When Ryan and I worked at WillowBridge, we had to relearn
our definition of success. If we looked to the longevity of our tenants, the
number of good decisions they made, or how many days they even remotely desired
to read a Bible study, we were unlikely to feel very successful. But if we
looked at how many times we showed up to do our job, how often we obeyed God’s
nudges, and the love we showed them, we had a chance of finding success.
In the
end, success couldn’t be measured by what they did in response to our
prompts. It could only be measured by our diligence to obey the Lord.
It felt
counterintuitive. It was counterintuitive.
But a
few days ago, I read these
words Michele Cushatt wrote, and they reminded me of that success lesson we
learned at WillowBridge.
Am I
looking at what I’ve done or what God has done? Because even if I do all the
good I can possibly achieve, I can’t do it all. But God really has done
it all, and that is all that really matters.
My job
each day – in my marriage, in my friendships, in my writing for this space, in
my work at church, in everything – is to trust the Lord for His
direction, obey those directives, and trust Him for the outcome. Results are
not my job. Trusting and obeying? Those things are my job.
In her post, Michele said, “Hard
work matters. But it’s less about getting certain results and more about
offering up honest worship.”
That is indeed what really
matters about hard work. Is my hard work honest worship? If it’s anything but
that, it’s time to reset my perspective and shift my focus.
As we sit in this space that is the
start of a new year, I thought this was too important a reminder to keep to
myself. Let’s work hard, friends. Let’s do our very best every day. And in each
thing we do, let’s offer up honest worship. That matters most of all.
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