Maintaining Your Success

By Adenuga S Joseph

Perhaps the most difficult and challenging task on earth is to know how to go about maintaining an attained success. By experience and also by observation of successful men and women that lived on earth, attaining to a life of top success is not as difficult as maintaining such life of success till death. There are so many examples of people in the Bible who attained to top success but were not able to maintaining the flow (of success). Saul, the first anointed king of Israel who was anointed by one of the best prophets that ever lived on earth, Samuel, could not maintain his success but died a most shameful death with his sons on the same day. Even his daughter Michal who was given to David died childless, the only woman ever recorded to have died childless in the Bible. If we study it well, we shall soon find out that disobedience, lack of patience and refusing to carry out instructions to the last details were the characters that spelled Saul's waterloo.

In other words, to maintain an attained success, you must be obedient to the WORD of God and His commandments. His words as recorded in the Bible must be your law, these words must be considered the core of your life. Patience is very important to maintain your success: waiting patiently is a virtue that can heal all wounds (physical, spiritual or emotional). You must also be a man or woman that gives much attention to details in everything and especially every commandments of God. These are qualities that was lacking in the life of king Saul of Israel that led to his fall from grace to grass. May that never be your own portion in life in Jesus name.

Nebuchadnezzar was a king that also attained to a high success as a result of hard work and determination, he became so successful that during his own time, Babylon became the greatest nation on earth. Many kings of other nations considered him their own leaders, so he was a type of the king of kings. Nobody could doubt his success and affluence and he knew it and allowed it to get into his head. As a result of this, PRIDE came into his heart and lets see what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniels 4:30-33
The king spake and said, Is this not Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers and his nails like bird's claws.

He attained a very uncommon and unusual level of success because God had mercy on him. The sad thing is that, unknown to him, all his success was released unto him by God, so he became proud, and this undo him and humiliated him. The Bible says in John 3:27 that
...A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
As Nebuchadnezzar began to boast and to proclaim that, "I have built... by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty". God had to show him how to be humble so that you and I can learn from his mistake. Humility helps you to maintain the success. See what Nebuchadnezzar said after his humbling experience, that is after he had learnt to give God alone all the glory with humility of heart. It is written in Daniel 4: 34-37
And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes into heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High God and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counselors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase. Pride is a major hindrance to maintaining a life of success, you have to discover through Nebuchadnezzar's experience that pride will lead to your fall. The truth is this, no matter how high you have attained, you will fall to the ground if you are too proud and will not give glory to God.

Pride is a major hindrance to maintaining a life of success, you have discovered through Nebuchadnezzar's experience that pride will lead to your fall. The truth is this, no matter how high you have attained, you will fall to the ground if you are too proud and will not give glory to God. In fact, the higher you've gone. The more catastrophic the fall and the more shame you will get at the end. So dear reader, watch it, and be humble, give the glory to God for all things that you think you have (even through hard work), for all was given to you by God. Everything you have by any means was given to you by the Almighty God see 1Corinthians 4: 7.
Who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
Glorify God for your success, thank Him for every increase, appreciate Him for every lifting and I bet you will be promoted all the more. The more you humble yourself before the Almighty God through praise and positive appreciation , the more you will enjoy your success and your wealth. (See 1Peter 5: 6,7)

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.
Samson was another man who attained a very high sounding success militarily but could not maintain the success for a long time because of his insatiable urge or drive for sex. Dear reader, sexual perversion can lead to falling from your successful position to the ground floor, which is a most shameful failure. I have seen or heard about many successful people whose doom were sealed by an act of illicit sexual relationship. To maintain your success, you have to keep yourself pure and holy- discipline is the watchword.