Inside my grandmother’s house, there was a place like many families have, where we would go stand against the wall and have our height evaluated. Placing our heels tight against the wall and straining to be as tall as possible with fellow cousins standing around calling out for “no cheating!” Our grandmother would place the ruler on the top of our head and make the mark with the pencil. All of us would gather around squinting at marks and comparing to see how much we had grown since the last time. Crossed fingers and silent prayers uttered, we all had high hopes that we might be the one that had the most success. As the youngest girl, being tall was a lofty goal I held onto dearly. The short-lived prestige that accompanied a growth spurt was envied by all and experienced by few, but we went away with our grandmother’s promise we would continue to grow and success was a guarantee at some point. She assured us our turn would come.
Most of us grow up with this cultural philosophy that our turn is coming, accompanied by legendary wisdom that good things come to those who wait. We spend lots of time looking for the adult version of the growth chart to measure whether we are “growing successfully” and comparing it to others around us. Whether it be vocational or relational, fame or fortune, it is often the thing that validates us more than what is spiritually healthy. I often forget that success is not a vacation destination for my ego, but rather a conduit for God to work out his purpose in my life. Like most folks, I worked hard at my career, tried to make choices that would better prepare me for success, while attempting to balance marriage, family, ministry, community, etc. I was so busy at times, trying to get ahead, that I rarely stopped to think about what God could use me for, once I reached the rung on the ladder of success I had my eye on. The words of Rick Warren from the “Purpose Driven Life” ring clearly in my ears, it’s not all about me.
Nehemiah is a guy in the Old Testament that had reached a good place in his career when God started knocking on the door of his heart. Right in the middle of success, Nehemiah began to feel a burden for his people and it began to challenge his choices about his future plans. The news about his fellow Jews and their return to a Jerusalem that lay in ruins tugged at Nehemiah’s heart so much that His employer, King Artaxeres noticed that his faithful servant had lost the joy of his service. Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king. A very important intimate position that in today’s language would be a high official serving at the cabinet level with a title of something like Secretary of Poison Prevention.
In this time in history, it could be dangerous for Nehemiah to reveal any personal agenda other than serving the king and demonstrating total allegiance and satisfaction to this very successful station in life. But God had already worked in Nehemiah’s heart and when the King made his inquiry, Nehemiah shared the burden and the call to return to Jerusalem to help his fellow country men rebuild the city wall. After a debate about a leave of absence, the king gave his permission for Nehemiah to leave his post and lend aid. As a result of where God had placed Nehemiah in his employment, Nehemiah was able to travel with documents to ensure his safety and secure resources for the rebuilding of the city. This all looks good so far but the amount of opposition and discouragement that Nehemiah faced once he arrived in Jerusalem is disheartening. I’m sure he had moments of thinking back on life in the summer palace waiting on the king. A life where he enjoyed the fruit of his labor and was a well respected successful guy. But because of God and His faithfulness to Nehemiah and the people, Nehemiah prevailed and the wall was eventually rebuilt ensuring safety for Jerusalem from its enemies
The account of Nehemiah’s work life doesn’t make sense if we measure it against the American dream. It isn’t logical for a guy to leave a job with good pay, seniority and a great benefits package to venture out to a place with no guaranteed income and no mention of profit shares and retirement savings. Why would a loving God who placed a person on a comfortable rung on the success ladder, call Nehemiah away to something less profitable? Where the chance of success looked minimal at best? Doesn’t God want us to achieve our maximum potential? What about my gold watch retirement party? Couldn’t Nehemiah remain in the palace and just network from there, using his influence to coordinate the efforts back in Jerusalem?
I am reminded that the Scriptures in Isaiah 55: 8-9 plainly tell us God has a different mode of operation than we do. He plans differently, He works differently and His purposes are different from ours. It is a scary thought that God might call me away from the very spot He has placed me to now do something else he has ordained for me. The amazing part is when I obey God; I am able to see that all the experience of the journey to success is but a preparation cycle for what God has already prepared for me to do next. All this reminds me I have to be careful as I make my way through life that I don’t sidel up to the wall street or cultural standard of success and constantly measure myself to see what height in life I have achieved. God measures success much differently than the world, myself and my culture does. While writing this, I am overwhelmed with thoughts of all the missionaries and people serving God and their fellow man across the globe that either left successful careers or chose to use their gifts to advance the kingdom of heaven in lieu of making a ton of money. For them, they measured success by God’s standard, looking at marks of obedience on the wall of faith as opposed to what seemed to be in their own best interest. By the way, I am not a person who thinks following God successfully means a vow of poverty and an abandonment of good stewardship but I do believe to be a true disciple of Jesus, it means a vow of obedience. Taking up our cross and following Him aren’t qualified by social classes or income brackets.Yes, Lord is a universal response.
Right now, in such challenging circumstances, most of us are redefining what success looks like. Hopefully, the mark of success on the wall of 2020 sure looks different than the mark of 2019. What looked so important and valuable now doesn’t hold the same value for most of us. Many folks in their professional life and their personal life have undergone reassignment, hindered or altered by a global pandemic. Certainly all of our plans about the future have been impacted. One of the blessings that can come out of such a devastation could be we draw closer to God in our walk with Him. As I look to Christ, my example, I am reminded Christ’s pursuit in His earthly life was to do the will of the Father. Not to plug God’s will into His own pursuit of life, His career as a carpenter, His relationships to friends and family. Christ’s measure of success was to follow the will of God. Period.
It has been a long time since I stood at a wall with my heels tight against the baseboard and my eyes level but in a season like this, when I come out on the other side, Even though I have enjoyed an immense amount of success,I hope I will have grown in my obedience to God, and in my willingness to relinquish my own idea of getting ahead and have my thinking transformed to His ideas. My prayer is that I will surrender every talent, any potential and any measure of success He has given me for His purpose. I hope when God measures my spiritual height. I would be found to be tall, rather than one who was dwarfed by such a narrow superficial view of what true success in this life really was. On the top of my growth chart, I want God to write, “Well done, Good and Faithful servant.”
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