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Afraid of Success

Eric McGough's picture

By Eric McGough

Posted
July 29, 2009

Ready: 

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
-Colossians 3:23-24 

Set: 

If you would ask any random person on the street if they were afraid to succeed, they would probably look you straight in the eye and say, "No." However, in most cases, that same person who claims to not be afraid of success might be the very same person who didn't go the extra mile at work for the promotion, or didn't apply for that great new job with a promising future.

I used to wonder if God really wanted me to succeed. If asked, I would have said yes, but there were times when I wasn't sure if God wanted me to make the team, or to do well in certain things. But God does want us to succeed, not so that we can glorify ourselves, but so that we can receive honors as His representatives. That, in turn, gives the glory to Him, who deserves all the glory, honor, and praise. After reading scripture and praying about this topic, I realized that if we just let God lead us and not back down from a challenge, even though by our own strength we may not be good enough, as long as we are doing all of these things for the Lord, He will take care of us and give us the kind of successes we never thought were possible. 

Go: 

1. When was the last time you stepped out in faith and did something you thought that God was calling you to do?
2. When you did this, did God bless you as much or more than you were expecting?
3. When you do daily tasks, are you doing them for the Lord's glory, or for your own? 

Workout: 

1 Corinthians 10:31
Ephesians 6:10-11