I started reading the book of Joshua this morning. Chapter 1 verse 8 says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."
I spent a couple of hours working in the yard this morning and was thinking about what I wanted to write about this verse. I came in and saw the headline that O.J. Simpson had passed away. Success, O.J. and my brother, Rod, will always be tied together in my mind.
On June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were brutally
murdered. Nicole's former husband, O.J. Simpson, was charged with the
murders. On Friday, June 17th, instead of turning himself in, O.J.
became the object of a low-speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco SUV.
The
next day, Rod and I talked about this on the phone. It seemed many
were in shock that someone "so great" could commit such a horrible
crime. Rod told me, "Kathy, that's why you have to be careful who you
make your heroes. You can't choose athletes as heroes. They might do
great things on the field, but that doesn't make them great people.
True heroes are people of God."
That was the last conversation we
had, as Rod passed away the following Wednesday. Those words resonate
in me still. We have to be so careful whom we choose to admire. I have
thought about those words so many times through the years.
There is probably no greater contrast to OJ, the famous football
player, than Rod. I doubt that Rod ever weighed more than 125 pounds,
his body was weak, with a pronounced limp from a fall in his childhood.
But the man he was inside,
that man stood tall and strong. He didn't take the things of God
lightly. He cared about people. He ministered in song. And from the
many comments I have received on posts about him, he ministered to
people just by being himself.
David Guzik's Enduring Word Commentary says about Joshua 1:8, "God’s Word so lived is a
guarantee of Christian success. Not that it promises a life without
problems, but it does insure a life able to deal with anything, because
it takes full advantage of God’s presence and promises. And Christian
success is not measured by the same standards as the world’s success.
Even if the world accounts us as sheep for the slaughter, we are
actually more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans
8:36-37)."
It's not our bank accounts, careers or celebrity status that makes us successful. Getting God's Word in our minds, in our hearts and in our actions will lead the way to an overcoming life with good success.
