What does it look like to be faithful to God? 

This morning, it looks like me writing this newsletter.  It looks like getting up early when I didn’t feel like it.  It looks like taking a moment to write something people may not read.  It looks like wrestling with God about the measure of success.  

This is what I’ve been doing for the last few months.

Out of that wrestle, I’ve realized that God and I measure success differently. 

I measure success in numbers; in how many videos I’m producing, how many people are watching, how many people are engaging, how they are responding to my message.

That’s now how God measures success. 

How does God measure success? 

By faithfulness.

In the kingdom of God, the only measure of success is obedience.

I recently watched an interview with the world renowned, 6-time grammy winner musician, Jacob Collier.  He said something to the effect of, “it’s not how many people I’m reaching with my music, it’s how many people I move.”

How do you measure the impact you’re having on others?  That’s a very difficult thing to measure.  God is not in the business of drawing converts to a religion, but transforming lives into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.  And, He has called us as the Church to do the same. 

Transformation is a long term, slow process.

It’s often hard to see the impact we’re having on the lives of others.  The question is, how do we remain faithful to the success of something when we can’t see much of the outcome?  The answer is obedience – not to a mission, calling, purpose, ministry, or message, or group of people – but obedience to one person.

We are called to be faithful to God.  We are called to be faithful to God even when nothing seems to be happening, and no one else seems to care. 

Five years ago, I started my ministry.  Five years ago, I created “The Modern Contemplative.”  I’ve had a lot of doubts and struggles these last five years.  I’ve poured a lot of time, energy, attention, and passion into something that hasn’t seemed to garner a lot of attention or success. 

Why do I do it?  Why do I keep going?  Why should I?  In the end, there’s only one thing that moves me forward in the midst of all those doubts.  God has called me to do this.

Sometimes, obedience in the face of no perceivable success doesn’t feel good.  But what I’ve realized is that the times I’ve felt like giving up, I’m too focused on myself and what I’m getting out of all this. 

How about you?

Has God called you to do something. Have you done it? Are you continuing to do it, even when it doesn't make sense, or seem to be working? Well, then, just keep doing it, because the only measure of success in God's view is obedience.

Obedience to God is one way we show our faithfulness to Him, and what He is asking us to do.

Good things take time to grow.

Transformation is a slow process.

If our faithfulness to God is rooted in anything except obedience to Him, we'll get discouraged and eventually give up because we're not seeing the results.

God has called us to Himself. If God is our pursuit, nothing else will sidetrack us in that pursuit.

So, be faithful to God. Be obedient to all He asks in any moment and in every season.

In the end, that will produce a life of faithfulness to God.