This success is not the kind you might be thinking about. Before you proceed to read the kind of success I am referring to, just know that, God sees you as a successful person already if you believe in him.
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
Genesis 39:1–2
Would you consider the young man Joseph, who was about to be sold into slavery, “a successful man”?
Of course not!
Yet, God says in His own words that Joseph was a successful man.
God’s definition of success is contrary to the world’s definition. Corporate America measures success based on what you have done, what you have accomplished, and what you have accumulated. It is based entirely on you focusing all your time, energy, and resources in meriting titles and collecting accomplishments.
My friend, I want to encourage you to begin to see that the world’s model of success is unstable and built upon a foundation that is shakable. It may have the appearance of the good life, but it is temporal, and we have all seen for ourselves how the world’s transient wealth can dissipate like smoke and easily slip away like the shifting sands in the desert.
From Genesis 39:2, it is clear that success is not what you have, but rather who you have! Joseph literally had nothing materially, but at the same time, he had everything because the Lord was with him.
The material things that you have accumulated or are feverishly trying to amass do not make you a success. It is the presence of the Lord in your life that makes you a success!
We need to learn to stop pursuing things and to start pursuing Him. God sees your relationship with Him as the only thing that you need for every success in your life.
I can’t imagine starting in a worse place than Joseph. He was completely naked. He had nothing! No bank accounts, no educational qualifications, no natural connections with people of influence, nothing.
Thank God the Bible records a picture of Joseph who began with nothing, so that you and I can have hope today. If you think that like Joseph, you have nothing, well, you can start believing in the power of the presence of the Lord in your life. Start looking to Jesus and claim that promise in that scripture for yourself!
Say, “The Lord is with ME, and I am a successful person.”
Say it a hundred times if you have to, and begin to see this as your reality. Stick this promise on your mirror, and every morning when you brush your teeth, remind yourself that today, as you go to work, as you go to school, as you start the day caring for your children at home (or do whatever it is that you need to do), the Lord is with you.
And because He is with you, YOU ARE ALREADY A SUCCESS! When you have Jesus in your life, you are no longer trying to be a success; you ARE a success!
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. Genesis 39:1–2
Would you consider the young man Joseph, who was about to be sold into slavery, “a successful man”?
Of course not!
Yet, God says in His own words that Joseph was a successful man.
God’s definition of success is contrary to the world’s definition. Corporate America measures success based on what you have done, what you have accomplished, and what you have accumulated. It is based entirely on you focusing all your time, energy, and resources in meriting titles and collecting accomplishments.
My friend, I want to encourage you to begin to see that the world’s model of success is unstable and built upon a foundation that is shakable. It may have the appearance of the good life, but it is temporal, and we have all seen for ourselves how the world’s transient wealth can dissipate like smoke and easily slip away like the shifting sands in the desert.
From Genesis 39:2, it is clear that success is not what you have, but rather who you have! Joseph literally had nothing materially, but at the same time, he had everything because the Lord was with him.
The material things that you have accumulated or are feverishly trying to amass do not make you a success. It is the presence of the Lord in your life that makes you a success!
We need to learn to stop pursuing things and to start pursuing Him. God sees your relationship with Him as the only thing that you need for every success in your life.
I can’t imagine starting in a worse place than Joseph. He was completely naked. He had nothing! No bank accounts, no educational qualifications, no natural connections with people of influence, nothing.
Thank God the Bible records a picture of Joseph who began with nothing, so that you and I can have hope today. If you think that like Joseph, you have nothing, well, you can start believing in the power of the presence of the Lord in your life. Start looking to Jesus and claim that promise in that scripture for yourself!
Say, “The Lord is with ME, and I am a successful person.”
Say it a hundred times if you have to, and begin to see this as your reality. Stick this promise on your mirror, and every morning when you brush your teeth, remind yourself that today, as you go to work, as you go to school, as you start the day caring for your children at home (or do whatever it is that you need to do), the Lord is with you.
And because He is with you, YOU ARE ALREADY A SUCCESS! When you have Jesus in your life, you are no longer trying to be a success; you ARE a success!
This devotional is from Pastor Joseph Prince, the Singaporean leader of New Creation Church.
