Do you desire great and enduring success? If so, there are things you need to do to experience it. Everyone wants to succeed in life, but to what level you succeed depends on what you put into it. This article emphasizes the place of kingdom work and diligence in the pursuit of great success.

But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." - John 5:17 (NKJV).

Then the LORD appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father." Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him - Genesis 26:2-3, 12 (NKJV).

God desires great success for His children (3 John 2). However, what they do towards its fulfillment determines whether or when it will come to pass in their lives. A wise man said that if you do nothing, you get nothing.

Supernatural success is a function of obedience to God and diligence. Obedience to God's instructions provokes His interventions on your behalf and causes Him to prosper the works of your hands (Deuteronomy 30:8-9). In addition, diligence will cause you to stand before kings, enforcing your great success.

One of God's instruction which will fast track your efforts when you obey it is, "seeking God's kingdom and His righteousness first" (Matthew 6:33). This means seeking what pleases God at all times, which includes giving yourself to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4), living like Jesus and soul winning (Mark 16:15, 20). Doing what pleases the Lord will move Him to do what pleases you (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

However, if you desire great success then you need to add diligence to your obedience. The quality of the effort you put in will determine the result you will get when God prospers you. When you put in little, you get a little more; put in much, then you get much more (2 Corinthians 9:6).

Our Lord Jesus came to reconcile all to God and He worked day and night almost. He preached and taught in the day time and prayed in the night. He testified in John 5:17, that just like God, the Father, is still working, He also is working. Today, He has great success: for out of 12 disciples, He has reconciled multitudes to God, and many more will still return to God before the end of the world. So, He not only pleased the Father (John 8:29), He also worked diligently to achieve this exceeding great level of success.

Furthermore, no matter the promise you may have received from God for obeying Him, you need to diligently pursue it (Habakkuk 2:2); otherwise, it will remain a dream. For instance in Genesis 26:1-17, during a time of famine, God asked Isaac to remain in Gerar and He would bless him. Isaac obeyed and remained in the land. But he didn't fold his hands doing nothing, while expecting God to fulfill His word. He sowed in that land and reaped hundred times what he sowed in the same year. God so blessed his diligent hands that he became very wealthy to the point of being envied by the Philistines.

In conclusion, always remember that hard work doesn't kill, rather it pays well. Seek to please God in all things, including praying kingdom prayers, soul winning and ensuring that you work very hard, and you will enjoy great and enduring success.

Ngozi Nwoke is a teacher, speaker, counselor and author of "Peace Money Can't Buy" and "The Man Jesus: What You Need to Know About Christ". She has a passion to teach people how to enjoy peace, God's love, and Christian living for a more fulfilling life. Want a more fulfilling life?