SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS
In the teachings of Jesus we find that He talks a lot about bearing fruit and about productivity. In modern terms, we would call this success. In His teaching He wants our lives to be successful in a way that points to Him and displays His faithfulness. Our success shows that we can’t do anything without Him, and that everything flows from Him.
What we can learn about this is that there is a distinction between results and roots. It is possible for us to produce results that can’t be sustained by our root system. Our success cannot exceed the source that it came from. So if we base our success on the source of people’s opinions or our own strength, then our success will be short-lived. It’s possible to bear fruit without root, but the fruit will not last.
If we want our lives to have staying power, we need to determine our constant. A constant is a fixed value that does not change, no matter what the other variables or circumstances in our lives are.
CONSTANT CALLING - The first constant established in our lives is a constant calling (what we know we were created to do). In different seasons of life as we mature, our calling will find results different ways, but it is always the same calling. A lot of us wait for our circumstances to indicate the importance of our calling. But we need to have a sense of our calling before the circumstances validate it. We can’t let circumstances dictate the extent of our calling. Many have probably hear about how David defeat the giant Goliath. He was living out the same calling that had been placed on his life from the time he was born. It was the calling that had him kill a lion and a bear as a shepherd, and it was the calling that would have him defeating the enemies of Israel as a king. Goliath was the biggest challenge David had faced in his life so far. There were all kinds of new variables he’d never dealt with before. But David knew his calling was the same, and he had the same God who had delivered him before. Just like David, we can have confidence that even though the circumstances may change, our calling is constant.
CONSTANT CHARACTER - This means that our lives are to be driven by core convictions, not by convenience. If we look to circumstances to be our constant, we’ll live out of convenience. But if we look to what is eternal as our constant, then we’ll begin to live lives marked by character. It’s possible for us to achieve things that our character can’t sustain. That’s why sometimes life doesn’t give us the thing we want because life building in us the character we need to sustain it. ?
CONSTANT COUNSEL - Getting continuous counsel through relationships by those who have greater knowledge, wisdom, and accomplishments. We need constant connections and relationships that will pour the right counsel into us. We need people who will insulate us from life’s circumstances and remind us to stayed focused on the truth.
CONSTANT CONFLICT - All of us deal with the same issues throughout our lives. We struggle with a constant need for control and a constant fear of rejection. But this conflict does not nullify the work we are supposed to do in our lives. Our calling, our character, and our counsel are not the constant. The constant is the calling that save us. It’s character and counsel that we sustain. The constant is not being perfect, but striving for excellence . This is the secret to sustainable success: We will get it wrong sometimes, but all we need to do is remain connected to the true vine.