“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give you a future and an expected end.” - Jeremiah 29:11
The God we serve is not the Deus absconditus. He is not a god who is detached from His creatures. He is The God Who is daily involved in what involves us.
God is interested in your past, heavily interested in your present and extremely interested in your future. He seeks to recreate your past, works hard to renew your present and ever-ready to ready your future.
GOD IS CONCERNED ABOUT YOU (Exodus 3:7)
Whatever concerns you concerns God. I Peter 5:7 says,
“Cast all your cares upon him because he cares about you.”
Job 22:29
“When men are saying, ‘There is a casting down, you shall say, There is a lifting up….’ ”
Where others fail, you will succeed. Psalms 84:6 says,
“Passing through the Valley of Baca, you shall turn it into a spring.”
YOU CAN ENJOY GOOD IN LIFE
At Psalms 27:13, the Psalmist attested:
“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
You can see as well as enjoy God’s Goodness in land of the living. This is not a promise for the hereafter, but for the here and now. I Timothy 4:8 says,
“Physical exercises profit little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”
God is not just promising you TOMORROW, He is equally promising you TODAY.
GOD WANTS YOU TO SUCCEED
Job 8:5-7 says,
“If you would seek God and make your supplications to the Almighty; if you are pure and upright, surely he will awake for you, and make the habitation of your righteousness prosperous. Though your beginning was small, yet your end shall greatly increase.”
Psalms 35:27
“Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yes, let them say continually, ‘Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servants.”
ARE YOU WILLING TO SEE GOOD IN LIFE?
It is one thing for God to have a plan for you, it is another thing for you to enjoy it. To enjoy the plans that God has made, you MUST be WILLING. At Isaiah 1:18-19, God extends an invitation:
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD: … If you are willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.
There is “good in the land…” There is good in Nigeria. Dangote did not become Africa’s richest man by travelling outside Nigeria. Otedola, Innoson, Coscharis (Cosmas Maduka), Mike Adenuga, etcetera all tapped into the fatness that is in Nigeria.
JEREMIAH 29:11 – GOD’S EXPRESSION OF HIS DESIRE AND AN
INVITATION TO KEY INTO HIS PLANS FOR US
At Jeremiah 29:11, God expresses His overall plan for each of us. However, He is not going to stuff this desire down our throats. We have to work to make it happen.
God’s desire is God’s Will. When God expresses a desire, we have to set machineries in motion towards its realization. So, when God says, “I am going to bless you,” you do not just sit down and wait for the blessings to come, you have to work to make that blessing a reality.
At III John verse 2, God says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers.” This expression should set our hearts on fire to ensure that we appropriate God’s Word in our lives.
At II Corinthians 6:1-2, we read that we should partner God to realize His plans for us. It says:
“As co-workers together with God, we beg that you should not receive the grace of God without using it. For He says, ‘I have heard you in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation I have I helped you. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.’”
GOD HAS THE BLUEPRINT OF YOUR FUTURE, BUT YOU ARE THE ARCHITECT OF YOUR OWN DESTINY
What and who you are gifts from God, but what and who you become out of what God gave you is your gift back to God. So, grab the opportunity with both hands and make something for yourself.
God has the blueprint, but you are the architect. God has provided the platform, it is your duty to build on it. II Peter 1:3 says,
“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”
You have the capacity to build the kind of life you desire. Everything is in your hands (Judges 12:3). Here are things you should do:
1. You Have To Be Intentional
I recently saw two t-shirts, one was worn by a Christian brother, the other was worn by a stranger. It says, “The purpose of life is to have a life of purpose.” You have to be intentional.
2. Develop An Excellent Mindset
To make impacts and be recognized, you need an excellent culture backed by an excellent mindset. This was what distinguished Daniel from others when he was in exile. Daniel 6:3 tells us:
“Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”
Let excellence define what you do. When you build a better mouse trap, the world will beat a path to your door.
3. Avoid Salary Mentality
In entrepreneurship, we say that “Salary is a bribe you receive to abandon your personal vision in pursuit of another person’s vision.”
There is nothing wrong in seeking employment, but do not make salary-earning your ultimate goal. Set up your own enterprise. Even though, salary is a good place to start, you must, however, realize that salary does not guarantee wealth. Recently, TESLA’s Board voted to pay Elon Musk one Trillion United States Dollars.
In their book, Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle, Dan Senor and Saul Singer (2011) say that “Israelis do not go to work to earn, they go to work to learn.”
4. Volunteer To Work Under A Master of Your Art
For every Moses there was a Joshua; for every Elijah there was Elisha and for every Paul, there were Timothy and Titus. What did all these people have in common? Mentors and Mentees; Masters and Disciples!
When you are schooled under a Master of your art, you will in turn become a Master. Saul who became Apostle Paul was schooled by a Master, Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) and he became a master himself. Acts 26:24 says:
“And when he spoke, Governor Festus said with a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are beside thyself; too much learning has made you mad.’ ”
5. Develop Capacity and Employ Same
To employ your capital is to commercialize it. In his book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth, T. Harv Eker (2005:10) wrote,
“One of my favourite authors, Stuart Wilde, puts it this way, ‘The key to success is to raise your own energy; when you do, people will be naturally attracted to you. And when they show up, bill ‘em!”
6. Advertise Yourself
You are not in the world to be pitied and served. Your voice is your address. If you do not say, “Here am I” nobody will know where you are and what you can do.
The world is a noisy market place which requires that you go to the rooftop of your environment and shout your way to people’s attention and interests.
Advertising yourself and your art are critical to success in life. Do not sit at home waiting for people to come to you. Go where the people are and let them know what you can do. This is the thrust of what we read of at John 7:1-4:
“After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.”
You cannot be doing
well and not talk about it. Let the world know the stuff you are made of.
CONCLUSION
Do not just go to school, study,
graduate and return to wait for non-existing employment. Truth is, there is no
work. For this reason, you must take your destiny in your own hands by
acquiring a skillset, develop and employ same to work.
Why be an angel when you can become god?
I close with the prayer of the Psalmist in Psalms 20:1-5:
“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high; may He send you help from His sanctuary, and sustain you from Zion. May He remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifices. Selah. May He grant you what your heart desires, and fulfill all your plans. May we shout for joy over your triumph, and in the Name of our God wave our banners; may the Lord fulfill all your petitions.” (Revised Berkeley Version)
May
God bless us all in Jesus’ Name! Amen.
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