“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 3:13

The road to success and recognition is full of distractions, and only the wise can really go through and become victorious. First, by success, I do not mean being rich in terms of material acquisition; I mean being in a state of peace and harmony of both body and mind. What makes us truly happy is not the amount of material wealth we have, but how much of our possessions – whether material or spiritual possessions are used to serve the glory of God, in terms of touching the lives of others. The human conscience does not lie; it knows our weaknesses, even though we try to cover them by our ego. We all want to be successful, but we do not want others to be as successful as we are. We are tactically envious of the gifts of others; and we do not also believe in the gift of others and so we run them down. The Jews despised Jesus ministry out of envy, but that did not stop the glory of God from shinning forth through Jesus to the whole world. Some of us are also envious of the material wealth of others; inside of us, we do not want others to be as rich as we are, and so, we rarely give to serve the needs of the poor. If you look at your life this morning, you will notice some areas that require improvement. When you do not recognize the glory of God in others, you automatically hinder your own growth. When your life is full of pride and envy, you are likely not going to grow. You may have riches or anointing of some sort; if you do not recognize the love and power of God in others, you will not be truly happy and fulfilled.

Notwithstanding the Lordship of Jesus, He praised the power of God in John the Baptist: Jesus said of John that no better man had been born of Women than John. No true success can happen without God’s help and a man can do nothing unless it be given from heaven! If you feel you have any measure of success, give thanks to God who has freely given to you. Even Faith we are told is a gift from God lest anyone should boast. You are gifted by God with some talents and success, do not boast and exude pride by taking credit for them. Also, be very careful to know your limit. Do not declare to be what you are not. The beginning of your frustration is trying to do the things God did not intend for you. Live your life within the WILL of God for your life. Do not run down others, or make bad comments regarding either their success or failures. You are not competent to judge. Rather, thank God always for what others are contributing to humanity, and pray that God also empowers you to do likewise – then watch how you grow in the Lord. Do not withhold help when others need you to succeed, you aren’t likely to succeed at very critical moment in life when you need others most to succeed. Serve God diligently and pray for God’s blessings; appreciate the success of others and if someone is better or is more successful than you, thank God for them. The word of God this morning is calling us to appreciate His power in the lives of people, and truly come out to help serve the needs of others as a way of serving the purpose and glory of God. When we do not appreciate the power and love of God in others, then we deceive ourselves, and not likely to be successful and fulfilled.