Success isn’t the same as surrender
And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like his father David; he did everything as his father Joash had done. ~ 2 Kings 14:3
Have you ever done the right thing and still realized there was more God wanted to do in your heart and life? That can be a hard thing to admit because we usually like to think in categories. We want to know if we’re doing good or bad, passing or failing, checking the box or missing it completely. But today’s scripture reading shows us that it’s possible to do many things right and still have areas of our lives that need to be surrendered more completely to God.
Amaziah became king of Judah, and Scripture tells us that he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. That’s a pretty good review! But then we’re given an important qualification, he didn’t do everything like David did. He followed the good example of his father Joash, but he didn’t go all the way. The high places of idol worship remained, and the people continued offering sacrifices there.
This reminds me that following God isn’t about getting enough things right to earn a passing grade. It’s about allowing God to have every part of our lives. We can be serving, giving, praying, going to church, reading our Bibles, and doing many good things while still holding on to a few areas we’d rather manage ourselves. We might even say, “God, You can have everything, just don’t mess with this one little area.” Of course, our “one little area” usually has a much bigger sign on it than we think!
As we look at Amaziah’s story, I believe there are three important points to help us remember that God isn’t looking for perfection from us. He’s looking for a heart that is willing to keep surrendering to Him. These three points challenge us to look beyond simply doing what is right and ask whether we’re allowing God to lead every area of our lives.
1. Doing what is right doesn’t mean we’ve finished growing
Amaziah did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but there were still areas that weren’t completely surrendered. That tells me that spiritual growth is a process. We can genuinely love God and still have room to grow. We can be making progress and still have habits, attitudes, fears, or desires that God wants to work on.
Sometimes we become frustrated with ourselves because we’re not where we think we should be spiritually. But God isn’t surprised by the areas where we’re still growing. He already knows them, and He’s patient with us as He teaches us to trust Him more.
Maybe you’ve made tremendous progress in your prayer life, but you’re still struggling to trust God with your finances. Maybe you’ve learned to forgive someone, but you’re still carrying resentment toward someone else. Maybe you’ve become much more confident in your identity in Christ Jesus, but fear still shows up whenever you’re faced with an uncertain decision.
Don’t discount the progress simply because there’s more work to do.
Here are some ways you can put this truth into action in your life today:
- Thank God for the areas where you’ve grown instead of constantly criticizing yourself for where you haven’t.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to show you one area where He wants to continue working in you.
- When God points something out, don’t become defensive. Become teachable.
- Give yourself permission to be a work in progress while still taking responsibility for continuing to grow.
God isn’t finished with you just because you haven’t arrived yet.
2. Don’t confuse success with complete surrender
Amaziah experienced success as a king. He defeated his enemies and accomplished significant things, but his victories didn’t automatically mean his heart was completely surrendered to God. Later in the chapter, Amaziah made a serious mistake. After defeating Edom, he challenged Israel to battle. The king of Israel warned him to reconsider, but Amaziah didn’t listen. His success gave him more confidence than wisdom.
That’s an important warning for us. Sometimes success can be just as dangerous as failure because success can make us think we don’t need God’s help. When things are going well, it’s easy to pray less, depend less, and start making decisions based on what we think we can handle. We can begin thinking, “I’ve got this.” Those three words have gotten a lot of people into trouble (including me)! God wants us to remember that yesterday’s victory doesn’t eliminate today’s need for wisdom.
Here are some ways you can put this truth into action in your life today:
- Before making an important decision, pray even when you think you already know what you’re going to do.
- Don’t let past success become your reason for ignoring wise counsel.
- Continue seeking God when life is going well, not just when everything falls apart.
- If people you trust lovingly question a decision you’re making, take time to listen before becoming defensive.
- Remember that confidence in God is healthy, but confidence in ourselves without God can become dangerous.
Your previous victory is something to thank God for, not something to use as permission to stop listening to Him.
3. Stay humble when God gives you influence
Amaziah’s story also reminds us how quickly success and influence can affect our perspective. He started well, but pride eventually played a role in his downfall when he decided to challenge a stronger kingdom, even after being warned not to. This is especially important for those of us who serve God, lead people, raise families, work in ministry, or have influence in any area of life. God may give us opportunities, but those opportunities aren’t proof that we no longer need Him.
