‘A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men’. Proverbs 18:16 NKJV

Make the most of the opportunity coming your way today; it will lead you to your promotion. Determine that you will work hard on your gifts. It is when your gifting is tapped to the maximum that you will experience elevation and publicity where it matters.

You might have gifts, but when the opportunity comes for you to exercise your gifting and you are lazy, it is a disadvantage. So, be on the watch, seize your opportunity when presents itself.

It is when people observe how good you are at what you do that the promotion will come. It is when they see your consistent hard work that the opportunity for consideration for promotion will come. Lifting does not drop on someone’s laps without them going out there and doing something.

It is from the observation of the little you currently do, that the potential of your greatness will be seen; then you will continue to grow. ‘He who is faithful in little, is already judged faithful in much’! (Luke 16:10) This is the wisdom today; make the most of the opportunity in front of you today, it will lead to your greater tomorrow. May God bless you and grant you great success as you face your day, in Jesus name, amen.

 ‘He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster’ Proverbs 18:9

Many people have lost opportunities before and they regret it. But instead of regret, we only need to make a decision to change and never waste opportunities again – do not live in the regret and loss. However, slothfulness or laziness will lead to a wasted opportunity; time lost can never be regained.

So whether you are self-employed or an employee in a company, make up your mind not to be slothful. As a matter of fact, any employer should not keep a lazy person at work, because they are actually great wasters! If you have ideas, or thoughts, or great capacity and you are slothful, then you are wasting God’s resources.

The way you maximize the little opportunity God has presented to you where you are is what matters. This is our decision today; I will bend down and work on the ideas and opportunities available to me and will not be lazy. Otherwise you will equal someone who is wasting divine resources. May God prosper you in all you do, in Jesus name.

‘Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.’ Proverbs 13:11

 We’ve been studying about diligence as an attitude and lifestyle. You need to work hard with clear principles. Some people work hard in deceit, while others work and labour hard in truthfulness. You need to work hard with clear a principle of truthfulness.

‘He that gathers by labour shall increase.’ No matter what you do, one thing is certain, if you are working consistently hard at your job, you are bound to increase. However, if anyone is doing business with deceit, he might increase for now, but the Bible says it will diminish.

So, while we emphasize diligent attitude, make sure that you balance it with a right frame of mind that your labour must be based on truthfulness. You can be rest assured that when you gather wealth by truthfulness and hard work, it leads to sustainable increase. If your truthful hard work today does not seem to amount to much, do not worry. A little addition each day will eventually add up. Don’t be in a hurry to amass wealth unjustly overnight. Otherwise it will diminish. What will certainly increase is the wealth that you gather by truthful labour. 

Don’t be ashamed to work hard at what you are doing; just be consistent in your hard work. The little increase of each day will add up, and tomorrow you will be the happier for it. This is our decision today; labour consistently in truthfulness and you will be sustained in wealth. God bless your day.

Work hard, and you will be a leader; be lazy, and you will end up a slave. (CEV)

The slothful man does catch his game or roast it once he kills it, but the diligent man gets precious possessions. (Amp) Proverbs 12: 24 & 27

 If we can imbibe what the Bible teaches regarding a life style of diligence each family will prosper, the community will prosper and the nation will be built up.

You will find that the heaven is so wide; the birds don’t collide! Many times when you find a man that complains that he is not in leadership, it could be because he has misused the opportunities he once had. But since you are still alive today, there is still another opportunity for you to build a future for yourself and fulfil your destiny. One way to do that is to be diligent in what you do.  A man that is diligent, it does not matter what he does, will rise to the top.

The Bible says ‘he will stand before kings, not before mean men’. Consider verse 27 again, imagine a slothful man; he goes to hunting but is too lazy to roast what he brought home! He seem to make some attempts, but he has not the consistency and determination to see it through! Are you like that, with the many opportunities at your disposal? Why would you be so lazy and loose the opportunities to do great things for yourself, your family and the community? Wake up! The substance of a diligent man is precious. May God bless you as you renew your commitment to walking in diligence today.

‘How long will you lie there doing nothing at all? When are you going to get up and stop sleeping? Sleep a little. Doze a little. Fold your hands and twiddle your thumbs. Suddenly, everything is gone, as though it had been taken by an armed robber.’ Proverbs 6:9-11 CEV

When lack pursues a man that does not have, it does so like an armed robber, very violent! When a man that does not have realizes his state of lack, he becomes frustrated. Often times, too much sleep leads to poverty. Don’t let too much sleep hinder you from tilling your ground and from maximizing your potential. For how long would you sleep?

