-term and long-term.

Prayer

Lord, I commit to you again all my plans for the future and ask you to be at the centre of every aspect of my life. Thank you for your promise that you will work out everything for good for those who love you.

References

© Nicky Gumbel, 2024

This reading plan is adapted from the book 30 Days by Nicky Gumbel. It is published by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK, and by HarperCollins Christian Publishing in the USA.