What's In Your Heart?

What comes to mind when you hear the word “success”? Do you ever feel pressured to achieve a certain measure of success? God wants each of us to succeed in life, but it’s important to understand that what God considers success isn’t always what the world thinks it is.

The world considers people successful when they have a lot of money, own their own business, hold executive positions, or achieve fame and recognition. Highly educated people and those regarded as experts in their field are also thought of as successful.

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with achieving these things, some people work hard to obtain the positions they have only to discover they are unfulfilled and really don’t know who they are apart from what they do.

Recently, someone told me he had been in a respected position for 25 years. He is now retired and said he felt like he lost his identity. He said, “I used to be at the top of my profession, and now I am nothing.” A child of God never has to feel this way because we are much more than what we do. We find our value through our relationship with God through Christ.

That’s why it’s important to ask ourselves why we seek after certain things. Is it to feel loved or important? Do we do it to prove something to other people? If money is someone’s top priority, they will be sadly disappointed to find out that money and things cannot keep them happy. We’re often surprised to learn when someone who the world considers successful—someone who “has it all”—is miserable, lonely, and unfulfilled.

In Matthew 6:19-20, Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven….”

As Christians, we don’t base success on the same criteria the world uses. The Bible teaches that we are in the world but not of the world, and that we are not to be worldly (John 17:11, 14-15; Romans 12:2).

In God’s Kingdom, people may in fact be world-famous or wealthy; they may own businesses, or be CEOs of major corporations. But their motivation will be to do these things for God’s glory, not merely to feel important or make money. They will also desire to share what they have with people in need.

God wants you to succeed in everything He calls and equips you to do, and an important step to enjoying true success and fulfillment is to follow your heart…

“What Does God Want Me to Do?”

Maybe you’ve asked this very question about your own life and future. If so, you’re not alone. (It’s one of the most common questions I receive.) First, whatever you do should agree with God’s Word. It should also be something you have a desire to do, will enjoy doing, and believe God has given you the ability to do. If you aren’t sure, you may have to try some things and see if they fit you.

I like to use this example: If I shop for an outfit for a special occasion, I may try on five or six options before I find the one that fits just right and feels comfortable to me. This is a good way to think about how to find your pathway in life. What fits? What is comfortable? What do you like to do? What are you good at?

God gives us desires, and He frequently speaks to us through them. God won’t call you to do something you hate, just as I would not buy an outfit that was uncomfortable and didn’t look good on me. God will give you a desire to do something that fits you and that you enjoy. I’ve discovered that you know you are on the pathway to success if you would do your job without being paid for it.

It’s so important that each of us chooses to do what God puts in our heart to do. Don’t let other people push you into doing things that make you miserable, no matter how much they think you should do them. It doesn’t matter what your dream is, as long as it’s what you really want to do and believe with all your heart that God wants you to do it. Success is doing whatever we do for God and doing it in a way that pleases and brings glory to Him.

God gives each of us different abilities and desires. Some things may not fit into the world’s standard of success, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing something important. The bottom line is that whatever God gives you to do is important, no matter what it is.

Press Past Your Failures and Mistakes

I like this quotation, which is often attributed to Winston Churchill: “Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” I am convinced that if you will never give up, you will eventually end up at the perfect place for you. The Bible is filled with scriptures encouraging us not to give up.

The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:13-14 (AMPC), I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

On your way to success, you may fail sometimes and have to adjust your plans. But God knows your heart, and as long as you sincerely want to do His will, even if you veer onto the wrong pathway, He will gently guide you back onto the right one.

Some of our worst mistakes teach us the greatest lessons of our lives. Once we’ve made them, we simply need to learn from them, let them go, and keep working with God to follow what is in our hearts. That’s how we discover the right path to our God-given destiny.

Adapted from the book The Pathway to Success by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2023 by Joyce Meyer. Published by Hachette Book Group, Inc. All rights reserved