Striving to Attain = Striving to Maintain
I’m beginning to learn certain things when it comes to succeeding in what I do…
First of all, I’ve come to a personal revelation of what true “kingdom success” is. Success, in its simplest form, is not self-promoting or aggrandizing – actually, it’s the total opposite. It’s the ability or stage in your life when you’ve learned to add value to people. It’s servitude in its purest form.
I know many of us know this already. We’ve heard the messages and understand the principles, but unfortunately, it hasn’t become a personal revelation. And until it’s a personal revelation, it’ll never become a reality in our lives.
What brings me to my knees in repentance, is realizing the attitude I’ve developed in the past concerning “success.” I’ve seen and participated in the “striving” that takes place in ministry. I’ve been around many ministries and pastors that seem to always confuse “vision” with “ambition” and “serving” with “striving” And I know that to be true because I’ve been very guilty of it as well.
I heard a great quote from Pastor Bob Coy of Calvary Chapel, he said, “If you strive to attain, you’ll have to strive to maintain.” When I heard that, my heart was cut. God got through to me. I realized how easy it is for me to fall away from a position of “being” to one of “doing.”
I’ve come to realize that it’s only God that gives the increase – not us. And although we’ll never admit it, many of us (pastors in particular) are guilty of “serving” people for personal gain instead of serving to add value to them. We are guilty of building a kingdom to ourselves rather than building His Kingdom by serving one another!
Our striving for personal gain must cease. The pursuit of success must be Biblical by definition. If we strive, we strive to add value to people. And this is to be done in humility and service. I just know that when we learn to do this, God will increase our harvest of righteousness!
Are you striving to attain? Let me know you thoughts…
I believe that I am trying to attain but in the process of doing so I am asking God to check my heart. What are my motives to wanting to attain. God continue to search my heart, that I learn to maintain and steward what you give me and learn to value others.
I think we have to learn to attain the house of the Lord if we want to get closer to God. so we have to learn how to maintain our love for the lord so we want to get to the next level.
Once we strive for success the maintaining part is the part we must focus on to keep striving for bigger and better things in life.
Recently I went to a Seminar on Surrender and it was not what I
expected. The speaker told me I wa a people pleaser and should think about my needs first. I am a people pleaser and I will
continue to love, give and care for all the people I come in
contact with. I do this all out of my love for my Heavenly Father.
I want to always keep HIM first in the center of my life.
I have to admit that sometimes I am just doing and not being also. I just pray that my heart is checked daily before I do stuff and I repent when I even think about having the wrong motives.
I think that it goes back to your last blog. We are here to solve a problem to someone or to something that will bring fruit. We have to learn to serve people because in our serving there is the promotion we’ll get to be successful.