Some of you reading this blog are in the process of becoming successful. Some are already successful. Others are . . . VERY successful.

Think with me for a minute about some of your accomplishments. From the sandlot to the board room. From kindergarten to grad school. From diapers to the marriage altar.

Academic excellence. Athletic victories. Political power. Business connections. Wealth accumulation. Social justice. Ministry growth.

Maybe your greatest accomplishment is that you are still married to the same person after all these years. That accomplishment alone gives you superhero status in today’s world of disposable relationships.

Even on a bad day when we feel like total failures, if we stop to think about it, we realize we have actually accomplished some important things.

Or, have we?

A few thousand years ago, a wise old long-bearded white-haired prophet had an interesting perspective on success and human accomplishment:

“all that we have accomplished, You have done for us.” (Isaiah 26:12)

In other words, all I think I have accomplished through my cleverness, discipline, and superior intelligence actually had little to do with me. God did it all. And he did not need my help, my cooperation, or my permission.

The only question that remains is will I acknowledge his role, or will I continue to pretend I do it all on my own?