You WILL succeed, you CANNOT fail

God brought a woman and a man to me. One in England, another farthest away in the biggest country in the world. Both connected to me through cyberspace. Both had the same message! Both are victors. Not were or will be, could-be or would-be, but are… for who they are.

Why is this? They just inspired me in God beyond anything I could conceive. They lifted me without me even feeling like I needed it.

These two, though they know nothing of each other, have endured or do endure such brokenness and adversity, that to sit in their presence is to be lifted. They, in their own ways, though they’re extraordinary sinners as we all are, embody the Presence of the risen Lord Jesus.

These two reframe every idea of success. They show me, as many I’ve seen have also shown me, that there is no success in comfort, in material wealth, in prospering health, in appearing to have it all together. There’s no success in that.

There’s only success in overcoming, one minute, one brick, one gritted smile, one step, one surrender at a time. That’s success. That’s the victory. The victory over self, even though self wins still so often.

It’s the idea that we strive to overcome what has not yet beaten us, though it may beat us again. It’s the concept that we refuse to fail, even if there’s a litany of failure in our past. It’s that we’ve bounced back. It’s the smile emblazoned over our face as we stare the enemy down.

As we draw close to the One who can instil us with what we need to get up off the canvas of life’s calamity, even in our mind’s eye our heart is nourished by the sense that we’ve won!

You will succeed. You cannot fail. Oh, you will fail. But it’s in failing that you qualify to actually succeed. It’s God’s riveting paradox that calls the fool up to show the wise who’s truly wise. The one who knows they’re wise is the real fool. Who in their right mind would go there?

When it’s us, the ones that have nothing special to show our covetous world — that world that scorns us savagely for being broken and for having nothing worth admiring — we wonder, “What on earth are you doing, God? How on earth can You be for us like You are?! But You are!”

In being nothing special, we’re never more special. To the One who sees everyone’s special, those who are satisfied just being who they are, are special to the accord of success in God’s eyes.

There is and never was any other way of describing success. There is eternal success or no success at all. 

Photo by kiwi thompson on Unsplash