GIF Why Some Christians Fail

“Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”
(Proverbs 16:3)

Why Some Christians Fail
by Larry Burkett

Many people believe that whatever they can conceive and believe they can achieve. This kind of positive thinking and success motivation require goal setting, to which those people attribute the successes in their lives.

However, all too often these goals are centered on personal success, and the plans to accomplish them become selfish and ultimately self-defeating.

In 1 Corinthians 13, God tells us that whatever is done for self is profitless, and only that which is done out of love will benefit self. This creates a paradox: to be successful we must make someone else successful; to be leaders, we must be servants.

In order for our plans to be established, our works must be committed to God. It is evident that selfish goals cannot be committed to God—only unselfish ones.

Therefore, the prerequisite for receiving God’s help in our planning is the commitment of the end result to God. The problem is that many works cannot be committed to God because of their very nature. At that point, Christians rob themselves of God’s help. To paraphrase James 4:3: We ask and don’t receive because we ask with wrong motives.

The answer to whether you will succeed or fail is found in today’s Scripture verse. Read it prayerfully.

Daily Scripture Reading: 

Matthew 8:1, 5-13; 11:2-30
Luke 7