Ever wonder about God’s view of success? His Word gives excellent instruction on the topic. Here’s a biblical primer on success. Start reading here and then head over to iBelieve.com for the full article.

Signing up for any college course means studying. You listen to lectures. Read textbooks. Conduct research online. Education helps you become an expert in your field.

Learning about success is much the same. We can sign up for webinars about productivity. Listen to leadership podcasts. Buy one of the 80,000 books on success that online retailers have to offer. 

But the best source for wisdom on success is found in a book you probably already own—the Bible. Inside this familiar book, you can find timeless principles about achievement, accomplishment, and prosperity. The values taught in Scripture are just as true today as they were when they were written thousands of years ago.

Read God’s textbook and learn His view of success. Below, you’ll find eight passages on the subject—plus a few questions to get you thinking about how you can apply God’s perspective to your work and personal success:

Proverbs 3:3-5

“Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;

    bind them around your neck;

    write them on the tablet of your heart.

So you will find favor and good success

    in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding.” (ESV)

The world’s formula for success may be: Claw your way to the top. Don’t worry about stepping on others’ toes on the way up. And don’t depend on anyone else for your success. 

But the Bible says love and faithfulness are keys to success. Hesed, the Hebrew word for love used in this verse, is characterized by strength and kindness. Instead of clawing our way to the top, God asks us to show grace and consideration to others. And faithfulness leads to success because people will turn to reliable and stable workers rather than those who seem changeable and erratic.

This passage also instructs us to trust and rely on God instead of ourselves. When we depend on the Lord’s wisdom instead of our limited understanding, we have an advantage over others. Plus, wholeheartedly leaning on God will make you successful in His eyes.

Questions to consider:

How can you apply steadfast love and faithfulness to your work?

What do you need to trust God with regarding your job or home responsibilities?

Where have you perhaps leaned on your own abilities instead of God? How can you change this?

Proverbs 16:3

“Commit your work to the Lord,
    and your plans will be established.” (ESV)

In our world, it seems like whatever success we have totally hinges on our efforts. So we work longer and longer hours to get ahead. We take on more and more responsibility to attract praise from our bosses.

But God says we can commit our work to Him. Another version of the Bible says it this way, “Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him]” (Proverbs 16:3 AMPC). Our heavenly Father invites us to roll all our burdens of balancing budgets and managing schedules onto Him. We can trust Him to help us with everything from gigantic corporate projects to our weekly menu planning. God will establish our plans when we first go to Him in prayer and ask Him to show us His will.

Questions to consider:

What work and plans do you want to commit to the Lord?

How does faith make a difference in your work?

How does praying that God’s will be done change your attitude about your plans?

Go to iBelieve.com to continue reading a biblical primer on success. There you’ll fine 7 more Scripture passages and lessons about success.

When you fail or mess up, you may wonder if Christ will give up on you. But the life of the apostle Peter can give you hope when you fall flat.

Peter’s life with Jesus wasn’t a long string of successes. The bold, impulsive disciple got himself into a load of trouble. And often his failures began with stupendous success before he fell flat.

Peter’s Big Failure

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter began with swagger but experienced failure. On the way to Jesus’ favorite prayer spot, Jesus had warned the disciples that all of them would desert Him. He specifically told Peter, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times” (Matthew 26:34). Plucky Peter couldn’t even imagine this scenario. He boasted, “Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35).

After that bit of bravado, Peter was probably as surprised as anyone at the events that happened only a few hours later. When Judas came with a crowd of men with clubs and swords, Peter must have watched in confusion as Jesus allowed them to tie His hands and lead Him away.

Peter used the last bit of his courage to follow Jesus at a distance as the guards led Him to the home of the high priest. Perhaps everything would have been fine if one sassy little servant girl hadn’t stared at Peter and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean” (Matthew 26:69). Peter tried to evade her accusation by saying, “I do not know what you mean” (Matthew 26:70).

Peter then stepped away from the fire and stood at the entrance of the courtyard. Did his conscience bother him a bit? Did he feel he was in danger staying so close to Jesus? Did he hope to avoid any more questions? Unfortunately, stepping away didn’t stop the accusations. Another servant girl saw Peter in the doorway and announced to everyone nearby, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth” (Matthew 26:71). Peter’s denial then escalated. He replied with an oath, “I do not know the man” (Matthew 26:72).

