How to be Successful in Life
by Drenda Keesee
I’m just not sure what to do.
I don’t know if I’m making the right decision.
What do YOU do when you don’t know what to do?
Do you pick up the phone and call your mom? Do you text a friend? Do you type your question into the search bar on Google?
Or do you go to God?
God has a divine appointment for you, and He wants to do amazing things in you and through you. He wants to give you His wisdom and guidance in every area of your life so that you can be successful. He desires to train, teach, and mentor you in making right choices that are the most beneficial for you and for others, and He made His wisdom readily available to you through the Word of God.
But while it’s true that the Bible gives us plenty of guidance, it doesn’t tell you…
…who to marry, what degree to get, whether or not you should move to another state, or what job you should have. It doesn’t tell you whether or not you should buy or sell a house, buy or sell your stocks, or anything like that.
But to be successful in life, you have to know those things.
And God wants you to know those things. He really does.
But in order to know those things, you have to hear from Him.
And you have to hear from Him frequently…every day…constantly.
How?
Prayer.
Wait. Don’t stop reading now. I know people try to complicate prayer way too much. But prayer is really just talking to God—asking Him what you should do—and listening.
James 1:5 says, ‟If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
You need to just ask and listen. You need to just pray.
Sure, I know it can be difficult in today’s world to quiet yourself and take the time to listen for God’s voice, but you have to. You were designed to live out of your spirit, after all, and you were created with the desire for intimacy with God. So, taking time to ask and listen—to pray—is how you draw life-giving nourishment from Him and His Word, and it must be your priority every day and all day.
Because when we don’t, life can get really messy.
Look at Joshua 1.
Moses had died, and God had put Joshua in charge. Joshua did great. He heard from God and led the people out of the wilderness. Then, he led them to Jericho to march around the city. You may know the story—they marched around the wall seven times and shouted, and the walls came down. They didn’t have to lift a finger. God did it. Things were working just like God said they would. Things were great.
Until we get to Chapter 7.
Everyone has a Chapter 7.
Chapter 7 is where Joshua missed God. It’s where failure happened.
In chapter 7, we find out about a man named Achan, who had stolen some of the spoils from the battle. We also find out that Joshua had no idea.
Unaware of Achan’s failure to follow God’s instructions, Joshua went ahead and planned the next battle. He made decisions based on what had happened in Jericho. He didn’t think he needed to send his entire army to Ai because it was such a small town.
But 36 of Joshua’s men were killed at Ai, and the rest of the men ran home in fear.
Because Joshua never bothered to ask God for the plan. He didn’t pray.
And, of course, Joshua reacted. He tore his clothes and fell to the ground and all of that stuff. You can read for yourself how he babbled on, questioning why God would even bother to have the Israelites cross the river only to be defeated.
Have you ever done that before? Ever experience a setback or a failure and question why God told you to go there or do that in the first place? We all have.
~Drenda
ps…Are you looking for a good church? Be sure and listen on Saturday evening or catch the 3 services on Sunday for Faith Life Church!
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional, and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesee’s have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then the irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
