You make a new commitment. You watch a friend die. You finally decide. You screw up. You get the award. You finish the book. You make the call. You answer the call. You finish. You start. You can’t figure it out. You didn’t get to sleep. You won. You lost.
Then it’s the next morning.
The success is dulled. The commitment, foggy. The future seems permanently distant, unaffected by whatever you might do today.
If this doesn’t sound familiar, go refill your coffee and get on to your day. Don’t even waste time here.
If, however, you are reading this and you know exactly what I’m talking about (and you, at least do), do what Jesus did one morning.
The night before had been wonderful, powerful, exciting. People heard that Jesus was staying at Peter’s house. Everyone brought an illness or a demon for Jesus’ autograph. “Heal my mom,” they said. “Keep my brother from being thrown into the fire,” they said.
He did.
In a foreshadowing of the Best Buy parking lot on the Friday after Thanksgiving, people slept in a line outside the door, waiting to get the Magic Healing Touch, as Seen on TV.
Early the next morning Jesus left the house. He found “alone.” He prayed.
The disciples found him. They said he’d made the big time. Word of mouth worked. He said, “We’re going to another village. I gotta tell them the good news. That’s why I’m here.”
What happened out there?
His dad reminded him that his purpose wasn’t making people happy. His success wasn’t measured in crowds. He didn’t have to solve every problem.
He simply had to do what he had come to do.
The line is long outside our doors this morning. We can do what Jesus did. Talk to his dad.
—
This was first posted on May 24, 2011
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Frank Reed
Thanks, Jon.
I need to talk to Dad as well but as I am trying to have the success or moment you speak of at the start of the post.
His success at Peter’s house issue likely because he had done the same thing already. He Had success somewhere else (John reminds us that we are only given a sample of His miracles in Scripture)
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cjhinx
Yes! It is only in talking to Dad that we redefine our “measure of success” and allow Him to work in us and through us for his glory not ours.
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Frank Reed
I really don’t like trying to leave comments on my phone. Never works well.
Anyway, Christ set a pattern of success which is what I need to do. I need to do the right things every single time with the first being prayer. if something doesn’t “work out” I can look back to see where I did and did not follow the formula and stay focused.
I have been struggling with people being belligerent and fighting me on my Christian faith and it has knocked me off my game. If I would just do the same things day in and day out and learn to “knock the dust off my sandals” I bet success would be more consistent and it would be the right kind as well.
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Rich Dixon
Seems like Jesus kept asking what He was supposed to be successful at. He wasn’t interested in doing lots of good things really well. He always did THE ONE thing, and His Dad helped Him keep that in mind. I can learn from His example.
Side note…I understand Him better when I keep that ONE THING in mind. His words and person make more sense when I put them in context of what He came to accomplish. He wasn’t here to be an overall do-gooder.
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Jon Swanson
“He wasn’t here to be an overall do-gooder”
This is spot on, Rich. He was here to do the one thing that only he could do. That he did good on the way matters significantly. Those actions teach us how to live. But at the core of his purpose wasn’t teaching us how to live. It was giving us a chance to live.
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joseph ruiz
All great points, I can relate. In our multi-tasking, multi-everything world focusing on ONE thing just doesn’t seem like enough until I remember the One thing is really the only thing that matters. Need to get a head-heart connection here. Thanks for the reminder and the thoughts.
Grace and peace
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