An hour passed. What went through Peter’s mind during those sixty minutes? Did he want to run away, yet couldn’t bear to leave Jesus? Did he realize what he had done? Or was he too worried about Jesus and his own safety for the words that he had spoken to register? At any rate, another person came up to Peter and said, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you” (Matthew 26:73). Once more Peter’s failure progressed, “He began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, ‘I do not know the man’” (Matthew 26:74). In other words, he said, “May a curse come on me if I’m lying. I promise I don’t know the man.” Before Peter’s sentence ended, a rooster crowed.

This account shows us how God included stories of human failure in His Word to comfort us. Although Jesus saw Peter at his worst and sees us when we fail, He still marched to the cross to take the punishment we all deserved.

When We Have Failed, We Can Still Run To Jesus.

Notice I didn’t write if we have failed but when we have failed. Because of our humanness, we will often trip up in following God’s commands. We will say the wrong thing or neglect to do the right thing. Maybe our collapse won’t match the magnitude of Judas’s or Peter’s, but we will experience significant failure. And when fall flat, we need to realize we have a choice. We can wallow in guilt like Judas did. Or we can discover forgiveness like Peter found.

In studying the life of Peter, I recently noticed an important detail in the Gospel of Luke. When the two men on the road to Emmaus returned to Jerusalem to tell the disciples about seeing the resurrected Savior, Jesus’ disciples told the men from Emmaus, “The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon!” (Luke 24:34). That little sentence tells us Jesus met Peter privately before He appeared to the whole group of disciples.

Scripture doesn’t give us any details of the meeting, yet we can imagine what that meeting might have been like. Peter a mess of joy at seeing Jesus and grief at knowing he had disappointed His Friend. Jesus holding out His nail-scarred hands to Peter, letting him know his failure did not mean an end to their relationship. I find it so touching that Jesus took time for a personal and private meeting to reassure the repentant disciple of His love.

At times we all need this reassurance. We may consider our failures too big for forgiveness and we begin to sink in shame. One woman I know constantly struggles with guilt even though all her friends would describe her as a wonderful person. Intellectually, she knows Jesus’ death has paid for all her wrongs, yet she can’t seem to accept that reality in a way that frees her from the burden of self-reproach. When I told her about Jesus’ private meeting with Peter to reassure him of complete forgiveness, she said, “Jesus needs to do that for me, too.” And I replied, “Oh, but He has! Jesus has given reminders of His forgiveness throughout His Word!” Here are a few:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

When you feel weighed down by your guilt, confess your sin and accept the pardon Jesus offers. Let Him remove the sin from your heart and the burden of shame from your shoulders. Then run to Him with the joy of forgiveness.

God’s Measure of Success

God doesn’t measure our success by our perfection. He instead invites us to a successful life of living joyfully forgiven. I love the story in John 21 where Jesus met the disciples at the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection. When the disciples lowered their nets on the right side of the boat at the suggestion of the stranger on the beach and pulled up so many fish they couldn’t haul in the net, John recognized the stranger as Jesus. But it was Peter—too impatient to wait for the boat to reach the shore—who jumped in and swam to Jesus. He no longer shrank back in fear, wondering what Jesus might think of him. He was joyfully forgiven!

Aren’t you thankful that Jesus chose bumbling Peter as a disciple? Because of Peter’s story, we find confidence in the truth that when we have failed, we can still run (or walk or crawl or even swim) to Jesus, the source of mercy and grace.

This post is adapted from my new book, Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success. If you’ve ever felt like your life is a mess or that it’s too small to make any difference, read how God defines success!

This book studies eight “failures” in the Bible–people who either made a big mess of their lives or simply didn’t look like a success in the eyes of the world. By examining their lives you’ll discover that God redeems our failures and doesn’t measure us by wealth or fame. He measures us by His grace!

You can find out more about this eight-week Bible study book and download a FREE chapter here.

How does God measure success?

When I examine how our culture measures success, it certainly looks like the world’s success meter rises with every dollar earned, promotion granted, or trophy won, and plummets with each financial loss, professional downfall, or athletic defeat.

