9 “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Malachi 3:9

Though we may believe otherwise, our success or failure is wholly dependent on whether or not we receive God’s blessing. Bringing God joy through our righteous and obedient actions is the only path to receiving His blessings. Because we do not believe, we try to choose a job or business on our own and instead believe it is through our ability, skill, and decision-making that we can become successful. We trust business wisdom and worldly opinions more than God’s power. We are mistakenly focused on how our own power can drive success and forget that real success only happens through God’s blessing. 

Many come to me seeking advice on what business or job they should pursue to be successful. They consider all the positives and negatives of the business opportunity from a worldly perspective. Is it the right time in the market? Have others succeeded in a similar business. Are their skills and abilities a good fit? However, these are the wrong questions to be asking. My advice to them is to consider if a job enables them to act correctly in the eyes of God, not to sin or cause others to sin. Has there been any business that has not failed? No. Indeed, for every successful business there are examples of similar businesses which have failed miserably. Why do some fail and others succeed? We must recognize that success or failure depends, not on the type of business but on whether or not God decides to bless that business. Therefore, our focus must be to act in a way that brings God joy. We must follow God’s direction correctly, and God will bless us with success in whatever we pursue. The type or strategy of a business is irrelevant to its success or failure. Rather, success is completely dependent on God’s blessing, which we receive through our believing and living correctly according to God’s judgment and purpose. Therefore, focus on working in a way that will position us to receive God’s blessing. 

If we are given a task by our boss, what must we consider? We must first consider if that task will cause us to sin against God. If it does in any way, though we may risk our job, we should refuse. For example, if a boss asks an employee to perform a task which will force him to work on Sunday, the employee should refuse even if he loses his job because it will cause him to sin. If we truly believe in His power, we must know that God will provide us a path. If the boss is really wise and capable, the boss will decide the employee is steadfast, committed, and reliable: someone needed at the company. When we do not betray our faith, we must believe that the path we then face is the blessed one God has set for us no matter how wrong it may seem at the time. 

In whatever work or whatever level we may start, we can reach success if we follow the right direction and take the right steps as God directs us. Do not be foolish by acting according to our own thoughts and wisdom. This is a sure road to failure. Follow where God directs. God blesses those who bring him joy. Ask yourself, if I act in this way, will God bless me? No matter how poor a decision it may seem to be from a worldly perspective, we must believe and trust that pleasing and obeying God will always lead us to greater blessings. 

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1984-11-21-dawn-1?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=0&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing