Measuring Success

The other day at Novel Journey, guest blogger Mindy Ferguson of Fruitful Word Ministries wrote:

Interestingly, when the Lord commissioned Isaiah as a prophet, He made it clear that Isaiah’s messages would fail to bring repentance or healing in Israel … Isaiah was to measure his success by his obedience, not by results.

We usually think that if God calls us to do something and we’re faithful to do it in His strength, we should see positive results. If that doesn’t happen, we can feel like failures… and others can be quick to reaffirm that!

What do you think of Mindy’s idea of measuring success by our obedience? (You may want to read her full post here.)

5 thoughts on “Measuring Success

  1. Margaret

    Janet,

    Thank you for sharing this post by Mindy….. It is an encouragement because in making posts for a little over a year now, I’ve sometimes wondered whether or not I’m making good use of my time….. But, then I think of all the things that God has put on my heart and how I feel urged to share that with the world, without really caring about the greatness of the results….. What I’m trying to say is that I have been in agreement with what Isaiah says, without realizing why or how I came to be in agreement with it…..

    Mindy’s post clarified things and became an encouragement….. Let us be comfortable in our obedience because of the ways of this world.

    Margaret

    Reply
    1. janetsketchley

      It is encouraging, isn’t it? When we don’t see results we can struggle.

      This gave me some peace about continuing to write whether I see a result or not. As long as God is in it, we’d better carry on!

      Reply
  2. Margaret

    Janet,

    I really appreciate your posts and find good food for thought in everything you share….. On this post, I’ve done a lot of thinking….. Isaiah’s experience was shared, but really there are many more such experiences throughout the Bible….. One can think of Jeremiah and other prophets who were actually tortured and killed for their faithful witness of our Lord….. And, then there are also all the New Testament Christians, who faced trials and death in faithfully sharing the “good news”, which was not accepted as good news.

    None of them quit because they realized who God is and how God can work in what seems impossible….. Somewhere it says God’s word does not return to Him void….. And so, we place our witness in His hands….. Only He can make it do its work….. And, we might not ever know what He has done.

    Actually, that’s quite awesome….. We are just asked to share — and, I thank you for everything you have shared.

    Margaret

    Reply
    1. janetsketchley

      And thank you too, Margaret, for what you share on your blog and in comments here and elsewhere. May God use our words to His glory.

      Funny, I was thinking about Isaiah’s calling today when I read the Scripture associated with today’s Other Food: Daily Devo’s. I switched the translation to The Message for some reason, and look at what 1 Corinthians 15:58 says in that version: “With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.” (In context, what we have going for us is that death is defeated and we’ll have new bodies like Christ’s). But what encouraging words for this: stand our ground, don’t hold back, throw ourselves into God’s work, confident that none of it’s wasted. Wow!

      Reply
  3. Margaret

    Janet,

    Yes, and in all our sharing we are only required to be faithful to exactly what God has said in His word, so that we remain a true witness and not someone who is only looking to glorify himself.

    Margaret

    Reply

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