Sucessful in His eyes

Setbacks, like feelings of failure, are so common nowadays. It plagues even the ones who are serious about their faith. Many times, I struggle accepting mistakes and failures as a way of life. I fall into the Satan’s trap, thinking that I’m a total disappointment when I’ve done something wrong, or when things did not turn out the way I had expected it to be. At other times, I struggle finding satisfaction with myself when I’ve gain no recognition for something I’ve worked hard at.

I believe that it is true to say that the world’s view of success is a suffocating one. It measures success in terms of accomplishments- our wealth, grades, fame, and even beauty. The more you have of these things, the more successful you are. Thus, it becomes so natural for one to be overwhelmed with a sense of failure when these standards are not achieved.

But, I am really thankful God doesn’t define my successful-ness based on what I’ve accomplished or the things that I possess. Whether or not I achieve HD in my assignment; whether or not I am commended by my friends or colleagues; whether or not other people happen to view me as successful, as long as I do my best to follow where He leads me, I am successful. In His eyes, true success is about fulfilling His purposes for my life; the quality of my relationship with Him through Jesus.

Essentially, there is nothing wrong with being well-known or wealthy. Nor, is there anything wrong to have beauty or power. However, it is important to recognize that if anyone needs any of these things to feel significant and complete, then something is definitely off beam. For such things- material & external standards- are far too subjective & superficial. He who defines success based on these terms will only find himself living a life filled with discontentment.

I am still learning how to trust God in His sovereign will and power so that I need not worry about outcomes of future events. Although much effort is required to stand up against the world’s views of success, I thank God for giving me the Holy Spirit, who is always there to help me and remind me that I have a loving Father, who knows what is best for me and will teach me in the right way that I should go.