Preparing for Success

[S] 2 Chronicles 32:30 --
30 It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook.

[O] I'm jealous of being successful in everything he undertook.  What a feeling that must have been for Hezekiah to be in such a position and yet his pride got in the way.  I want to be successful in all that I do but more than that I need to desire humility in God and protect my heart not to be prideful because when God blesses me to be successful I sure don't want to be like Hezekiah.

[A] I need to surrender my grumbling heart of not having everything my way.  Even though I know God is in control and will provide best for me, when things don't go my ways I feel like a loser.  I need to make sure I understand that it's not whether I'm successful or not but whether I am working on my humility first.

[P] Dear Father, please make my heart humble so I would be prepared to received Your blessings in my life to be like Hezekiah who would be successful in everything that I undertake.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

The LORD Was With Him

[S] Genesis 39:2,23 --
 ²The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 
 ²³The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper.

[O] Success and prosperity in the society are two top objectives people pursue, however, most people fall short of reaching them because just like in a race not everyone can come in first.  Furthermore, even for those who had reached a satisfied level of success or prosperity they will not be satisfied and keeps going for more and more thus they end up feeling like they never succeeded.  Contrary to that, Joseph's life even in hostile and unpleasant circumstances reached success (v.2) and prosper (v.23) because the LORD was with him.  Not because he came up with a brilliant business plan of a killer app or not because he had a wealth line of heritage.  It was this recognition by others of how God was with him brought forth these results.

[A] Am I trying so hard to "succeed" in certain goals in my life?  I just need to make sure God is with me and fully give credit to Him for working through me for bringing forth amazing results.

[P] Dear Father, please make my life like Joseph's where Your presence reflected clearly in his life.  Just like how the mirror reflects everything, I want to reflect the awesomeness of You rather than trying to reveal myself.  When I die, I would like for people to say "The LORD was with Yoon."  I humbly ask in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Mighty and Valiant Strategy

[S] 1 Samuel 14:52 --
 ⁵²Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man or any valiant man, he attached him to his staff.

[O] In the first place, Saul never corrected his wrong-doing before God and instead he decided to build up his own strong army to fight against the Philistines.  Despite that effort, the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul.  I see Saul as the king who was super tied up with his own agenda of succeeding all the battles and not having the time or the desire to come clean before God for what he's done wrong.  This seems like the picture of many Christians who are so preoccupied with their own strategy of succeeding in their own society when God desires for them to come clean before Him first before they dedicate all of their hours pursuing their own goals of success.  One of the key ways people do this is by attaching themselves to many "mighty" men to help succeed their goals as if building up a strong team will be the answer.

[A] Strategy of winning in society is not building up the "A Team" but to live under God's grace of His forgiveness every day.

[P] Dear God, I seek Your grace in every moment of my life.  Please allow me to join other Christians who share this same value in life to pursue the life that will please You and that You will honor to bless.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Give Me Success Today

[S] Genesis 24:12, 63 --
 ¹² Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 
⁶³ He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.

[O] The two people in this passage requested or relied on God for their needs.  Abraham's servant asked for success and Isaac spent time with God just before he met his beloved wife.  Letting God go ahead when faced with struggles or challenges in life is so crucial not because He is some sort of a genie making my wishes come true but because my total reliance on Him makes His glory to shine in my own success.  Both of these men's desires were fulfilled when they fully committed to God's leadership.  Finding a life partner is one of the most significant decisions one can make in life, and what's more beautiful than to let God take the lead in this matchmaking?

[A] Deep inside of me, I know I am pursuing success in all the things I do.  I must be cautious that I'm not leaving out God's leadership in those efforts.  I need to pray the "give me success today" prayers before every effort I put in, small or big.

[P] Dear God, I desire to live a successful life but defining success is not a simple matter.  So, I'm turning to You to provide me Your success to come true in my and my family members lives.  I pray that our family will meditate on Your word consistently and look up to see how You will lead us down this path of successes.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

How Do You Spell Success?

[S] Henemiah 1:10-11 --

 ¹⁰"They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.
 ¹¹"O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man " Now I was the cupbearer to the king.

[O] By this moment, Nehemiah was quite distressed (verse 4: When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.) and yet his prayer to God starts with praise and recognition of workers He had placed her to carry out His will.  He did not start directly to ask for a "solution" to fix the problem his facing.  There was a clear Adoration and Thanksgiving to God.  Then he requests earnestly such that they will be able to delightfully revere God's name by making him successful.  I am really encouraged by Nehemiah's prayer because he didn't just go down the list of his requests but his ultimate desire to successfully revere His name.  So is my success related to revering God's name?  I would say so based on Nehemiah's prayer. Without trying to generalize too much, isn't it true that our world defines success as my making it big and my name getting the major press?  It's about putting myself on top so others will revere my name.  But I believe the true success God honors is the one that God's name is revered and raised up high through my own "success."

[A] Be careful not to fall into the trap of gaining my "own" success where it's all about ME getting to the top.  Instead, aim for a successful life/work such that God's name will shine through in the end.

[P] Dear God, make me successful in all that I do, at work, at church, at home, at neighborhood, such that it is SO CLEAR You are the one others will see at work in my life.  May my heart stay humble and seek You at all times.  I desire that very much.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.