Rely on God 3

Proverbs 16:3

I caught a minute or two of a basketball game the other day, and I thought about the small square that is painted on the backboard above the hoop. The concept is that if you shoot the basketball and hit inside the square on the backboard the ball will almost always go through the hoop for a score. The square acts as a guide for success.

In Proverbs we have our own guide for success. What are we to do?

Such advice may seem too good to be true, and in some sense it is. I do not believe that if you pray to God before you buy a lottery ticket you are guaranteed a win. I do not believe that if you organize an event or ministry intended to help the kingdom of God you are guaranteed no problems.

Using the Lord for personal gain is no promise to success. Having the work of God in mind is no promise of success. We are subject to the laws of nature and we are bound to have good days and bad days, even if our intentions are completely pure.

So, what does this passage mean when it says “commit to the Lord?” I believe that you commit to the Lord what you do when the thing that you are doing is intended to help the kingdom of God. Service projects to help the needy, outreach events to spread the word of God, fund-raisers meant to make money for mission work – all of these can be committed to the Lord.

Committing yourself to the Lord is when your actions are intended to advance the kingdom of God, or your attitude is intended to benefit the Lord. Committing yourself to the Lord may involve an intention to stop sinning, to gain wisdom, to be more merciful, or to have a better prayer life. I believe God gives us success in these.

Some will say that even in these we are not guaranteed success. Sometimes the bake sale gets rained out. Sometimes people slam the door in your face. Sometimes the temptations are too much. But when you commit what you do the Lord, you may be surprised at how much success you will experience.

We may not always see what we have committed to the Lord be the success we want. What we see as success may not be the success God intended, and the success God gives us may not be something we see. What we must do is rely on God, trust in God for a success, and rely on God to know what type of success is needed.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What can you commit to the Lord?