The most meaningful devotion I had so far in this backpacking trip...

Success without God

"Then he said to Him, 'If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here'."
Exodus 33:15

It is possible to experience success and yet be void of God's presence. If success is what is important to you, you may be tempted to choose accomplishments over your relationship with God. God offered to send an angel with the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land to ensure their success in every venture. No army could withstand them. No city wall could stop them. The wealth of the land lay before them. Everything they had ever dreamed of appeared to be theirs for the taking. The only thing missing would be the presence of God. God said they were an obstinate people, and He would not go with them when their hearts were far from Him.

The Israelites' experience reveals that victory and great accomplishments are no necessarily a sign of God's presence. Do no assume that your good health, your profitable business, or the growth of your ministry is due to the presence of God. It may be that you have inadvertently chosen success over your walk with the Lord.

Moses wisely concluded that success, no matter how great, is not a substitute for fellowship with God. Moses knew how quickly worldly achievements could disappear. His security came from his relationship with God. Success in the world's eye is not a sign of God's blessings. It may, in fact, indicate that you have chosen a substitute for intimate fellowship with God. Would you be satisfied to have success, power and wealth, but not a relationship with God? Do you value God's presence in your life more than the greatest achievements you could experience in the world?

Taken from Experiencing God Day-by-Day: Devotional by H. T. Blackaby and R. Blackaby



Blogger's note:

Understanding this would be very hard in this Asian culture where money and status rules the rungs of our society ladder. Even I myself fall into such temptation at times, risking what matters the most in life for the sake of 'being the creme of the creme'...

Sigh... So evident in my own eyes as I backpacked through the cities, towns and villages... Losing the glitter of wealth and power is often misread by typical Asians as the sign of God's wrath and curse rather than merely parts and parcel of life.

Oh when will we change such mindset? The more I see that in large cities, the more my heart aches, not only because of what I'm guilty of myself doing it, but also because these people who rush and buzz here and there, they just don't know it...