The Formula for Success

We all look for it, yearn for it. . . the formula for a successful life.  Books a plenty have been written on it, as well as seminars, webinars and the like.  The "how-to's" and "wherefores" of success in this life seem to favor the rich, the famous and those with the mind for business.  "And you, too, can have all this and more if you just send me $19.95 plus shipping and handling. . ."  

But, what really defines a successful life?  Is it all just oversized homes, ridiculously fast cars, shiny jewelry and servants at your beck and call 24-7?  To many, even most, that may be exactly what they think equals success in this life.  But, I believe there is so much more.

Don't get me wrong, I love nice things.  I like to be comfortable and enjoy my surroundings.  But, things don't define me.  Oh, you could label me successful by observing my middle-class lifestyle  (if such a class even exists anymore).  However, stuff is stuff.  And, I have been ridding my life of the kind of stuff that limits my ability to truly be successful.  Simplicity is often times our best and kindest companion.

In light of all this, I have been pondering this question as to what makes life work.  Without hesitation, I can tell you that God is the center of all that is good and right in my  life.  But some may ask why.  What is it about God that moves me, inspires me, and makes me who I am?

The secret lies in my relationship with God.  Now, wait. . .before you start skimming down the page or click on an ad, hear me out.  It is through my relationship with God that I have discovered the true formula for success.

When you think about what makes a relationship work, what word comes to mind?  I'm sure there are many, but I will spare you the headache and give one to you.  TRUST.  Trust is a fundamental component to all successful relationships and our relationship with God is no different.   

Trust is the "firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something."  (Thank you, Professor Google).  However, if we look to God for a definition, the Scripture that comes to mind is 2 Corinthians 5:7 "for we live by trust, not by what we see." (Complete Jewish Bible,  hereinafter "CJB").  Most of us know this verse to say "for we walk by faith, not by sight." (English Standard Version).  

Trust.  Faith in the unseen, moved to action by an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God.  Most of us are familiar with the "trust test" whereby you stand in front of someone and free fall backwards in complete confidence that the person standing behind you will catch you before you hit the ground. Our trust in God is no different.  Confidence, being so grounded in Him that following Him and His plan occurs without giving it too much thought.  "Fix[ing] our eyes on the things that we can't see now." ("Here now" (Madness) by Hillsong United))  Trust is that component to which no form can be given, it just exists.  Whether you earn it or it's given, trust is fundamental to our success in life.

What does trust look like, when it comes to God?  For that, let's look at another word:  Obedience.  (Some of you just cringed, but again, stick with me here.  . .)

Obedience, according to Professor Google, means "compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority."  Again, let's look at it through Scripture.  Jesus is the perfect example of obedience, in all His ways, but most importantly because Jesus, being fully human, yet fully God, "humbled himself still more by becoming obedient even to death —death on a stake as a criminal!!" (Philippians 2:8, CJB).  Obedient to the Father's will, obedient unto death, even when He felt the grief of what He faced in His frail humanity, Jesus still prayed “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, let not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42, CJB, emphasis mine). 

Trust.  Obedience.  Both powerful words on their own, but together, even more so. We've heard them strung together in that beautiful hymn by John Henry Sammis:

"Trust and obey,

For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

  But to trust and obey."

Did you catch it?  Read it again.  Trust and Obedience, when partnered together, bear the most glorious fruit!  "To be happy in Jesus [is] to trust and obey."  Happiness, joy, contentment.  These are the true measurements of success.  Jesus, Himself, said in John 14:

 “Don’t let yourselves be disturbed. Trust in God and trust in me. In my Father’s house are many places to live. If there weren’t, I would have told you; because I am going there to prepare a place for you.  Since I am going and preparing a place for you, I will return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be also.  . . . Trust me, that I am united with the Father, and the Father united with me. But if you can’t, then trust because of the works themselves. Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones, because I am going to the Father. In fact, whatever you ask for in my name, I will do; so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me for something in my name, I will do it.  “If you love me, you will keep my commands; and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever. . . . Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”  . . . “If someone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Someone who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words — and the word you are hearing is not my own but that of the Father who sent me. . . this is happening so that the world may know that I love the Father, and that I do as the Father has commanded me.  (CJB, emphasis mine)

Do you see it now?  Trust and obedience produce the favor of God.  

 "Trust + Obedience = Blessing."

Paul echoed Jesus' teaching in Philippians 2:12-16:

So, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey now when I am away from you: keep working out your deliverance with fear and trembling, for God is the one working among you both the willing and the working for what pleases him. Do everything without kvetching or arguing,  so that you may be blameless and pure children of God, without defect in the midst of a twisted and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the sky,  as you hold on to the Word of Life. If you do this, I will be able to boast, when the Day of the Messiah comes, that I did not run or toil for nothing. (CJB, emphasis mine)

Trust + Obedience = Blessing.  "If you love me, you will obey my commandments."  Trust is a core element of love.  If you cannot trust someone you love, how pure can that love be?  And, true obedience is born out of love.  Some may argue that fear creates obedience.  Interestingly enough,  God agrees: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13, ESV, emphasis mine)

Even in the Garden of Eden, God asked His children to trust and obey.  "The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden, but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, ‘You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’” (Genesis 3:2-3, ESV)  In other words, "Trust Me.  Obey Me.  For if you do not, the blessings will cease."

The proof is undeniable.  Blessings are not handed out to the prettiest, smartest, richest, or most clever.  Blessings are bestowed upon those who have placed their trust in and give their obedience to an all-knowing, all-seeing, ever-present, ever-loving God.  We measure success based on the outcomes of what we do, how we act, and what we say.  There is truth to that line of thinking, however, we must be mindful of Whom is truly measuring those outcomes.  

True success is attainable in this life.  It is gained through hard work, pure motives and good stewardship.  All these things still boil down to these simple words:  

"Trust and obey,

For there’s no other way

To be happy in [all things],

  But to trust and obey."