Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Yesterday, one of my church’s associate pastors (shout out to Pastor Foley) preached from today’s scripture. It was an inspiring message that set the focus for this week.

Today’s scripture, Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) instructs…This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Consider…
Do you know that you can’t spell good without GOD? GO🚫D.

That reminds me of Jesus’ clarification to a person that called Him good. Mark 10:17-18 (NLT) says…As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [18] “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.

I also like Matthew’s account of the same encounter. Matthew 19:16-17a (NLT) says…Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” [17] “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good…”

In today’s scripture, the LORD gives Joshua instructions on how to have good success.

It seems important to understand what ‘good success’ is before looking at the LORD’s instructions the next couple of days.

Oxford Languages simply defines success as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

Recall, you can’t spell good without GOD. Therefore, I believe good success is determined by GOD. Said another way, good success is accomplishing God’s aim or purpose.

That understanding hit play on Fred Hammond’s Success Is In Your Hand lyrics…

Success is in your hand, follow My plan
I’ve called you for this hour, and placed in you My power
It’s in your hand, follow My plan
I’ll do exceedingly, above all you ask of Me
It’s in your hand, follow My plan
Don’t waiver to the left, don’t waiver to the right
It’s in your hand, follow My plan
I’ve called by you by My name
And you’ll never be the same
It’s in your hand, follow my plan

Minister Hammond’s song title actually includes Psalms 37:4-5 (NLT), which says…
[4] Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. [5] Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.

The key word in these verses is delight, which according to AI Overview in the Bible means finding deep pleasure, satisfaction, and joy in God, often through a willing bending to His will, enjoying His presence, and valuing Him above His gifts, leading to desires that align with His purposes.

Those are great pillars of success…

• find deep pleasure, satisfaction, and joy in God
• willingly bending to His will (obedience)
• enjoying His presence
• valuing Him above His gifts
• desiring what aligns with His purposes

That makes me hear Luther Barnes So Satisfied chorus…

I am so satisfied.
I am so satisfied with my Savior.
He means more to me than anything, anything that this world
could ever offer.
I am so satisfied.
I am so satisfied with my Savior
He means more to me than anything,
anything that this world could ever offer me.

With those lyrics and the AI working definition for success, let’s look at two illustrations of God stating His aim, that we should be striving to accomplish.

First, in Genesis 12:1-4 (NLT) we read…The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. [2] I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. [3] I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” [4] So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Notice God told Abram to go to an unknown destination without knowing the details. God said go where I will show.

The LORD is saying God-success is willingly following His leading without knowing the details.

The second example comes from 1 Kings 17:8-16 (NLT), which shares…Then the LORD said to Elijah, [9] “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” [10] So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” [11] As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” [12] But she said, “I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” [13] But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. [14] For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!” [15] So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. [16] There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.

Notice the LORD gave collaborating instructions to two independent individuals, that required obedience by each for both to be fed in the midst of a famine. Also notice He was placing them in each others lives to bless one another.

This shows us we must trust and obey the LORD in engaging people He will lead us to bless. And if the people we encounter are God ordained, He will let them know too.

Look again at God’s initial instructions to Elijah again…
the LORD said to Elijah, [9] “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”

God’s success that involves others will be made clear by Him to them. You never need to force or manipulate others to do what God has told you to ASK them to do.

Look again at Elijah’s exchange with the widow…
he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” [11] As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” [12] But she said, “I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” [13] But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. [14] For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!”

Elijah didn’t try to manipulate the widow into giving her all to him, rather he just asked her to give him a bite first. That’s significant, because it illustrates the trust Jesus describes us to have in Matthew 6:33 (NLT) when He said…Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

You see God only required, and requires the obedience of trusting Him first. I believe that’s the additional God-success requirement the LORD wants us to live by in 2026, giving the first bite of whatever we have to Him first, trusting He will provide everything we need in response.

Proverbs 16:3 (NLT) summarizes the key to experiencing God-success. It instructs…Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.

If you want to succeed, let God set the aim and follow His lead.

Today’s song is…
Whatever Your Plan Is

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)