Don't Wait Too Long

Something in human nature tempts us to stay where we’re comfortable. We try to find a plateau, a resting place, where we have comfortable stress and adequate finances, where we have comfortable associations with people without the intimidation of meeting new people and entering strange situations. Of course, all of us need to plateau for a time. We climb and then plateau for assimilation. But once we’ve assimilated what we’ve learned, we climb again. It’s unfortunate when we’ve done out last climb. When we have made our last climb, we are old, whether 40 or 80.

We have been conditioned by society to be careful with risk taking. Unfortunately not taking a risk is risk taking. The bold will always make history. Amerigo vespucci discovered America and it was named after him. He was bold enough to sail into the unknown land mass inhabited by the Red Indians yet convinced all to equated the success to him.By virtue of this, many thoughts of great men have come into mind. I made it my decision a long time ago never to celebrate others and watch my own go untouched. The devil is a liar! Being comfortable with your current achievement is a detriment. Subconsciously we have a mapping of what we term success. What if there was more to your life than what you've been made to believe?

This is where most get it wrong. There is a genie in life that whisks away all the wishes and beliefs a person had if nothing is done about them within a stipulated time. Now you have all your gifts and abilities- your beauty, stature, speech pattern, even your dress sense, this is the time to strike. You are who you are because God deemed it so for your own success. If you wait any longer, the opportunity, anointing, grace, relationship might not be the same. Strike now the rod is hot! Constantly improve yourself and never settle for less than you deserve.All things are yours!

Fat Years

“The seven good kine are seven years and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one”.

“Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt.”

                                                                                                      Genesis 41:26, 29

The dream of Pharaoh represents the graphical description of the two sides of the life. The fat years represents a period in the life of an individual when he has the capacity to do exploits and achieve greatness. It is the time when men reach the prime of anything they are doing. Your “fat years” is the period when your intellect and knowledge are at its utmost best and almost anything is achievable. It is the time of plenty- when the adrenalin surge within you is at its peak. When great walls are scaled and obstacles are easily dealt with. It is the time when we are the crème de la crème and are able to afford all that our heart desires.

It represents the years when we are young, energetic, beautiful or handsome with almost all our dreams within our grasp. It is likely the time when all fame, finances and the females are pursued and conquered. It is also a period when we can make the mistake of assuming that time is on our side. What do most people do in their fat years? It’s a deep question for most people. I write this part particularly thinking of young people and what they do with the time they have. Sadly, not many do much with this period of their time. They only start to change things when it’s too late. At twenty-four I became aware of a truth- that no one really cares except God. That if am going to wait on any to help me, I will fail in life miserably. That what I have can make so much difference and finally that I have time on my hands. With this knowledge in mind, I mapped my life knowing well my fat years will not remain the same. I had done more for my life through the grace of God than what others have contributed.

When I look around, am not sure most heed the wisdom and the advice Joseph gave to Pharaoh concerning the dream he had. Without the wisdom of God, you can’t plan for the day of adversity. They fail bitterly and faint in the day of adversity. Surely when you are caught unawares, there is no strength that can deliver you.

Samson an anointed judge of Israel spent the entirety of his life living exactly the opposite of what God had planned for his life. Am not sure if he underestimated the prophetic word or his gift made him think he was invincible?  He spent his fat years disregarding the power and the voice of God. He wasted it feeding his passion with the desires of the flesh until the day of reckoning.

He loved strange women not of the commonwealth of Israel. He lacked the ability to control his temper. He married strange women against the wishes of his parents. Delilah became the final one to destroy him. He gave away the secret of his strength to Delilah and the rest was disaster. He had his hair cut thereby rendering him weak, his eyes were gouge out and was made a prisoner grinding at the mill. He wasted his years on that which never profited him.

The fat years represents a great opportunity in any person’s life. For those who have wasted their fat years, take heart because we are admonished God gives strength to the weak and those who don’t have any, He increases their strength. The slothful in Proverbs is a typical example of an individual who refused to do anything regarding his life in the fat years and lived to learn the hard way. We need to prepare against the evil day by making use of our fat years now. 

God’s Breath

He had wealth in the natural but had forgotten that which was needful for his soul. Money became his god and his world revolved around his wealth. He was wise in understanding FSTE INDEX’s, NASDAQ’s, DOW JONES’, CAC’s and the NIKKEI’s of his time but very little of his salvation. He perhaps understood commerce more than his contemporaries. He forgot to lay his treasures in a place where moth cannot eat. Maybe halve of his wealth was spent in researching the alchemy of youthfulness. He had so much that he believed it was by dint of his hard work. His conceit spread beyond into thinking he will live forever. His connections in the corridors of power spread to world leaders.

