If you have ever wondered about the Creator of the universe and His thoughts on your success, read on.
Does God Really Care About Me?
This one is easy to answer – of course He does. He created you, gave you gifts, and even gave you the freedom to reject him. He wound your strands of DNA to make you uniquely you. There won’t be another one, and I don’t believe He created you to live an unhappy life.
Does God Really Care About Your Success?
That is an entirely different question.
The term “success” can mean so many things. Here I tackle fame, money and power
If success means money…
I don’t know that I can answer yes to that one. I just can’t find overwhelming evidence in my life, in the lives of others, or in the Bible itself that God is overly concerned with my getting rich.
I do believe that every good thing that comes to me is from God. I have had some small wins in my life, and I have had some huge wins in my life. All of them came from God.
These good things didn’t happen because I followed some how-to-get-ahead-at-work tips.
Success wasn’t guaranteed just because I was working really hard. I’m sure all of us can relate to working really hard on something only to have it amount to nothing.
Now I like a good prosperity gospel as much as the next person. I like to think that God is just waiting to shower me with bars of gold should I just ask for his blessing. Yet there’s a part of me that just doesn’t want to turn God into a spiritual ATM that I turn to whenever I need to get out of a jam.
How do you feel about your “friends” who only come around when they need something? Yeah. See what I mean?
If success means fame…
I can’t say that I can find a whole lot of evidence to back this one up either. While I do have a few friends who have some notoriety in their own circles, I can’t say that they are famous.
You have to be careful about seeking fame. Michael Jackson is famous. So is the Unabomber.
If success means getting promoted at work…
I have met plenty of people who are living rather charmed lives. Most of their endeavors come up roses. It is amazing to watch because these people are not necessarily smarter or better connected. They aren’t using some secret app or spending more time at the gym.
It just seems that God smiles on their efforts. Their work bears fruit.
Does God allow us to get ahead at work? Sure. God gives us skills, abilities, and opportunities. I can also recall several stories in the Bible that say things to the effect of “God gave him/her favor with…” Yes, I believe that God can give people an edge at work and an edge in their pursuits.
Check out this interesting article on God and Career from Relevant magazine.
Why Would God Be Against Me?
Let’s rule out the basics. Let’s assume that you are not bent on mass annihilation, or getting even with every last person who wronged you.
I believe that God will allow some hardship to come into your life (for more on this, just check out the book of Job as it is an entire story about one person’s reaction when God allows tough circumstances into a person’s life).
Why does God allow difficulties? This one has puzzled people for centuries. I can tell you the effect it has on me. It usually draws me closer to Him. When hardship comes there is typically
In one instance I believe that God closed the door to my going into full-time ministry in my earlier years, and I believe that God also closed a door on my time at an employer. I can’t fully explain why, but I can tell you that I am happier.