But how does God measure success? When we examine the life of Joseph in the Old Testament, we discover how different God’s definition of success is from the world’s definition. Genesis 39:3 tells us this about Joseph, “the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.” When did he experience this success? When he was the favored child of his father Jacob, wearing a beautiful coat that set him apart from his siblings? No, the Bible tells us that God made Joseph successful when he was a slave in Egypt. Working for Potiphar, a captain in Pharaoh’s guard.

Another verse in Genesis tells us something similar about Joseph, “Whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed” (Genesis 39:23). When did this success occur? When he worked for Pharaoh? When he was second-in-command of the land of Egypt? No, Joseph’s success happened while suffering in prison. Working for the prison keeper.

In these unlikely places, God granted Joseph success.

Is This Success?

But I wonder: Did it feel like success to Joseph? Before prison, the work he did for Potiphar made the Egyptian’s home thrive. His master noticed Joseph’s excellent efforts and gave him more and more responsibility, until “he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge” (Genesis 39:6). The jailer, too, noticed Joseph’s excellent management skills and put him in charge of the prisoners. (This in itself is remarkable. Who would put one inmate in charge of others?) Even one of the other prisoners benefited from Joseph’s unique abilities. Joseph’s interpretation of the cupbearer’s dream came true and this servant of Pharaoh was released from jail. Everything Joseph did turned to gold—for someone else.

If someone had said to Joseph, “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man” (Genesis 39:2), he might have laughed out loud. Scripture tells us Joseph was seventeen years old when his brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:2) and thirty years old when Pharaoh made him second-in-command (Genesis 41:46). Joseph spent thirteen years as a slave and a prisoner. I doubt he would have described himself as successful.

Not only do I find it remarkable that the Bible describes Joseph as successful when he is a slave and a prisoner, but it doesn’t label him a success when he later becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and saves the country from starvation. This doesn’t seem to make sense.

Joseph had success when he served as a slave and languished in jail, but not when he became the second-most powerful man in the world? Throughout the account of the famine and Joseph collecting grain and selling it to the people, preventing nationwide starvation, the Bible doesn’t include a phrase like “the Lord caused everything Joseph did to succeed.”

Perhaps Scripture omits the phrase because Joseph’s success is so obvious, there’s no need to point it out. But perhaps the omission of the word success when Joseph clearly obtains it demonstrates how God defines that word.

Success in God’s Eyes

Success in the world looks big—stadiums filled with fans. Success in the world looks impressive—fancy corner offices with diplomas on the walls. Success looks like fame—names on brightly lit marquees.

But success in God’s eyes doesn’t necessarily look big or impressive.

The Hebrew word for “success” in Genesis 39 is salah. It means “to advance, prosper, make progress, succeed, be profitable.”7 The word sometimes portrays worldly success that even evil people can achieve, such as in Psalm 37:7: “Fret not yourself over the one who prospers [salah] in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” But usually, success in the Old Testament doesn’t happen without the Lord’s help.

The success the Bible talks about is not primarily worldly prosperity but submission to the Lord and living in His presence. In Joseph’s story, God described Joseph as successful when he was a slave and a prisoner. God measures our success based on our dependence on Him.

Success is Doing Your Best Wherever You Find Yourself

One of the lessons we can learn from Joseph’s life is: Do your best in whatever position you find yourself.

When Joseph was a slave, he could have moped and complained to God and done his work half-heartedly, but the Bible doesn’t tell us so. As a slave, he could not have avoided work, but I doubt Potiphar would have put Joseph in charge of his household if Joseph had made only minimal effort.

Whatever work you find yourself doing—balancing the books, teaching rambunctious preschoolers, running a multinational corporation, scrubbing muddy floors—know that God notices your vocation.
You are doing important work even if the world says it’s lowly. Colossians 3:23–24 says,

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Do your best because you serve a God who is gracious to you.

Although we may view our lives as disappointments, God declares them triumphant when we trust Him to complete the work He has given us—great or small.

This post is adapted from my new book, Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success. If you’ve ever felt like your life is a mess or that it’s too small to make any difference, read how God defines success!

This book studies eight “failures” in the Bible–people who either made a big mess of their lives or simply didn’t look like a success in the eyes of the world. By examining their lives you’ll discover that God redeems our failures and doesn’t measure us by wealth or fame. He measures us by His grace!

You can find out more about this eight-week Bible study book here.