The Scriptures declare that anything we do, should be done ‘as unto the Lord’. That is to say, as children of God we should seek to please God in all we do. For instance, in building a family, business, or career, you have to ask yourself, “What does success in the eyes of God mean in what I’m doing?”
This evaluation applies to every single thing you are involved in. There is no point in being religious and limiting this assessment to only things that have to do with church. To achieve personal success in whatever you are doing, be it ministry, family, career, business, or relationships, ask, “What does success mean here?”
Shun the definitions and the descriptions of the world. It’s only by looking up to God, and listening to the Spirit of God that you’ll be able to determine what true success is.
To give you a clearer picture, I will share a recent experience with you. At the beginning of this year, I caught a new fire: I wanted to reach 7 billion minds with the Wildfire Message. I immediately began to set things in motion to do that.
Then suddenly, as our 28-day fast began, the Holy Spirit began to move me in another direction. A season of fasting is an important season in life. What happens in a season of fasting is that the Holy Spirit realigns us back to God. This is similar to what happens when an automobile, after being in use for some time, is taken to a mechanic workshop for alignment.
You see, your daily interaction with the the world causes you to go out of alignment with God. So every time you come into the presence of God, particularly during periods of prolonged prayer and fasting, one of the things the Spirit of God does is to shift you again. He realigns you so that you are now in alignment with God. This is why it is important to always pray. It is imperative for you as a child of God to spend time fasting and praying; because though you are in the world, you are not of the world. But if you are not spending enough time with the Lord, the danger is that you will become like the world.
While I was setting all my strategies in place to reach 7 billion minds, I didn’t know I was out of alignment with God. Thank God that in the course of the 28- day Fast, the Holy Spirit brought me back into alignment with the Father’s heart.
He said to me, “I don’t want you to deliver the Wildfire Message to 7 billion minds; I want you to deliver it to your members. If you successfully deliver this message to your members and to people in your home churches, then you will reach 7 billion minds. But if you go after 7 billion minds directly, you’re not going to reach anybody. Focus on delivering this message to your members in the home churches. Make sure that they understand it, and that they have clarity with respect to the message, even if they are only twenty in number; and when as you sit in glory a thousand years later, you will see that the message has reached 7 billion minds.”
Now, how in the world would I have known that? This strategy definitely does not make sense to the average human being. There was no way my thoughts would have gone in that direction if the Holy Spirit had not intervened.
Therefore, in all that you do, cultivate intimacy with God. Then watch the Holy Spirit guide you through the path of true success.