To read more of this and other Bible concepts, go here.
2 The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,
4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.
5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.
6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.
Joshua 1:8
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Do you consider yourself a godly woman or do you know godly women?
The 20th century perspective of a successful woman is a lady who has a white-collar job or business owner, is married, has a child or children, owns a car(s), has a house(s), and huge savings account, to list a few.
A Christ-believing, godly woman shouldn’t limit herself to these social opinions. It is not a sin to have possessions to be married, but they are not the definition of success.
Does this mean success is only what we possess? Definitely ‘NOT.’ True success is God’s peace.
Self-condemnation and alienation have become usual for women who have experienced broken relationships.
This is because they think the societal walls of success are too high for them to scale over.
There is hope for you, Sister. Christ’s definition of success supersedes public opinion. You can thrive with a successful mindset. This is if you ask the Holy Spirit to direct your heart as you study the Bible.
The highest life achievement you will make is to be able to pray and live by God’s will.
Bible definition of success
It will surprise you that the word SUCCESS is mentioned only once in the Bible.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8.
It is astonishing that God considers those who have had success as those who read the Bible. He also values those who decide to live their lives following Christ’s example.
Here are three ways you can live a life that would be successful in the Lord’s eyes!
1. Christ’s success for godly women is speaking the word of God
People can know what your life state is based on what you say.
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of”Luke 6:45.
You have the power to change your life from what you confess and affirm. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.Prov 18:21.
I advise you to choose your words wisely despite how hurt you feel. Speak about what you want to see in your life.
I recall standing in front of my mirror and sometimes kneeling at the edge of my bed in deep pain, though in the sobbing and tears, I always heard the still inner voice of the Holy Spirit reminding me about scriptures I had meditated on.
Whenever I declared those scriptures out loud to my hearing, I felt internal peace, and it built my self-confidence again with God and men.
It is hard! Yes, it is difficult not to curse the person who hurt you. Especially those people who condemn you for not having everything they possess. However, spiritual maturity as a godly woman is desiring to be successful according to God’s standard. It is that robust lady who will choose to bless herself daily. She does this with scriptures and sincerely blesses the person who hurt her.
2. Christ’s success for godly women is meditating on the word of God.
True success is knowing what God said in His manual about you. The only way to digest this manual is to devote time with undivided attention to commit to understanding what God wrote in the Bible.
“All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage];so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.”2 Tim 3:16-17
Since I started watching at least two or more gospel messages on YouTube from people I regard as servants of God almost every day and listening to scriptural gospel music, for many years now, my life has been full of joy, peace, and rest in everything I do. I am free from the pain of the past hurt.
I encourage you to form the habit of deliberately changing your mind with scriptures daily, and to reject the general view that success is based on what you have achieved.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2.
Meditating means repeating the verses in your heart while praying for the Holy Spirit to help you understand what it is.
3. Christ’s success for godly women is observing the word of God.
Who is your example of life? Why are you doing what you are doing?
What you do is a direct reflection of what you know and believe.
There is no dispute; action speaks louder than words.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does”. James 1:22-25.
Practice the word as Ephesians 5:1 says
“Be, therefore, imitators of God, as beloved children.”
Before I do anything, I ask myself, “If Jesus were here now, would he be comfortable doing what I want to do”? I urge you to examine yourself in the Lord.
Apostle Paul emphasized in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.”
I urge you again to find a Pastor or mentor and consistently engage in a Bible-based fellowship.
Invest in this with prayers and devotion. The word success is mentioned only three times in Deuteronomy 2 regarding possession.
“The Horims also dwelt in Seir before time; but the children of Esau succeeded them,…unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them” Deut 2:12.
What is success?
Success is having an intimate, personal relationship with God and not just an external accumulation of things.
It should be noted that marriage, a good job, cars, and houses are not bad. God created them as by-products for us to accomplish our purpose, but they are not in themselves what qualifies a person or a godly woman as successful.
Sister, the secret of Christ’s success is speaking, studying, and practicing the word of God.
All godly women must forgive those who hurt them and refuse to bear offenses. Also, holy women are obedient to God above everyone else. We do it because we love him, and he loves us.
Click here to read 84 Bible verses about godly women.
