Deuteronomy 23: 5

Nevertheless, the LORD your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you.

It is my opinion that Christians should not be feasting on the nightly news. Sure, it is good to know what is going on in the world but realize, it is the world’s news that is being reported, it’s even in the title of the news show. Those reporters are not reporting your news because you are not of the world. Does this sound trite? I hope not because this is a very important point. The news shows can only report the condition of the world. Our news is found in today’s scripture selection. We have been relieved of the effects of the curse and God has given us blessing instead.

Now here is the truth of this matter. You can have either report you wish. If you listen to and meditate on the world news tonight then that is what you will receive. If, however, you read God’s report and meditate on it, that is what you will receive. You will have whichever you give your attention to. You see Christians going the way of the world and it is heart breaking. It is because they are filling themselves with the world. We have 24 hour news channels that pump the airwaves full of doom and gloom and if we participate in it we will receive doom and gloom. It really is that easy. If, though, you fill your heart and mind with the Word of God and let His words penetrate your spirit then you are going to reap blessing even while 10,000 fall at your side.

Romans 10: 17 teaches us that faith comes through hearing. Whatever you put in your ears consistently is what you will have faith in. It is easy to develop fear in your heart. All you have to do is pump yourself full bad news. The reality is that even under the same circumstances some people will suffer while others succeed. We usually attribute the successful person with good luck but it isn’t luck. They daily program themselves to succeed. Computer programmers know this. They say, “Garbage in, garbage out.” They understand that the output can only be as good as the data input. So what input are you feeding to your spirit? It absolutely will determine whether you succeed or fail, whether you live in the blessing or wallow in the curse. And may I say, I have seen the truth of this personally. You can watch two people who are equally situated and in five years their conditions will be very different because one of them chose to listen to God while the other filled up on the world news. Your spirit can’t bear that immersion in the world. Don’t do it.

A person who will apply the Word of God to their lives will succeed even when the economic and environmental conditions are against them. Success isn’t in the stock market. It isn’t in your job. It is in the Lord our God who causes us to reap where we have not sown, who gives us a hundred-fold harvest in the midst of the famine. Our success is our inheritance from God so don’t let the doomsayers influence you. They aren’t talking about you. Your God, your Father loves you and turns the curse into blessing for you. Let His words fill your ears and your heart. Believe His report. You will be so glad you did.

Guaranteed Success

Proverb 16: 3          NIV

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

How would you like to know that every project you undertake is going to be a success? Wouldn’t that change your perspective? Well, it is possible. If you begin every project, every assignment by committing it to God then you are guaranteed to be successful. Now, can you believe it?  

Believing the veracity of this scripture is one of the hidden necessities to make your success manifest. If you do not believe God’s word in this context either you will not pray, submitting your work to God or you will not believe the words coming out of your own mouth. Either is shooting yourself in the foot. So, the first thing we must do if we want to see success in our endeavors is to believe this scripture. Second, we must actually commit our plans and projects to the Lord. But there is a third necessary step.

Leave it alone after you commit it to Him. Do your work but leave the success of the project in His hands. I have a visualization that I use for this and also for problems. When I have a project or problem I picture a mail tray like the type everyone used to have on their desks. I see a stack of them and the one on top is marked “In”. In my mind I recognize this as God’s inbox. I see myself walk to it and drop in whatever it is that I have on my mind. Now, here is the key. Leave it there. I cannot tell you how many times I have put something in God’s inbox only to later go pull it out. Perhaps He isn’t moving as fast as I think reasonable. Maybe I just think the problem or project needs my hands in it. Okay, I know both thoughts are ludicrous but that is the unrenewed part of my mind and exactly why I must continuously renew my mind to God and His Word.   

Once you commit your works to the Lord then it is time for you to allow Him to be the mastermind. He will instruct you and lead all of your work by His Holy Spirit. You will be surprised how much less time your work actually takes when you let Him guide your steps. And you are guaranteed success. You gotta love that. God will establish your ways and lead you into righteousness which, after all, is right-ness which only makes sense. He is not going to lead you into wrongness, now is He? So learn to stop and pray a personal prayer of committal before you commence any project. Not only will you be guaranteed success but you will find the labor much less odious. Let Jesus lead you in paths of success.