John 6:15 When Jesus saw that they were ready to force Him to be their king, He slipped away into the hills by Himself.
What do you do at the crescendo of your success? How do you turn success into significance? Our indulgence in the pinnacle of our prosperity and promotion will determine the longevity of our accomplishment. “The greatest enemy of progress is your last success, you could become so proud of what you’ve already accomplished that you stop moving ahead to what you can still accomplish.” — Myles Munroe. It is very important not to allow success to leave us with a fat-head (pride) and a lean-soul (meanness).
There are some misapprehensions that follow success – we assume that the people who praise with their lips also love us with all their heart; we think that the people who are celebrating our success will always be by our side clapping their hands; we presume that one step of success will lead to the next and that we will be accepted and respected by all. All of these presumptions or most of these will prove to be false. When we float on wrong presuppositions we will fall into unexpected ditches.
Jesus taught us how to handle success. After the astounding miracle of feeding the five thousand with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes, Jesus knew that the fiesta was being famished by the foolishness of the crowd. They wanted to forcibly crown Him their king. Being satiated with the feast without toiling, the crowd fallaciously fooled themselves with the false presumption that Jesus had come to supply “free food” and make them lazy. Jesus did not conduct another 3 days seminar to explain His vision and mission. He just slipped away and withdrew into the hillside to pray and refresh Himself with His heavenly Father. Jesus refused to let the praise of people enthuse Him hence their criticism did not depress Him.
What do you do at the summit of success?
1. Surrender: Surrender at the summit of success. When we are elated we could be imprudent in our decisions. As Jesus did, withdraw into a lonely place to surrender the success back to God. Surrender will make us realize that the success is not our own making but the Grace of God.
- Static: Don’t allow yourself to be stretched beyond your ability. Success softens our soul with excitement and we would allow ourselves to be stretchy and flexible. Be static, not elastic. Being static does not mean being emotionless but motionless in our attitude. Don’t make decisions or promises in the mist of mystical merriment.
- Success: Our promotion does not come from people but God. God uses the hands of people to give us gifts but the giver is the Lord Himself. Appreciate those who helped with the progress but never become subservient to appease them.
At the mountain top of success – surrender and submit and don’t be fooled by presumptions.
Proverbs 21:31 – The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.
Prayer: Father God, all success, victory and promotion comes from You. Teach me to offer my accolades as the sacrifice back to you. Amen.
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