I must be careful to avoid the temptations of the “cult of success” in God’s work. When Jesus announced to His disciples that He was going to Jerusalem to be betrayed into the hands of sinners and be crucified, Peter shouted: “Be it far from thee, Lord” (Matthew 16:22, KJV). Satan cannot stand the cross in any form, whether as an instrument of death or a way of life, and he will do anything to keep Jesus—and us—from it.
The “cult of success,” not the cross, is Satan’s ideal religion. When Peter saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain, in company with Moses and Elijah, he was overwhelmed. What a scenario! Eagerly he said to Jesus: “I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Matthew 17:4). Peter was a promoter, a publicist. He had an eye for crowd appeal and knew how to build something that would cause excitement, noise, and fanfare. Unwittingly, Peter was on the wrong track. Jesus, with Moses and Elijah, was thinking of the cross. And God, as if to answer the satanic desire of Peter, said to the disciples, “This is My beloved Son … listen to Him!” (v. 5).
I must not build tabernacles; I must look for my cross. I must not plan for success; I must be obedient daily to my heavenly Father. Jesus did not plan for crowds; they simply materialized out of His obedience to His Father’s will. He did not memorialize or historicize His ministry; He simply left the fruits to the disposition of His Father. I must resist all efforts to build an empire or to preserve the fruits of my ministry. He is the God who works for us (1 Samuel 14:6), which means He begins at our initiative and ends at His accomplished purpose. May God make me faithful in obeying, and may I leave the aftermath to Him.
“Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14).
Daily with the King 