by Dr. Paul Chappell

"For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight."

2 Samuel 22:22-25

God values faithfulness over ability and success.

It's difficult for our human nature to accept, but God teaches us that He values faithfulness over ability or even success. To understand such a principle, consider the story of the space probe Pioneer 10 as told by Craig Larson in his book Pastoral Grit: the Strength to Stand and to Stay:

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter's magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target.

"But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter's immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.

"And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. 'Perhaps most remarkable,' writes Jaroff, 'those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth.'"

The Pioneer 10 was only expected to reach Jupiter, transmit messages, and then be done with its mission. Yet the probe went above and beyond the required actions, even though many deemed it impossible for the probe to do so on such a small transmitter.

Time and again the Bible commands us to be faithful, but search the Scriptures and you will not find a command to be successful. God gives the increase and blesses each person as best fits His plan. Rather than focusing on abilities or successes, focus on being faithful.

Many people would say that David was a very gifted and successful man, yet when speaking of his life he pointed to his faithfulness, "For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity." David wasn't perfect at all, but he was faithful.

Consider your life. You may not be as skilled as some people. You may not have the gifts and talents you desire. You may not even believe you have what it takes to accomplish much in God's work, yet God doesn't judge you based on your abilities. After all, He gave you the abilities you have. He also gives success and blessing as He sees fit. Shift your focus from results and value faithfulness. Commit to being faithful to obeying God no matter what the results may be.

To learn more about the ministries of Lancaster Baptist Church and Pastor Chappell, please visit lancasterbaptist.org, paulchappell.com, or follow him on twitter.

Daily Bible Reading
Psalms 105-106 | 1 Corinthians 3