Setting the Standard: Seeking the Kingdom, Spiritual Development, and Success

Worldly success may have formulas, but true blessing originates and concludes with God, the Alpha and Omega. Our Father creates, chooses, and calls those who often appear unqualified by society’s standards. He knows what He has placed in each of us, having crafted us as a masterpiece designed to bring Him glory. To our natural minds, it may not seem so. It’s often through challenge and trial that the Lord draws exquisite beauty out of our submitted lives. Irvine Christian Counseling can help you navigate these challenges with faith-based guidance, helping you discover the strength and purpose that God has instilled in you.

In the ways that only God can, He sovereignly defies what seems impossible, meeting us in our lowest points and darkest places (Matthew 19:26). Though the world has gone wild, Jesus has armed us with peace and nullified sin’s power to conquer us, despite the presence of tribulation (John 16:33). Through His shed blood, He redeems us from sin and shame.

By His resurrection, we experience a definition of success and fulfillment that surpasses the world’s standards. His Spirit mobilizes through His beloved sons and daughters, revealing the flawless nature of God. He uses all things for our spiritual development (1 Corinthians 2:10).

Our Motives

Many link success with financial status and social prestige. Neither are inherently evil. However, our hearts and motives reflect how we envision and define a kingdom standard for success. The achievement we experience outside of us originates from what we believe. We walk through spiritual development processes that transform us so we can influence our environment and experience what God has always desired for us to steward and multiply.

While the enemy would persuade us to shirk the desire for success, we must remember that it is God who establishes where He wants us to flourish. God has created and shaped our hearts to yearn for Heaven’s reality. Otherwise, Jesus wouldn’t have instructed the disciples to pray, for the Father’s will to be reflected on earth (Matthew 6:10).

Jesus’ admonished His followers to earnestly pursue the Kingdom; similarly, He urges us to prioritize spiritual development as we embrace a balanced and biblical experience of success (Matthew 6:33; Romans 14:17). Seeking Him first anchors us in what will never change and keeps our hearts pure and free from humanity’s tendency toward idolatry.

Surrendering our Standards of Success

Surrendering our standards of success urges us to seek the King and align our ideals with His kingdom. God wants the best for us, and society will be blessed when the righteous arise and lead where the Lord desires to express His creativity and excellence (Proverbs 29:2). In fact, the earth is yearning for sons and daughters of the King of Kings to awaken to the truth of who we are.

We cannot take credit for any of God’s glory, as promotion only emerges from the Lord (Psalm 75:6-7). Yet, we don’t have to shrink back from pursuing God’s design and experiencing the fulfilling and abundant life He invites us to build as we follow and partner with Him (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). 

No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. – Psalm 75:6-7, NIV

Pursue and Prioritize

That means we pursue God first, prioritizing our connection with Him in the ways we spend time and express talents. He is the One who multiplies our offerings with people and in places that ultimately serve to exalt Jesus’ name (Matthew 25:21, 23, 29). The caveat is that God’s glory can also translate to our minimal comfort and convenience at times. Although our path may wind through life’s disruptive twists and turns, this is what we are called to.

Our desire as believers is to become like Christ, from one place of glory to the next, even as His image is formed in us (2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 4:19). Our ‘yes and amen’ to this way may demand much of us. It may be more than we realized when we counted the cost of discipleship. However, it is our exceeding reward, the manifest presence of God Himself, outweighs anything we could hope to amass in this life (2 Corinthians 1:20; Luke 14:28; Genesis 15:1).

Progressive Spiritual Development

Though the work of our salvation is already finished in Christ, our spiritual development is progressive, continually conforming us to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29). We don’t have to strive, trying to secure what the Savior has already accomplished (John 19:30). Instead, we can simply receive, by faith and obedience.

As we engage in divine partnership with the Holy Spirit, we begin to see the kingdom’s standard for success and excellence multiplied first in our own hearts. He facilitates what God desires in and through our lives, producing fruit that blesses and remains (Philippians 2:13; John 15:16). Whether we realize it or not, receiving grace and God’s supernatural strength and ability, empowers us to experience His standard and definition of success.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – Joshua 1:8, ESV

Positioned to Promote

Although the Lord has begun a good work in us, we will still confront challenges in our endeavors. This is our spiritual development (Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 4:12). Difficulties disrupt, testing and stretching our faith in ways that we hadn’t planned or imagined. It may cause us to question God really has good plans for us, especially when we encounter setbacks that threaten purpose and the divine destiny we pursue with the Lord.

James describes the Father as the giver of every good and perfect gift, who desires the best for us in every dimension of life. As a loving Father, He prepares and builds an infrastructure of stability within so that the success we desire doesn’t destroy us as it materializes externally (James 1:17; Matthew 7:24-25; Luke 11:11-13).

God delights in leading our steps into the perpetual blessings that position us for God-honoring promotion, not to parade in front of others, but rather illustrate His glory through a transformed and devoted life (Psalm 37:23).

Next Steps

Consider the path that has produced your spiritual development to this point, tracing where the Holy Spirit has taken you on unlikely journeys. While your life experience may not fully reflect the success you desire at this point, trust that God is still developing the character and capacity that your kingdom assignment requires.

You aren’t alone if you feel perplexed by any challenges you’re confronting, but there is support available. Use this site to contact a professional counselor and schedule an appointment to gain tools and strategies to support your next steps. You will find a counselor useful, along with the Holy Spirit, to explore how your success and spiritual development reflect the Kingdom standard for God’s glory in your own life. Irvine Christian Counseling is here to help you through this process, providing the guidance and support you need for personal and spiritual growth.