Meditate on my word day and night, observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
– Joshua 1:8
If there is such a thing as good success, then there can be a bad success. That point is not too hard to make. After all, there are plenty of really successful drug dealers, porn site operators, politicians, cigarette manufacturers, junk food producers, and men and women who cheat on their spouses—the list goes on. Consequently, becoming super-successful requires making certain which success type you are pursuing.
Defining what is good success can be tough. I once had very successful client who just had that special something. He glowed. I asked him to what he attributed his peace that came along with his success. He said, “Results.” He continued, “I feel like I am a pretty smart guy and can make many things happen. However, God is moving billions of puzzle pieces around and knows a whole lot more than me about how to put them together in the best way possible for my ultimate good. I can do things on my own, but my ideas just never bear the kind of fruit that a God idea can.”
I took from that, you don’t just want good ideas, you want God ideas. For the purpose of this book, I’ll call “good success” the results you experience on your mission, or to quote Elwood Blues, on your “mission from God.” A mission from God is a foolproof plan because, as former President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, said, “Work for something because it is God, not just because it stands a chance to succeed.” Good success still comes with hard work, ups and downs, some desperate times, staff turnover, and customer complaints. Luke 17:1 says, “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come.” There’s going to be stuff, but when you really feel God’s pleasure at your attention to the cause you’ve been given, it is like the soreness you get the day after a workout—it hurts, but you have the satisfaction and fulfillment of knowing that you’ve accomplished something good.
When I traveled with the U.S. World Greco-Roman Wrestling Team to Sweden for the World Championships as a team doctor, I found out that good morning there was spelled “God morning.” It is God’s morning—and afternoon, and evening. Your business is also God’s business if you want to have good-God success. God success does good. Ultimately a mission, even if it’s lawn care, driving a bus, or furniture manufacturing, results in bringing others into alignment with God, improving the earth, and blessing of people.
There’s so much pain out there. When you align your work with a godly calling you get a high-voltage anointing. With this kind of alignment, we can rely on the principle that for every good vision there is provision. When you’re helping ease the pain, the whole Universe conspires to help you.
It is often said that there is no such thing as financial security, but there is the safety of mission. During presidential elections, down economies, and bear markets I’ve often been comforted by Jeremiah 17:7-8: “This is what the Lord says: But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” The circumstances, conditions, and the seasons of the world do not pertain to a man or woman doing good-God work. With superior, supernatural guidance and resources, you just are not as bound by the physical realities of the planet as other people. In fact, for you, every day is harvest day.
With a high-voltage anointing, there is no waiting for the right season. Don’t live by natural principles, or you get only natural results. Live by spiritual principles and get supernatural results. Again, this doesn’t take away from struggles, it just takes away a feeling of hopelessness or being overwhelmed while you go through them and gives you a peace that surpasses understanding because you know, “If God is for you, who (or what) can come against you” (Rom. 8:31).
You even change the principles of math. If you’re capable of 10, with good-God success you end up at 100, 1,000, or millions. Supernatural success! Another interesting factoid about the God-work anointing is how you will be treated and the doors that will open. On a mission, you will see treatment at airports, hotels, restaurants, businesses, and churches change. They will start making exceptions to the rules to work with you. Your kids will become more favored at school. God doesn’t send you out on an assignment without first going in front of you. He gets there first and wins the ultimate battle for you, as has been demonstrated in many parts of the Bible. Just ask Gideon, Joshua at Jericho, and King Jehoshaphat.
You’ll fail, you’ll trip, and you might even fall—but you’ll fall forward. We’re told, “Though a righteous man fall seven times, he will rise again… and again and again” (Prov. 24:16).
To any good successful entrepreneur: “If you want to do it, do it now. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it. —Catherine Cook, co-founder of MyYearbook.
Have fun saving the world
Dr. Ben
