Success is not a Gift

"For every achievement there is a price tag and at the counter of success there is no bargaining; the price has to be paid and that, in full"-Unknown.

Success as we all know could mean different things to different persons. No matter what it means to you, it involves the achievement of set goals, aspirations, dreams, vision etc.

Let me stun you: God has not promised us success as a gift but as a reward, in response to the application of the principles governing it. He made this clear to Joshua in Joshua 1:8 when He instructed him thus: "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 shall make thy ways prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success". If God promises us success as a gift, He has given us a licence to be lazy. A gift is something you didn't work for.

It has been said that God feeds the birds of the air but the truth is, He never drops the food in thier nests.

All round success is an integral part of God's covenant with Abraham and sure, he was a force to be reckoned with in his days. It is just natural that his seeds (descendants) walk in the same realm of such an unusual prosperity and success. The scriptures testified of Isaac in Genesis 26: 13,14 that he waxed great and went forward, and grew until he became very great, having great possessions to the point of becoming the envy of the Philistines. Wasn't that also the story of Jacob? Of course it was! Instructively, thier successes were not handed down to them as gifts on platters of gold. They worked thier ways through under divine providence. God, in His mercies, has brought us into the same providence having engrafted us into the stock of Abraham through faith in Christ Jesus so that the blessing of Abraham might come on us as well (Galatians 3:7-14). By virtue of this, you have no reason not to be succesful in life unless you chose not to.

Success is not a gift but a reward, and it responds not to wishes but to hardwork. The earlier you understand this truth the better. Life is like a supermarket with lots of items on display each with a price tag. When you go shopping in a supermarket, nobody has the right to question the choices you make. At the counter, what determines what you go out with is not your choices per se but your ability to pay the stipulated price tagged on the choices you have made. Whichever you can not paid for, is dropped from your cart (trolley). There is no bergaining! This is life for you! Like they would always say, "nothing is free even in freetown". Success is not without a price.

success is not a gift but a reward; it responds not to wishes but to
hardwork and only those who pay the price win the prize

Hope you know that life does not give you what you deserve but what you demand; and you don't demand for what you are not entitled to; and you are not entitled to what you are not qualified for; And you are not qualified for what you have not worked for. That is how it operates. Greatness comes with a price and only those who pay the price win the prize. There are principles governing success and if you desire success, you must be willing to pay the price. Discovering these principles and actually applying them is the PRICE you have to pay. Nobody, not even God, will do it for you. It is DIY (do it yourself). Too many a people has the same attitude as that rich man who asked Jesus in Mark 10:17 "...what shall I do to enherit eternal life" but who unfortunately walked out on Jesus when he was eventually told what he must do. Such people with a kind of what-shall-I-do-to-make-it-in-life approach attend programmes, read books, listen to messages and ask questions but are too lazy to walk the walk. They are too lazy, like the guy in the pix up there, to go to work using the tools at their disposal. They confuse day dreaming with vision not knowing that a vision that does not result in an action is day dreaming. Success, like precious metals, is not found on the surface and can only be extracted through hardwork. selah!

I believe in prayers, I believe also in positive confessions but I also believe that only those who sow through thoughtfull actions should expect a harvest. Prayers and +ve confessions often provide the right environment, attract divine favour but its never a substitute for work. Providence may offer you the opportunity for a job, but you must through hardwork proof youself worthy of such favour. If God worked and is, according to Jesus, still working you better believe in work. Do you know that "thus says the Lord" is not a licence to go and sleep? When God told Elijah to go to Zeraphat that He has commanded a widow there to sustain him, Elijah upon arrival didn't meet a widow with a very sumptous meal waiting for him. Rather he met a reluctant widow with little or nothing left for her and her son. Many of us whould have accused God of not being true to His word. "Didn't you say that you have commanded a widow to feed me, how come she doesn't even have enough for herself and besides she's resisting? we would mumur. But Elijah, armed with that divine information from on high, persisted and eventualy had his way. Thank God he understood how God works.

No wonder apostle Paul charged Timothy in I Timothy 1:18, thus: "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare"

His word has gone out concerning you that He wish that you be on top only and not beneath; that you prosper and be in health even as you soul prospereth. whether you enjoy these or not is your responsibility. Success is urs by provision but you have to do all u can to take possession of it so u could enjoy its full benefits.

Selah!

Give Your Life A Change

"Life is a product of personal responbility"-Unknown

I stumbled on the above statement on a blog I once visited and it summarises what this post is all about.
God may give you a vision but what you make of it depends on you and not God.
God may reveal to you your purpose and mision in life but what you make of it depends on you.
Similarly, HE has given you life but what you make of it is your responsibility.

Let me stun you: hope you know that there are things grace will not do for you? Yes! you heard me right. The responsibility of taking hold of the provisions of grace and making them yours is yours to take and not God's. This truth runs through the entire Bible.
Stop sitting there idle expecting God to change your situation. You have to do something about it. Nothing works until you make them work.
He (God) has made every provision necessary for a better life according to II Peter 1:3,4: "According as His power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge if Him that hath called us to glory and virtue"
The decision and action to activate and enjoy these provisions are yours to take. Notice that verses 5-8 of the same chapter speak of thinks we (and not God) must have to do.

