God told Joshua: ‘This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and…have good success’ (v.8 NKJV). If we’re going to succeed in things that really matter, we must follow the instructions for life found in the Bible. So here are three biblical rules for success: Firstly, look it up. We need to make the study of God’s Word a constant part of our lives. Our Bibles shouldn’t be sat unopened in our houses. Secondly, let it in. The word ‘meditate’ means ‘to ponder, ruminate, or examine attentively’. So we shouldn’t just read the Scriptures, we need to be trying to understand them. The psalmist prayed: ‘Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions’ (Psalm 119:18 NLT). And that’s what we need to be praying too. God’s always willing to speak to us through His Word. Sometimes we can read a Bible verse for the hundredth time and suddenly see something we’ve never seen before. That’s because the Word is ‘alive and active’ (Hebrews 4:12 NIV) and can teach us, convict us, and change us. Thirdly, we need to live it out. ‘Be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful’ (Joshua 1:8 NIV). So not only do we need to be studying the Bible, meditating on it, and memorising it, we also need to be obeying it. No one can guarantee us success except God – and that guarantee is found in reading, meditating, and obeying His Word.

What Now?

Choose a book of the Bible you haven’t read for a long time. Make the commitment to work your way through it, one chapter each day.