Hallelujah—the Pressure’s Off

Strive not so much to succeed as to do the right thing. I remember addressing a group of ministers in Atlanta, Georgia, on “Pitfalls in the Ministry.” I told them the story of my own failures, which at that time amounted to a great many, and I said, “The lesson I have learned from my failures is that I don’t have to succeed. I have to do the right thing under God’s guidance and leave success or failure in His hands.” One of the ministers came to me afterwards and said, “I am a pastor of one of the largest churches in this area and regarded by my peers as one of the most successful ministers in my denomination. But today you have helped me overcome the greatest pressure in my life—the pressure to succeed.”

In the early years of my ministry, I was extremely success-oriented; when I succeeded, I felt good, and when I failed, I felt devastated. Then God said to me quite bluntly one day, “Are you willing to be a failure?” The question shook me rigid. It was a whole week later before I found sufficient grace to answer that question with a “Yes,” and when I did, I was instantly released from the two things that had crippled my life and ministry—the pressure to succeed and the fear of failure. Now, what matters is not succeeding or failing, but being true to Him. Success and failure are in His hands. I am not on the way to success; I am on the Way. What a difference!

Further Study

Jn 10:1-10; 2Co 1:21, 9:8; Eph 3:20

What does the thief seek to do?

What does Christ bring us?