He was the patron of several charities because like many modernist, he was raised to believe that through good works, one could go to heaven. Absolute gibberish!! Good works alone will not give one salvation. I don’t know how he died- may be in his sleep, contracted a disease, through an accident, or assassination but eventually, death who cannot be bribed, caught up with him. We are told he found himself in hell. This probably sums up the life of the rich man Jesus spoke of in his parable.

He was the underclass and the less privileged of society. He had been reduced to a mere beggar. I am not sure how this happened but maybe he failed to believe totally in the principles of the bible regarding prosperity. May be he failed to get sponsorship to study in university to attain a degree etc. He was really foolish about life in this world and how to prosper in it to attain balance. He never had any connections of any significance, except maybe the equally poor people whom he surrounded himself with.

He had sores all over his body signifying he might have contracted a disease and had no money to get medical attention. His daily bread was from the crumbs that fell off the table of the rich man. He had wishes which were never fulfilled as the days went by. Yet he was smart when it came to his choice of who to believe in- God. He chose to fear and serve the Lord despite his state of being. He also died and went the way all men go when your time is up. He died and was carried by angels into the bosom of father Abraham. His name is Lazarus the poor man Jesus spoke of in his parable.

Funny enough, they were all sons of Abraham. There in hell, the rich man lifted his eyes and saw Lazarus enjoying in the bosom of Abraham. Still with the mentality of being superior, he requested that Lazarus dipped his hands in water to quench his thirst but Abraham told him it was impossible because of the chasm between them. He had rejected the greatest wealth: salvation of his soul to pursue earthly possession. Lazarus on the other hand, had chosen that which was good; eternal life. He had redeemed the time here on earth. The rich man requested a second chance to preach to his brothers about salvation but was also turned down because the laws regarding life and death will not permit that.

People have made themselves gods and act like they have the power to bribe death. They behave as if the breath in them will be there forever. In these times, we are inundated with anti-ageing creams and Botox injections to project a sense of agelessness. The foolishness of this confusion is that, people easily forget that whatever God pronounced in the Garden of Eden has and is being witnessed everyday people are buried. The breath you have was given to you by God and nothing will change His mind when he is ready to take it away. You will answer so be wise with it

It's Your Season

“And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”
                                                                                                                                         1 Sam 17:10-11

For forty days and forty nights this nine foot giant Goliath, a bigger and powerful professional warrior laid out a challenge. He wanted a winner take it all battle between himself and Israel greatest warrior. None had what it took to face him. King Saul had sinned against God who raised him to be the captain of his people. He had spared Agag and the fat of the rams when he was specifically told to destroy. He had lost the charisma which beforehand caused him to rally the people to battle against the Ammonites at Jabesh-gilead.

Fear instead of boldness had taken him over. His days were now over and was just a stooge hanging in there for the man whom God had chosen in his stead. David a lowly shepherd boy answered his challenge. Goliath must have been disappointed when the” man” he requested turned out to be a boy. Not much is heard of David after being anointed by the Prophet Samuel. It was at the insistence of his father to take some food to his brothers at the war front that brought him face to face with this destiny. It is interesting how God uses situations to glorify himself and elevate a man to become an icon of people’s admiration. The situation allowed him to have a first-hand experience of what he was born to deal with- He was born to kill giants!

The prospect of being married off to the king’s daughter and exempted from taxes, stirred within him the desire to challenge and fight Goliath. David had to deal with the malice and animosity his brothers had for him before matching forward onto victory. They must have been angry and jealous because he had been anointed by the prophet Samuel over them. The idea of David being anointed a king and not being any of the legitimate children of Jesse was disturbing to them. Theologically it is believed David’s mother was a gentile and the prospect of the son of a gentile ruling over them was not acceptable.

None of Eliab’s’ accusations had no substance. The devil used him to try and deter the young man from understanding that his season had come and the war was to define his purpose. David was attacked for leaving “the few sheep” without care in the wilderness. Like Bartimaeus who many shouted down, his brother wanted him to remain a shepherd.

In your season, there are people who would want you to be stuck where you are and never move on. They don’t expect you to rise to the challenge and amount to anything. Sometimes we accept the “few” as our destiny. You should be aware by now that you can never rise beyond what your mind and your Spirit accept. If you accept your current situation, nothing can free you. But when you dare question its audacity and authenticity, the relevance of your essence is revealed and with this comes the power to be an achiever. Go for it!