JULY 6, 2025

  “What is success? It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace” 

― Paulo Coelho

JOB 33-34

7Is there anyone like Job,

who drinks scorn like water?

8He keeps company with evildoers;

he associates with the wicked.

9For he says, ‘There is no profit

in trying to please God.’(34:7-9)

ACTS 13:24-52

38“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

49The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

JOURNAL 

Peace of soul does not come from applause, pedigree, or performance. It comes from surrender. The world still tells a different story. Like in Job’s day, people mock the idea that there is any value in trying to please God. They drink in cynicism like water and surround themselves with the same tired formulas of power, status, and image. Yet so often their success is accompanied by restlessness. Their bank accounts may be full, but their hearts are empty.

God offers something entirely different. Through Jesus, we are set free from every sin. This freedom is not achieved by moral effort or religious rule-keeping. It is received by faith. As Paul preached in Acts 13, justification comes as a gift, not something we were ever able to gain under the law. That truth still collides with the world’s values. Even now, identity and success are so often defined by good works, reputation, and status.

But God’s gift, though freely given, requires surrender. To receive this love is to release the old ways. It means giving up my dependence on performance and choosing instead to live by the Spirit. It means no longer chasing the world’s approval but finding peace in God’s presence and direction.

This surrender is not passive. It is powerfully active. When Paul and Barnabas were rejected and persecuted, they did not fight back or fall into despair. They shook the dust from their feet and moved forward. Their hearts were not hardened. They were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. That is the treasure of walking with God. The world may not understand it. Circumstances may not reflect it. But in every season, the Spirit gives joy.

So I ask for the courage to live this way. To "trust in the Lord with all my heart". To stop leaning on my own understanding. To submit my ways to Him and let Him guide my path. That, to me, is success. That is peace. To end the day not with everything figured out, but with a soul that is quiet and content in God.

5Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

6in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.^a

PROVERBS 3:5-6