Success does not come easily no matter how sincere, hardworking, and diligent you are.
Patience, loneliness and endurance will be your companions on your journey to become successful.
It is in fairy tales that people become rich instantly. In real life the road is hard and lonely. In fairy tales, good luck comes around in the form of a fairy who makes things work out easily and smoothly when people despise you.
However, in real life, the road to success is hard. It takes a conscious effort and determination to attain success. Sincerity alone does not guarantee success. That is why many people with sincere motives do not get to the finishing point on their journey to success.
People see only the negative and think you cannot achieve what you set your mind on.
While I was doing research on success and failure, I read a statement on the internet. The statement did not add the source. It stated that “a successful businessman was asked, ‘How have you done so much in your lifetime?’ He replied, ‘I grow great by dreams. I turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do. Then I went to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night I dreamed about my dreams. And when I awoke in the morning, I saw a way to make my dreams come true. While other people were saying, ‘You can’t do that, it is impossible’, I was well on my way to achieving what I wanted.” (Emphasis mine.)
That is what people go through to achieve success. People may not see how you can achieve your vision. You and God are the only ones who know how you really feel about the vision. And only Jesus can tell if you will succeed or not. If God believes in you then press on and God will take you through.
God told Gideon, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites,” (Judges 6:14). People may not have rated Gideon highly. However, God knew that Gideon was the one he would use to save Israel. Even Gideon himself did not think he was the right person to save Israel, and gave excuses, (Judges 6:36-40). But God used him to save Israel.
Joseph was 17 years old when he announced that he dreamed he was destined to be a leader, (Genesis 37:1-11). His family found it hard to believe him. But God used him to save the world (including his family). God called Abraham when he was 75 years old (Genesis 12:1-4), and Moses had the vision that propelled him to his leadership role at 80, (Exodus 7:7).
God sees what people don’t see.
Some of the disciples of Jesus did not attain higher education, yet Jesus believed in them. And God used them mightily to confound the so-called learned and popular people, (Acts 4:13-19).
When we read these accounts in the Bible, we accept them as true. We believe that they are possible because God is involved. Yet we find it difficult to believe and accept them when we are in similar situations and when they are happening to people we know. We find it hard to believe that what happened in the Bible can happen to us in our day. Yet it is the same God that we serve.
Jesus is with you on your journey to success. His invisible hands are directing your steps as you take each step, (Isaiah 30:21). Just don’t give up. Even if it takes longer than you expected.
Moses, fearing for his life, escaped to Midian. He was adopted by Jethro’s family and married his daughter. However, God still had him in mind. Forty years passed, then God suddenly appeared to Moses one day and said he had chosen Moses to lead the Children of Israel out of bondage.
Joseph went through thirteen years of slavery, including imprisonment. But he was the one God chose to save the world from famine, including his own family who could not believe him when he told them of his dreams.
David was regarded as a shepherd. His brothers were enlisted in the king’s army, but he was sent to look after the sheep. Yet he was the one God chose to save Israel from Goliath and the Philistines.
Jesus is your helper. Those who believe in God do not get disappointed. He provides support and guidance for people who believe in him. Though the road will be hard and rough to travel on, God will always be beside you to lead you gradually to your goal.
It is a lonely road, but God will be your companion in your journey.
With Jesus by your side, nothing will be impossible for you to achieve.
In Mark 10:27 Jesus said,
“With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” (NKJV)
As a young Christian, I heard people saying, “If by 45 you have not made it in life then forget it because you will not make it.”
I believed them until I studied the Bible deeper and read the accounts of successful people, including Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, who became successful after he had gone into formal retirement.
Age is not a barrier to you if you are determined to become successful. In old age, your strength will not be as when you were young. And some people, observing that they have advanced in age, think they might die soon. So, they become discouraged.
Life does not begin at 45 as people say. Life begins when you decide. Moses was 80 when his ministry started, and he lived forty more years and led a whole nation.
If you have faith in God, and you believe in yourself, you can achieve your vision even at an advanced age. You may also live longer if you take care of yourself and maintain a healthy diet.
You are also not too young to achieve success. I mentioned Joseph earlier. He was only 17 when he dreamed of becoming a great person. After 13 years of challenges, Joseph became second to the ruler of Egypt. He was taken out of prison and made the vice Emperor of Egypt at age 30.
People may despise you and leave you behind. But don’t give up. Keep on running until you reach the goal.
The Cushite might have felt lonely and discouraged after Ahimaaz passed him. Joab had chosen him over Ahimaaz, a faster runner than the Cushite. However, Joab later allowed Ahimaaz to also run with the message. And though the Cushite took off first, Ahimaaz, being a faster runner, passed him.
How did the Cushite feel when Ahimaaz passed him? What kept the Cushite running still? He knew that Ahimaaz would reach King David first and give him the message he was also carrying. So, why was he still running? It turned out that though Ahimaaz reached the King first, and delivered the message, there was something special that only the Cushite could provide.
Winners win because even when discouraged they keep running. They know there are disappointments along the way. They know they may not get all the help they need.
But they believe in themselves, and they have faith in God.
Though they may find themselves in hostile environments, (or situations), they do not lose their composure. They maintain their confidence, and they do not react negatively or violently.
They go to bed thinking of success. And when they sleep, they dream of success.
They feed their minds with ideas of success. They train their minds to focus on success. They renew their minds daily and adapt to positive mentality and actions.
Their minds are transformed to accept only success and not failure. They may fail or fall. But they know it is temporary, and they will rise and continue running.
They are transforming themselves into new personalities daily. They do not conform to the world… they allow God’s Spirit to change them and adapt to God’s ways (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-32).
Aim to prove skeptics wrong.
Do not be angry when things don’t go the way you expect. Correct the mistakes and move on.
People may not see you as a winner. However, you can prove them wrong.
