“Success is not a fruit of the Spirit, but peace is,” even as the words dribbled out of my mouth, we could both tell they weren’t from me. Have you ever stood apart from yourself for a minute and thought Amen! Good point, you’re definitely not smart enough to come up with that one. The Holy Spirit (and His peace) showed up in that room powerfully, as He inspired that Word of Wisdom (See 1 Cor. 12:8).

For me, and so many others, “success” has been a cruel taskmaster. The desire to provide, mixed with the desire to feel powerful, mixed with survival instinct produces a striving for “success” in many that has proved unhealthy. But what is it that God requires of us? To live for His Son, full of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:24-25). What does Holy Spirit produce? Fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). Yum, I like fruit. “Success” is not yummy. It goes down smooth, numbs your senses to reality, makes you think you’re better than you are, and then can leave just as quickly and you’re left with regrets, lost time and possibly broken relationships.

But what if we redefined success? What if God’s definition was always different? … Success is when your life produces more of the goodness of the Holy Spirit. If your “success” is threatening your peace, it’s not success at all. So take a moment right now, and reconnect with the God of Peace (Rom 15:33, 16:20,1 Cor 14:33, 2 Cor 13:11, Phil 4:9, 1 Thes 5:23, Heb 13:20).