One of the keys to divine success is letting go of our mental attachment to the visible (which includes our riches, our manifested talents, our friends and business associates), and learning to rely on the invisible.

But, before we go any further, I need to explain what do I mean by "divine success". People want to excel in life and to achieve great things, consciously or unconsciously, but it makes a big difference how these goals are reached. Those who are driven by egocentric desires to get ahead of others at any cost, often succeed - but their success won't last for too long. Sooner or later, they are doomed to fall and to reap consequences of their selfish actions. At the same time, people that set their minds on working in cooperation with great laws of life, reach true fulfillment. Their successes prove to be lasting and permanent, and their names will be remembered by future generations.

In Matthew, chapter 7, Jesus spoke of two persons who built houses for themselves. The first one built it on a rock, the second one built it on a sand. From the outside those houses, probably, both looked attractive, and people admired both of them. But there came a testing time. When the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on those houses, the one that was built on a sand was completely destroyed.

This gives us yet another reason to look beyond the present appearances. What seems to be successful from human point of view, may not be so in the eyes of God.

Divine success, by its definition, is rooted in God. It implies relying on God as the Source of All Good and the Power of All Increase. Some of the most challenging lessons of Jesus were meant to illustrate this idea.

Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, we read:

Do not lay up treasures on earth for yourselves, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.
But lay up treasures in Heaven for yourselves, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6:19-21

Through history, we find countless examples of people that took this statement literally and bound themselves by "wows of poverty". However, the message of Jesus was much deeper. He spoke of our basic priorities. When our heart belongs to God and God's eternal Kingdom, all manifested goods will be freely given to us. When our heart belongs to earthly treasures, we cannot find security in our possessions. Sooner or later, we loose what we've gathered for ourselves.

Behold the birds of the air; for they sow not, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them; are you not much better than they are?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, nor do they spin,
but I say to you that even Solomon in his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Matthew 6:26,28-29

Did Jesus mean that true believers don't work? Certainly not, because in other passages He clearly taught on value of diligent labor and service. He could not contradict Himself.

The lesson of Jesus is simple: with all the work that you do, don't rely on it. Do not consider it to be the source of your provision. Your Source is God, and your work is but a channel of your good. Channels may change, but your Source is unchangeable.

When this realization is firmly established in our minds and hearts, it makes us worry-free. If we loose a job or a source of income for any reason, we know that God, our Source, is with us. We know that a new, and even better opportunity to succeed and to experience God's abundant provision is coming to us. If money is lost, we know that our account in the Heavenly Bank remains untouched. Through faith, we can draw from this account all we need here and now.

(to be continued)