The Key to Success

To American industrialist, Henry Kaiser, the key to success was to “find a need and fill it.” This pattern helped him establish more than 100 companies.

Henry Ford attributed much of Kaiser’s success to hard work. Historian Liddell Hart credited his success to being at the right place at the right time, observing that “success is as much a matter of luck as of ability.” But persistence, he believed, was even more important.

The biographies of famous men are filled with these kinds of recommendations. Yes, many things may contribute to success. But the Bible tells us that real success in God’s sight begins when we commit what we do to Him.

Some people think this means asking God to bless their own ideas. Or perhaps they spend a few moments in prayer before moving forward with plans they’ve already made.

Yet true commitment means laying everything before Him: Every plan. Every thought. Every action. It means deciding not to do anything until He gives a clear direction. It means being willing to put our plans on hold, or even to abandon them, unless we get God’s green light.

The Bible says you are to “commit to the Lord whatever you do” (NIV). This is central to being a follower of Jesus, and it requires a real, full-time, lifestyle commitment. It means abandoning our own will and our own ideas. Always surrendering to His will, we must lay our thoughts before Him and allow Him to shape our lives, our steps, our actions, and our future.

In your life, remember that God works everything “for His own purposes.” Nothing escapes His guiding hand. Do you want to be successful? Then start by committing everything to Him. Wait on Him. Obey Him. Seek His will, not your own.