Written by Dynamis Ministries | March 13, 2025
Success is a Choice. The Pathway to Success. From Failure to Success. Success Inside Out. The Success Equation. These are all titles of books you might see if you’re strolling through the self-help aisle of a bookstore. Given the one common word they all share, it’s evident that the topic of success is a big deal in our world today. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise; after all, who doesn’t want to achieve success in various facets of life? While these books can be valuable resources for attaining greater success, have you ever paused and considered:
What is success, actually?
Chances are, if you’re in the business sector, success is defined by sales, revenue or growth. In life itself, success may be determined by the size of our homes, where we vacation or what kind of cars we drive. At home, success might be attributed to the quality of our children’s education or their prominence in extracurricular activities. While none of these things are inherently wrong— in fact, all of these can be amazing blessings from the Lord— we must be aware that how the world defines success is not always how God defines it. To illustrate this, let’s look at one of the most “unsuccessful” people in the Bible: the prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah was a prophet with a difficult assignment: to warn God’s chosen people of their impending destruction as a consequence of their unfaithfulness to God’s covenant. His message of repentance for Israel to turn from sin largely fell on deaf ears. Instead, Jeremiah suffered public shame and physical abuse for making these proclamations. In fact, the Bible only records two individuals who responded favorably to his words: his friend Baruch and Ebed-Melech, a servant of the king. By all visible accounts, Jeremiah would not be regarded as successful by our standards today.
Yet, despite all the scorn, shame, abuse and lack of visible success, Jeremiah’s legacy continues to offer hope to people today. Intertwined in his message of discipline and destruction is a thread of hope for a new covenant, one that was ultimately fulfilled through Jesus many years later. This message is one from which we can find comfort today when we face our own difficult seasons of life. Without Jeremiah’s faithful obedience, this critical part of God’s redemptive story may never have been shared.
While our vocations or communities may define success by numbers or outward symbols, we must remember that God uses different measures of success. We may never reach the top of the corporate ladder, have the highest achieving kids or enjoy the most lavish lifestyle, but we can all find success in God’s eyes by being faithful and obedient to the call he has placed on our lives. We encourage you to continue being a good steward of what God has entrusted to your care, regardless of its size or status, and in doing so, discover a deeper sense of success that no earthly accomplishment can match.
This brings us closer to the true heart of success in God’s eyes: Take great care of what God has entrusted you and leave the results to him. Would Jeremiah ever have imagined that 2,661 years after his ministry began, he would have the 7th most viewed words (Bible verses) of all time1? Never, in a million years.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” —Jeremiah 29:11
1Top 100 Bible Verses at BibleGateway.com
