This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (Joshua 1.8)
God’s way is often contrary to the world’s. Our culture says, “Don’t let anyone push you around,” but Jesus teaches that it is the merciful, the meek, and the peacemakers who are successful in God’s kingdom (Matthew 5:5-9). The world encourages material prosperity and personal comfort, while Scripture says we are successful when we become more like Jesus and follow God’s plan.
As we learned yesterday, true success starts with our thinking. Picture your mind as a computer that regulates your attitudes and actions, directing your response in different situations. Since our decisions are made on the basis of values and priorities stored in the mind, our responsibility as Christ followers is to feed it a steady diet of God’s Word. Only scriptural truth can counter the continuous stream of ungodly or useless data that daily barrages our thinking. The Bible is the standard by which we screen the various ideas and attitudes that come our way (Philippians 4:8).
When we meditate on Scripture and value God’s standards in our mind, our words and actions will follow suit. Let’s opt out of the world’s love of power and material success—and instead become the people God planned for us to be. Then we can accomplish His purposes for us. Now, that is real success!
Prayer for today
Lord, guide me each day to give my best, may I inspire excellence and change. Father, I ask that your goodness and great creativity would come into each moment in Jesus’ Name.