Seeking success? Aiming for victory? Here’s what you really need to do

By Dean Collins

If you are aiming for success, then you need to have great talent, demonstrate great strength, and secure great equipment to get the victory. That’s generally what the consultants say. Get great talent and bet on them. Turn them into a great army that has greater strength than the competition. And then, knowing you’ve bet on the right horse, you will ride straight to victory.

Flourishing

I’m certainly not going to argue against the importance of talent. In his best-selling book Good to Great, Jim Collins said sustainable and profitable companies had put the right people in the right seat on the bus and equipped them to do the right things. That’s how you move from good to great.

But the psalmist has a caution for all of us about reliance on great people, great might, and great nations. Apparently, all hold out and hold up false hopes. This doesn’t mean you should run out and fire your great talent. And you shouldn’t stop developing good bench strength and great strategy. But ultimately long-term flourishing and, frankly, even survival depends on someone with higher authority than we possess. You will not like this, but ultimately flourishing has more to do with waiting than rushing.

Waiting

Psalm 33 has a lot of wisdom for us in our present moment. We are all tired of waiting for the pandemic to end. Doctors, scientists, governors, politicians, and presidents both here and abroad have tried to shepherd us through all of this strain. They haven’t agreed on strategy, but they all want our worldwide struggle to end. Everyone has sometimes quietly and sometimes aggressively and even arrogantly chosen who they will trust and who is right about the path forward. Some cheer for greatness, and others cheer for simple survival. But when I read the psalmist’s statement (“The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue”), I decide not to bet on any of them.

The truth found in this psalm tells us, and history has proven, that nations don’t have the right answer. Great armies, great warriors, and great equipment won’t save us. Only the Lord is worthy of our trust. Only discovering and practicing righteousness will bring blessing. And only waiting on God will bring ultimate victory both here and now and for eternity.

Only the Lord is worthy of our trust.

I would rather trust our good shepherd than any president or government to save us. Only our good shepherd really knows us completely and can bring the help we crave. And in the end, our good shepherd will appear in glory sitting on the horse of his choosing.

Our shepherd is the king named Jesus, and he is both faithful and true. He knows our needs. He is aware of our situation. He loves righteousness and justice and calls us to practice his ways. He has all the resources we need. He does and will continue to frustrate and interrupt those who practice hatred and selfishness, even if it appears they get away with it for a moment. His counsel is the best and will endure the tests of time. He never takes his eyes off us, even if we cannot see him.

When we die he will carry us to Heaven and until that moment, he will never abandon us and will continue to provide, even in times of scarcity. He is our help and shield, so let your heart be rejoice in him today even as we wait.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭33:1-22‬; ‭‭John‬ ‭10:11, 14‬; Revelation‬ ‭19:11-16‬, ‭ESV‬‬

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