Success Ingredients for 2016
2015 has come to an end and if you are like most people, you have stepped back to evaluate your successes and failures in 2015. Within your heart there is a desire to succeed and do better in 2016. But! How do you do that? How do you start right? What guidelines do you follow? Do you have what will sustain you for a whole year? Let me share practical guidelines that will lead to your success in 2016.

1. Seek God. Seek His mind on your plans and actions. Ask for His guidance. “The Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.” Proverbs 2:6-7. Make it a daily endeavor to commune with God.
You see, man plans but execution comes from God. “There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” Proverbs 19:21. God has the power to make your plans succeed or fail. He can frustrate them. “The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.” Psalm 33:10.

2. Listen. Life is busy but you will not succeed if you cannot stop to listen. God speaks. Take time and hear Him. Look at God’s desire for you as noted in Psalm 32:8-9. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.”
You will hit many high walls should you proceed without listening to God. It will take you longer to accomplish your plans and goals. You will repeat many lessons, and you will waste a lot of precious time. You will accomplish more with God’s help. It is in quietness and rest that you will find direction and strength as you sit at the feet of Christ. “For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.” Isaiah 30:15.

3. Meditate on the truths of God’s Word. You will need direction in 2016. God’s Word will help you. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105. You will need clarity of purpose and goals. God’s Word will give this to you. “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Psalm 119:130.
God guarantee success for those who embrace His Word and reflect on it in thoughtful ways as they apply and appropriate its truths in a personal way. “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.” Joshua 1:8.

4. Take time to reflect. Before you call it a day, take time and reflect on who you were and what you did within the day? Were you real or did you put on a show? What did people say? Did God see you as other people did? You see, it matters more what God says to you at the end of the day, than what everybody else says. Can God say, well done good and faithful servant at the end of your day?
The best way to reflect is to look in the mirror of God’s Word. People will flatter you but His Word will be honest. People will lie to you but God’s Word will not only tell you the truth, but it will show you what to do and how you should do it. “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:23-25.

5. Be sober. It is easy to pursue success and forget who you are. It is even easier to pursue success without paying attention to your surrounding and those around you. Not everybody cares about your success. It is harder to succeed if you do not know what can stop your pursuits. Recognize that you have weaknesses. Know that you are not too strong to fall or fail.
Realize that you have an enemy who schemes against you every day. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9. Do not be ignorant of the devil’s intention and purpose in your life. Stand your ground and be alert every day. Know your weaknesses and guard those vulnerable areas with God’s help.

6. Guard your heart. As you seek success in 2016, guard your heart. The temptation to compromise is real to those seeking success. You will be confronted with the desire to sideline God and do it your own way. Remember, there is an enemy behind that. Heed God’s Word and work within His guidelines. “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” 1 Timothy 6:9-11.
Guard your heart. It is the well spring of life. Keep your conscience alive and you will be happy. Keep God enthroned in your heart every day and success will follow. He will guide you.

Guard your eyes. Your eyes are the gateway to your heart. You are never too old to guard what you see. Not everything your eyes are exposed to is healthy for your heart and life. Some success will come when you say “No” to your eyes. “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23.

Guard your appetite. The easiest way your adversary will lure and entice you to failure is through your appetites. He works to turn what you like into obsessions. This way he will enslave and hold you helpless as he continues to wreak havoc in your life.

May you have a blessed 2016 full of God’s presence and success. I pray that 2016 will end with God highly enthroned in your heart and life. May He grant you success in all your endeavors. May you find Him real. Remember, “what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36.