03- 03- 11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Joshua 1:8- 9)
WE NEED FAITH AS WE STEP INTO THE LADDER OF SUCCESS
8- “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9- Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
People that are in the peak of their success do not realize that success on their part could be bad for them. Success could also be the key to failure in their life as my Filipino pastor friend said in a small group Bible study. My friend can’t remember the word for the key in English and he ends up using lock and I interrupted him and gave him the right word for it which is the key.
The then president Marcos of the Philippines during his hay day looks very successful especially when he was a new president and I was very young back then; but I could still remember how he was loved by people including my parents as the new president of my dear Country, the Philippines. But the way I looked at it after the 1986 February Revolution, he doesn’t looked good and millions rallied against him where they toppled his government and he ends up in Hawaii. After those powerful years in the government and great success, being in that situation with a failed government behind him could be a failure to many. And it’s happening right now in many parts of the Middle East where people rallied against their present government who once enjoy the peak of success and wealth. Now, that is in the political arena, but what about in business? I used to have a friend who was in business at a very young age. He was in his late 20’s and I was just about 16 or 17 years old. We would usually go to a bar or restaurant with live music and he would talk to the owner or manager about me and would request me to sing 2 or 3 songs. In the Philippines back then, it was not illegal to be in a place like bar even when you’re under age. Anyway, my friend was a millionaire and he owns a bar where I was his first entertainer. When I left to go to Manila for some opportunities, my other friend told me that he killed himself (shot himself on the head in his bathroom). I found out that in spite of his financial success and his success in business, he was struggling with his relationship with his wife and children and along with that was his problem with alcoholism. We would sometimes start drinking from 8 or 9 PM and would stop in the morning. His businesses did not last longer than I thought. People in business looks like they’re successful but they have their own struggles and failures. Notice what this man said while the Roman government was preparing for his execution. He was writing this, not during his hay days or during his journey in his peak of success, but during the time where he was in prison preparing for his death. I don’t know how many of us could stand before man and God right now and can say with honesty and a pure heart that you’re a success… This man was a prisoner and could be in a dark dungeon but notice what his words of farewell from the Book of (II Timothy 4:6- 8) 6- “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7- I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8- Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
