Success

Question: "What does the Bible say about success?"

Answer:

If you were to ask a random person on the street, how do you think he or she would define
success? People would probably give lots of different answers. One might say success is being
wealthy. Another might define success as having a good family and kids. Still another might say
success is being healthy and enjoying a long life. For every ten people asked, you may find
twenty different ideas of success!

When it comes to understanding what the Bible says about success, it is helpful to see how the
Bible addresses some of the definitions of success that people in our world have.

When it comes to having lots of money, the Bible says that God is the one who makes someone
wealthy. Proverbs 22:2 states, “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of
them all.” Note that the writer doesn’t say, “Maker of both.” Rather, he says, “Maker of them
all.” The declaration here is that God is the giver of all things to all people.

When it comes to the skills and abilities that lead to success in various fields, we see the same
emphasis in the Bible—God is the giver. Consider 1 Corinthians 4:7, “For who makes you to
differ from anyone else? What do you have that you have not received?” The implication in
these questions is that our abilities and skills come from God.

How about the issue of influence and power? In John 19:11, after Pilate tells Jesus that he has
the power to free Him or crucify Him, Jesus replies, “You would have no power over me if it
were not given to you from above.” So even earthly authority, by which some measure success,
is a gift from God.

These are just a few verses declaring that every thing, every ability, and every position is God’s
gift. John the Baptist summarizes in John 3:37, “A man can receive only what is given him from
heaven.” If any person can do anything defined as “successful,” it is only because God has given
him or her that ability.

What is more, the things we may consider marks of success may not be what God views as
valuable. In 1 John 2:15–17, things in this world are put in perspective:

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes
and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The
world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
This passage covers everything in this world that we might be tempted to think gives success. If
we are loving these things and pursuing them, thinking joy and satisfaction are found in them,
we will find them to be empty. The gain of this world is not a true mark of success.

God defines success quite simply. In John 17:3, Jesus declares, “Now this is eternal life: that
they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Psalm 16:11
states, “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” In Luke 10:20, Jesus says, “Do not rejoice that the
spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in the book of life.” From these
passages we can deduce that ultimate success is being saved and knowing God. “Eternal life” in
John 17:3 isn’t just a length of time but a quality of life. Eternal life is awesome because we are
known by God and are in His presence, where there is fullness of joy. We are not to rejoice
because of our abilities, victories, and possessions in this world. True success in which we
rejoice is overcoming this world, being saved, and going to be with Jesus in heaven.

God measures success differently than the world does. Jesus said, “It is the one who is least
among you all who is the greatest” (Luke 9:48; cf. Mark 9:35). Wealth, skill, and influence are
irrelevant to true, eternal success. Biblical success that pleases and glorifies God is being known
by Him and knowing and serving Him through faith in Jesus Christ and His gospel.

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Question: "What does it mean that "unless the Lord builds the house" the builders labor in vain
(Psalm 127:1)?"

Answer: Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless
the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”

This verse reveals the key to success in any endeavor and God’s absolute sovereignty over every
person and event. In any activity, we need God’s blessing. All that we accomplish in life will be
for naught if the Lord is not in it. We can “build,” and we can “watch,” but it is the Lord who
gives success.

The clause unless the Lord builds the house does not imply that the Lord has a hammer and
nails and actually performs construction work. Rather, it speaks metaphorically of the Lord’s
direct involvement in our lives. The Hebrew word for “house” in Psalm 127:1 appears nearly a
thousand times in the Bible. It is used literally to refer to temples, palaces, and homes, and
figuratively to refer to households and families—all of which are important structures in a
person’s life. The word represents not only a primary dwelling place but also one’s sense of self-
identity, security, and place in this world. We cannot reasonably hope to have a fulfilling, truly
successful life without our heavenly Father’s help, guidance, and protection over our “house.”

No matter how skilled or diligent the workers are, “the work of the builders is wasted” (NLT)
unless the Lord builds the house. He is the master carpenter of our lives. He is the source of
wisdom, which is the most valuable building material: “By wisdom a house is built, and through
understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful
treasures” (Proverbs 24:3–4).

Here’s some of what else the Bible says about God’s sovereignty in building the “house” of our
lives: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your
ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5–6). “Many are the
plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).

David revealed that “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them
came to be” (Psalm 139:16). The Lord told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew
you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations”
(Jeremiah 1:5). His plan for us is just as certain, written from eternity: “For He chose us in
[Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love He
predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure
and will” (Ephesians 1:4–5).

So the Lord has a plan for us, and we have the responsibility to cooperate in that plan. The
builders of the “house” in Psalm 127:1 do not stop working, but they do recognize that they
need God’s direction and blessing in their work. That is to say, we labor, but we remember that,
unless the Lord builds the house, our labor is in vain.

Jesus used a similar metaphor in His Sermon on the Mount, where He warned that “everyone
who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who
built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:26–27). The foolish man labored
on his house, but he foolishly left the Lord out of the process.
The rich fool in Jesus’ parable had attained all types of worldly accomplishments, but at the
pinnacle of his success God required of him his life. “Then who will get what you have prepared
for yourself?” God asks him (Luke 12:20). The rich man in Luke 16 was likewise quite successful,
but he dies in verse 22; in the next verse, he is in Hades in torment. “Unless the Lord builds the
house, the builders labor in vain.”

Trying to accomplish anything without God’s blessing, apart from His wisdom, is foolish. It leads
to futility in the end and to the lament of Ecclesiastes 1:2: “Everything is meaningless.”

Psalm 127:1, with its condition that the Lord builds the house, contains both a warning and a
promise. If you want success, align your personal plans with God’s plan for your life; when that
happens, ultimate failure becomes impossible, and ultimate success is guaranteed.

© Copyright 2002-2025 Got Questions Ministries. All rights reserved.

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Question: "What are some Bible verses about success?"

Answer: Proverbs 16:3

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Proverbs 3:1-4

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of
days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness
forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will
find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

James 4:10

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give
you a future and a hope.

1 Kings 2:3

And keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his
commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you
may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help
you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by
testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Deuteronomy 8:18

You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he
may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Matthew 16:26

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a
man give in return for his soul?

Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and
night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will
make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Luke 16:10-11

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very
little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth,
who will entrust to you the true riches?

Proverbs 3:3-4

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on
the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

Jeremiah 17:7

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
Ecclesiastes 5:3

For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.

Habakkuk 2:3

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems
slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

Psalm 118:25

Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!

Unless otherwise noted, all Bible verses are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®
Copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Special thanks to OpenBible.info for the data on the most well-known Bible verses.

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www.GotQuestions.org