The more influence we have, the more important humility becomes. Just because God has moved through our life at times doesn’t mean we have arrived. Having a title doesn’t make us spiritually mature. Having experience doesn’t mean we can’t make a bad decision and being right about something doesn’t mean we have to prove it to everyone in the room! Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can say is, “I need God’s wisdom.”
Here are some ways you can put this truth into action in your life today:
- Ask God for wisdom before you step into positions of influence.
- Stay teachable, even when you have years of experience.
- Give God credit for the opportunities and victories He gives you.
- Don’t allow success, position, or recognition to become more important than your relationship with God.
- Keep people around you who love you enough to tell you the truth.
Whether you’re leading a ministry, raising children, managing a business, serving at church, or simply influencing the people around you every day, remember that your greatest influence comes from staying close to Jesus.
We live in a culture that often measures success by numbers, influence, recognition, and what we can accomplish. But God’s measurements are different. He cares about our hearts, our obedience, our humility and whether we’re listening to Him. This passage reminds us that doing good things is wonderful, but God wants more than outward success. He wants our hearts. He wants us to keep growing, keep listening, and keep surrendering.
Maybe you’re in a season where you’re seeing some amazing things happen. Thank God for them, but don’t stop seeking Him. Maybe you’re in a season where you feel like you’re still working through the same issues you’ve been dealing with for years. Don’t give up. Keep allowing God to work in you. Maybe you’ve been given greater influence and responsibility. Don’t let the opportunity make you forget the One who gave it to you. God isn’t asking you to be perfect. He’s asking you to stay close.
Today I want to encourage you to keep growing, keep listening, and keep surrendering every area of your life to God. Don’t allow yesterday’s victories to convince you that you don’t need today’s wisdom. Don’t let your accomplishments become more important than your relationship with the One who gave you the ability to accomplish them. Amaziah’s life reminds us that we can start well and still need to remain humble. We can do many things right and still have areas where God wants to work. We can experience success and still need His direction.
So don’t be discouraged by the areas where you’re still growing. Instead, thank God that He’s still working in you. Keep your heart teachable, your ears open, your hands surrendered and when God shows you an area that needs His attention, don’t say, “But I’ve already gotten so much better!” Just say, “Yes, Lord. Let’s work on that too.” Because the goal isn’t simply to do enough right things to look like we’re doing well. The goal is to become more like Jesus and live every day with a heart that is completely surrendered to Him.
Today’s scripture reading: 2 Kings 14
1 In the second year of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, became king.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like his father David; he did everything as his father Joash had done.
4 However the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
5 Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king.
6But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the Lord commanded, saying, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall be put to death for his own sin.”
7 He killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war, and called its name Joktheel to this day.
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.”
9 And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.
10 You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Glory in that, and stay at home; for why should you meddle with trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”
11 But Amaziah would not heed. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went out; so he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah.
12 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent.
13 Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh; and he went to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—four hundred cubits.
14 And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.
15 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did—his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
16 So Jehoash rested with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Then Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.
17 Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
19 And they formed a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.
20 Then they brought him on horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the City of David.
21And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah.
22 He built Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers.
23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years.
24 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin.
25 He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher.
26 For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter; and whether bond or free, there was no helper for Israel.
27 And the Lord did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.
28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did—his might, how he made war, and how he recaptured for Israel, from Damascus and Hamath, what had belonged to Judah—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
29 So Jeroboam rested with his fathers, the kings of Israel. Then Zechariah his son reigned in his place.
Journal:
- What area of your life has God already helped you grow in, and where do you still see room for growth?
- Is there an area where you’ve become so comfortable with your progress that you’ve stopped asking God to change you?
- Have any recent successes made you more confident in yourself than dependent on God?
- How do you respond when someone lovingly gives you correction or challenges a decision you’re making?
- Is there an area of your life where you’ve said, “God, You can have everything except this”? What would complete surrender look like?
- Where do you need God’s wisdom right now?
- Write a prayer asking God to keep your heart humble, teachable, and completely surrendered to Him.