You have desire, but heaven is waiting for you to give it Xpression. Numbers 27:1-9 reveals the account of the five daughters of Zelophehad. These ladies accosted Moses demanding a portion of their father's inherintance. Something unheard of in the land of Isreal. They would have lost their inheritance if they had only a desire for it without the courage to Xpress it even in the most unsual manner. It was when they expressed this desire that divinity stepped into thier matter and decided in thier favour.

Decision determines destiny but action actualizes it-Prince

A christian brother once shared his testimony with me on how he became a distributor to particular manufacturer. He has been nursing the desire for quite some time and decided he was going to do something about it even though he hadn't the capital then. He courageously walked into the company and met with the manager. He introduced himself and his business and wsa able to sell himself to the manager. After confirming, through a series of questions, that he was truly into such business and not a fraudster, the manager decided to give him a trial. Favour or miracle, Isn't it? Yes! but his purposeful action activated it. That was how the four lepers in 2 Kings 7:3-11 stumbled on thier miracle through courageous action.

That change you so much desire could be just an action away.

The responsibility to know what action to take is yours. May God open our eyes to see what actions to take so that while others lament thier lack of finance, we would use what we have to get what we need; while some are idle waiting for thier "golden" opportunity, will would attract and create opportunities for ourselves. Stop lamenting your disability or condition expecting the world to treat you specially. I have tried that and it didn't work (lol) and i know many others have too. The bitter truth is that we live in a very selfish and insensitive world that doesn't care a hoot about your plight. If it sees how to take from you to enrich itself, it would do just that. That was how it tried to deprive blind Bartimaeus of his miracle but the blind man wouldn't let that happen (Mark 10:46-52). Ordinarily, one would expect that they would take blind Bartimaeus by the hand and bring him to Jesus knowing fuly well that Jesus could restore his sight. If blind Bartimaeus had wasted his time pleading with those close by to take him to Jesus, may be he would have missed that opportunity. Rather he used what he had to get what he needed. You have to take your destiny into your hands and fight your way through to greatness. As one of my role models, Adeolu, would always say, "your background is not the reason why your back should be on the ground". So stop lamenting your background and give your life a change.

The Bible is full of men (and women) who rose above the limitations of thier background to make it in life. We know of Jephta, Esther. What about Jabez? I don't believe that Jabez only prayed and waited for an automatic change from God. We often hear of people who use the phrase, "waiting on the Lord" as a cloak for thier idleness and inactivity. Waiting on the Lord, represents what goes on between when a farmer sows his seeds and the time of harvest. He doesn't just sit back at home idly waiting for the harvest. No! He goes from time to time to check and tend his garden, check and control pest, weed and water it, and apply fertilizer until the time of harvest. So, it is never a time of idleness. More often than not, the answers to our prayers are wrapped up in our actions.

Dreams, ideas and vision remain what they are until they are given expression

Anticipate change, plan for it and work out your plan so that the forces of change doesn't take advantage of you or take you unaware -Prince

When they say that "change is the only constant in life", how do you understand it? There are forces of change that can create changes either way (i.e negative or positive) and those who don't plan ahead are left disadvantaged. Take it or leave it, there are certain "negative" changes some guys experience which are often the effect or aftermath of certain changes initiated by others. For instance, some individual may be downsized because the MD decides to effect certain changes that will enable his organisation face the challenges at hand. Or a guy may be forced out of business becuase of the ingenuity or creativity of his next door competitor.

Boy! it is time we told ourselves the truth of why we are where we are. It is not because we don't know or have enough. It is because we are not passionate about our goals enough. We don't seem to want it so badly as to get us statrted with what we already have or know.

you are where you are not becuase you don't have or know enough but becuase
you are not passionate about your goals (or dreams) enough as to get started where
you are and with what you already have or know

Thomas Edison didn't need to know everything about physics, electricityand electronics before he embarked on his project of inventing the electric bulb. Infact, I don't think he knew as much as our professors of physics and electronics know today.

Start making enquiries about that project now; place that call, draft that letter, make that visit or request concerning that desire no matter how stupid you may look or sound.

Somebody once said, "that nothing will ever be done or attempted if all possible obstacles are first understood and dealt with" There are certain details about that idea, dream or vision burning within you that you may never get to know until you get involved. Listen! there is always a starting point and he who gets started will never get stranded.

Whatever your goal in life is: whether to further your career or studies, to get married, to start that business. And if you are passionate about it then the time to start is now. And when you start working on it make sure to act in, what Wallace in "the science of getting rich" calls, "a certain way".

Food for thought:

Life is in phases and let him who fails to anticipate and work for his
desired changes know for sure that his life will certainly undrego changes but in a manner that may constitute a burden.

Selah!