Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes. Matt 6:25 (NIV)

PART 4 – Success Seeking

Go to  PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3

This is more confession than devotion… (we consider these more a conversation than a devotion anyway.)

Sometimes I feel disappointed with life.

I thought by now my house would be bigger, my bank account would be fuller, my body would be happier, and my reputation would be wider. I thought these things were hallmarks of success and that I would have them. Achievement, sanity, applause, recognition (we’re being honest right?)… they still seem elusive. A couple of years ago, I found myself in a place where I couldn’t understand why life wasn’t going according to ‘the plan?’ (read: my assumptions and projections of success and achievement). Where was my big (spotless and flawlessly designed) house and my fat bank account, my reputation and sanity? Why didn’t my body shrink straight back after having 2 kids, and why did my hair fall out when I struggled with depression? Why was my genuine hard work going unnoticed and unvalued, never seeming to be enough? I had dreams and plans, and not many of them were coming to pass.

If I’m right, I don’t think I’m alone in these thoughts. We’re bombarded with messages everyday through media, conversation, social bias, preference pushers, big brands, movies, music, blogs and more about who we should be and what we should have. Success is so often defined by the size of your home, where you bought furniture, if you made your furniture, what designer you’re wearing and how many times you’ve worn it, where you studied, who your leader is, how many you lead, and what you wear while leading, what you’ve achieved and how many people know you on Twitter. We subconsciously choose results over relationships and chase abundance instead of seeking joy in simplicity.

What is success?

I’m only disappointed in my life when I measure it in terms of how much of the world I have obtained. When all you seek is temporary, the fulfillment of those things is temporary also. Shallow and unsatisfying. Fleeting. Slippery.

Jesus teaches us not to worry about these temporary things in terms of how they estimate our value… don’t worry about what you wear, what you eat, where you live… But seek the eternal, the depth of life, walk a path that is more about who you are than what you have. Seek first the Kingdom of God. Every time we follow him, pursue peace, look for hope and love, we find more than what we knew we were looking for. And somehow in the background, we manage to pay our bills, fill our bellies and buy clothes. But these things don’t define who we are or our success. We seek after something much more fulfilling.

Can I add, the seasons where you can’t pay your bills and you struggle to put food on the table don’t define your value either.

I’m learning not to be disappointed. I have nothing to be disappointed about. My value lies not in what I have, or what I’ve done, but in whose I am and what I am becoming. And that is nothing short of miraculous and astounding.

Don’t worry. You are more valuable than silver and gold, more beautiful than the flowers that adorn a wild garden, more divine than the waves crashing onto the shore. You are more loved than the number of Facebook and Instagram friends you have, and you’re worth more than the home you live in.

“And all these things…” the temporary, the tangible, the stuff, the paperwork… don’t make you meaningful. You bring them meaning with your flesh, blood and breath; your faith in the infinite and your hope in Christ.

If love is success, then we are indeed successful. Loved by God, with more to learn, more to become… more to find.

We best keep on seeking.

Go to Part 5 – Maybe You Will »

[vcex_image_grid columns=”3″ pagination=”false” thumbnail_link=”custom_link” link_title_tag=”true” custom_links_target=”_blank” overlay_style=”title-category-visible” columns_gap=”5″ img_hover_style=”fade-out” image_ids=”20934,20935,20937″ custom_links=”https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1239768002?pt=118656308&ct=blog%20footer&mt=8,https://www.pktfuel.com/dailyemail,https://www.pktfuel.com/support” img_height=”350″]