…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose” Philippians 2:13
I watched a documentary recently on the residence of the late M.K.O Abiola and the state of disrepair and abandonment that had befallen what was, in the owner’s lifetime, a multi-million-dollar edifice that literally “disgraced money”. Today, not even his children go or live there. If you live in the city of Ibadan, look for and visit the edifice known as “Ile Adebisi”. Located in Idi Ikan in the city’s interior, the 99-room edifice was constructed in a la mode Brazilian architecture in 1927. History has it that Adebisi was so rich that he paid taxes for the whole of Ibadan at one time! If you go there today and what you see doesn’t sober you up, nothing else will temper your vanity.
The value of your life is never measured by the houses you built or the monuments you erected to pure vanity. Not in the accolades, titles, or awards, as good as those may be. Neither is it measured by the various titles you acquired because of a distorted sense of identity and self-worth. Achievements are good. But every achievement, accolade, title, acquisition and other things that only served the ego and impressed society while a man lived, will be buried inside the dash that is between the date of his birth and the date of his death. The story of a meaningful life is woven around the indelible moments that those who have an encounter with you can recall when you are gone. It is written in your faithfulness to what your Maker created you to become and to do, not in the monuments erected by you, for you or what you do like others. This is why there must be SPECIFICITY and CLARITY to your life.
You were not created to compete or impress, but to impact. To attain desired outcomes and make the required impact, any assignment that will make a difference in your generation and beyond it must have certain things featuring around it. As a firm believer in the creation account in the Bible, I will share some of those things that we see in the lives of our first parents, Adam and Eve.
The first is EMPOWERMENT. “And God blessed them…” The blessing is the primary empowerment required to carry out the assignment. It is the real power of execution, and God pronounced the blessing before pronouncing the assignment. The blessing is the guarantee of victory over any opposition. It provides the thrust that pierces through the wind of adversity. To the Christian, that empowerment is first and foremost the gift of God’s Spirit.
You are God’s delegate to generations. You are a dispenser of God’s grace in a dimension peculiar to you, and which makes you who you are and why you do most of the things you do. You were sent here as God’s diplomat to planet earth.
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No ambassador can function without the power of execution granted to him by his sending country. The authority of an ambassador is in the credentials he receives on his being sent to the country of function. On arrival at the destination, he presents them to the host country’s highest authority and immediately begins to enjoy diplomatic cover and the power to function with the full powers of his home government, with his every action or statement taken to represent that of the sending country. Whatever endowment God has given to you to function, talent, resources, relationships, education, money, etc, it was never meant just for you. It was given to empower you to achieve what He designed you to achieve on earth on His behalf. When you know that, you will be very intentional about your life.
Power is given for FUNCTION, not for amusement or ego trips. Every true blessing comes with corresponding RESPONSIBILITY. As I indicated last week, responsibility is the price of true liberty
The second is an ENABLING ENVIRONMENT . Geography affects function. God is universal but not every assignment is meant for every location.
But beyond geography, an enabling environment is an atmosphere. Adam was placed in an environment, a garden called Eden. Eden means “delight”, or “pleasure”. It is an environment that facilitates function. It is the “field which the Lord has blessed”. Instead of praying for God to bless your business, ask Him to lead you to a business or vocation He has already blessed. It is the exit key from a life of meaningless toil.
You don’t create it. It predates your making and your assignment. It is, however, tailored to both. It is created by the One who gave the assignment. But like any garden, you have responsibility for its cultivation.
Every garden reflects the character of the gardener. A gardener must therefore be deliberate to ensure that he does not permit anything he did not deliberately plant to grow in his garden. He works as a calling, not as a chore, cutting off some things, rooting out some, planting some, and trimming some, just so that the esthetic quality of the garden would reflect him to all who see it.
Be intentional about what you allow in the garden of your life. Cultivate it intentionally with the consciousness of a desired outcome that will honour God and serve people, not social media frenzy.
Then you have EVEs. Every assignment requires enablers to move it to the next level. Eve was not necessary until Adam was very busy. She was PRIMARILY sent as a helper, not a baby-producing machine. So, Eve is the metaphor for HELP when the task becomes daunting.
You have exhausted your financial capacity in the pursuit of an assignment. You have got to a point where a certain expertise you lack is needed. You need help.
The teacher shows up when the student is ready. Note that the one called to help you can definitely not be inferior to you. Your helper has or knows something you don’t. Otherwise, they don’t qualify to be called “a helper, SUITABLE” for you.
Sex is overrated. Never seek a wife until you are pursuing an assignment. If sex is all that sustains a relationship, the wine will soon run out.
Never ask God to give you a husband. Ask Him to give you a project on two feet, someone whose weaknesses can be swallowed up in your strengths. It is the woman’s nature to nurture. You cannot be a man’s liability when you were meant to be his treasure. Being a wife is not about being a leech who simply collects and consumes in the name of being provided for! A helper brings value to the table.
Nobody succeeds ALONE. Even God doesn’t work alone. Jesus needed disciples.
We were created for relationships. No idea flourishes all by itself. Nothing in creation adds value to itself beyond its original form without some external input. Your wisdom is limited.
Be deliberate about cultivating relationships around your assignment, and you will never be short of helpers. Never be ashamed to ask for help. Someone somewhere has what you need.
Your loftiest aspiration now is already someone’s current reality… continued
Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!
and then