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I have a good friend who is a pastor. Recently, on Facebook, his status read, “God didn’t call us to be successful; He called us to be faithful.” Those words sing a gentle song of truth to my spirit.

I happen to think that if God calls us to something and we are faithful to it, then success will follow. But maybe not in the same way we imagine the word success to actually mean. The most important concern is to be a servant of Jesus Christ and allow Him to work through us in any way He chooses. Making Him Lord of our lives and allowing Him to use us will ultimately lead to eternal life, which is my definition of success.

However, sometimes we allow negativity to intervene and walk all over our callings and gifts. Sometimes the death of a dream begins with one poisonous word or thought. Negative thoughts and emotions have the power to rob us of our ability to remain faithful to our callings.

When we become discouraged over someone else’s critical thoughts, or when our plans don’t work out the way we thought they would, or unfold fast enough, then it’s possible to stop being faithful.

If we are to remain truly faithful to anything, we must be passionate about it.

To be passionate about something is to be willing to invest who you are and everything you have into your gift.  Regardless of what others think, how we view ourselves, or what we consider to be our weaknesses, we must remain passionate regarding the call God has placed on our lives.

Passion fuels faithfulness. Remaining faithful will keep your passion alive. We need to remove the word success from the equation. It shouldn’t be our focus. (Believe me when I tell you I’m speaking these words loudly to myself right now.)

Personally, I have some god-given plans in motion. I’m guessing you might have some new plans unfolding in your life as well. Today, I want to encourage you to remain passionate about your callings and gifts. Stay faithful and true to being a servant of Christ. Allow Him to define your success in a way that is completely different than what you might be aiming for. Focus on faithfulness and not worldly success.

Allow God to define who you are. It’s who you were meant to be.

God Bless you in all your new plans, dreams, visions, and desires!

What is God calling you to do?