In the early part of my career as a successful CEO, success came lightning fast and served as intoxicating fuel for me to seek ever more “highs.” But none of that changed anything in my heart for God. It was nothing more than a temporary fix to my carburetor, which before long actually needed to be rebuilt. Like all intoxicants, the effects were temporary…the damage devastating.
“Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.” Proverbs 12:9
Satan’s destructive whispers–what I call the Voice Villain–were pinging in my head during that time. The negativity could not be silenced because I failed to call on God’s power to knock him out. I was not a victim of the voice villain. I was his accomplice.
God taught me a powerful lesson through that experience:
We must intentionally and proactively call on God to reign over our life. There is nothing automatic about it…and there are no shortcuts.
“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37
What one thing can you believe or do today to make it harder for Satan to have that kind of power over you?
THE RECOVERY
God helped me get beyond using success as an intoxicant when I asked him to release me from fear and worry. The immediate benefit was a change in the low expectations I had for my walk with Christ and a very narrow view of the future and my purpose in life. I learned that the confidence we need to counter thoughts like that comes when the Holy Spirit animates the dreamscapes we have for our life. We need to rely on God to be there for us today, tomorrow, and forever.
My low expectations were transformed into unbridled expectancy.
“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalms 27:13
When we think we can do some things on our own, it isn’t long before we convince ourselves we can do everything on our own. We love to play boss and try to control our circumstances. That’s what I had been doing with fixation on success and materialism and winning. It’s like I was saying, “Get Out Of My Way…Now!” I learned a lot during that ride about the negative power of having high expectations in me and low expectations in God.
If you’re using success and materialism as an intoxicant, God can take it away if you trust him and make the first move.
Just think…you’ll be able to have your life’s “dream vision” begin to form across the cinema of your mind. What can God do in and through you?