Wake up to your responsibilities. You need to wake up from your slumber and think through on the dreams that God has given to you. You have told many people that you have ideas, but nobody can see it effected, you need to wake up to implement your ideas. For how long would you remain in the state of stupor? Wake up. If you sleep for too long; it will lead you to poverty. If you lie down doing nothing, you are indirectly sleeping!

Poverty brings a sense of regrets, and this can lead to a frustrated destiny. Do not delay any further. Right now, take some time to think through on all the ideas that God has given you before, write them down, and review the ones you wrote before. Determine the plan of action for the implementation, trust the Lord to lead you, follow Him in faith, and mountain will melt before you like wax before fire. This is your day of fresh grace. May God give you wisdom and understanding!

‘He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding’. Proverbs 12:11

You would notice the following points from today’s scripture:

It is a different thing to have a land and to till the land; it is a different thing to be gifted and to work hard at your gifting. It is one thing to have a job and it is another thing to work your job. It is something to have an idea and it is another to maximize the thoughts that God has given to you.

Look at that scripture again: ‘he that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread’. So, it is only the person that works on his gifting that will have bread. Anywhere in the Bible you find the word bread; it talks of wealth, money, abundance, etc. So, if you don’t work hard on the gifting, the opportunities or the provisions that God has given to you, you won’t have wealth.

Do you want to be wealthy? Till your ground! Go to school and study, go to work and work hard at your job. Let the ideas in your head be put on paper; then be stimulated to work on them. When the results come, it will turn to bread for you and for as many as are aquatinted with you.  Don’t fool around at your workplace today, work; and as you do so, the Lord will prosper you and make your day fruitful. This is wisdom for life.

 ‘He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich’ Pr. 10:4 NKJV

The question to ask from ourselves today is this: Do you want to be rich? Then be diligent. If you deal with a slack hand, the Bible says you will become poor.

The lesson here is ‘…don’t envy a wealthy man if you are a lazy person.’ If you have a job right now, work diligently as if you are the owner of the company. The owner will be happy for your work attitude and in response, you will be promoted – isn’t that a win-win situation? The Bible says ‘…he that gathers in summer is a wise son… (verse 5);’ so do your work on-time and do not delay assignments.  As you go to work today, determine that you will not procrastinate on any assignment you are given. If you are fond of procrastinating, you have to pray that God will help you overcome this lifestyle while you determine to make necessary changes.

We can make the following conclusions from our study today: He that wants to be poor would work like a lazy person, but he that wants to be rich should work diligently. May God bless and prosper your ways today, in Jesus name.

“There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise: The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer. The rock badgers are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags. The locusts have no king, yet they are all advance in ranks. The spider skilfully grasps with its hands, and it is in kings’ palaces” Proverbs 30:24-28 NKJV

If you could spend some time to study these four verses of scripture in as many translations as you can lay your hands upon, including probably the Bible in your local language; you will come to understand that your circumstances are not enough to limit your achievements and rising in life.

Imagine how frail the ants are, yet they succeed in storing up in summer all the food they will need in winter; I wonder at their wisdom (Proverbs 6:6-8). The conies seem to be weak, yet they make their homes among the rocks! Locusts have no king, yet they go forward in formation – I wonder how they do that! Also, lizards and spiders which you can easily hold in your hands sneaks past vigilant royal guards to dwell in palaces! God has given each of these four small creatures the wisdom and inherent abilities to survive in different life situations despite how feeble they are; the wonderworks of God!

If you would look inward, and lift your heart unto God for wisdom, you will receive the light you need to come out of every predicament of life. ‘…Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows (Luke 12:7).’  This year is a fresh opportunity from God to you; take it with wisdom.

“One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones, and then passed the vineyard of a lout; they were overgrown with weeds, thick with thistles, all the fences broken down. I took a long look and pondered what I saw; the fields preached me a sermon and I listened: ‘A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back take it easy – do you know what come next? Just this: You can look forward to dirt-poor life, with poverty as your permanent houseguest!” Proverbs 24:30 – 34 MSG

A lazy man does not have understanding. Whatever ideas you might have; however great a potential you possess; without diligent hard work, it cannot come to fruition. However great a plan you might have received of the Lord and properly written out, if you do not arise and diligently execute them, there can be no beauty and prosperity.

You might succeed to plant a vast field of grain and you built a barn of stones, all well laid out; without a lifestyle of sustained disciplined and diligence, everything will waste away with time.

Diligence is simply ‘you consistently daily working on your field.’ Do not procrastinate, do not be slack. Work at the time of work and sleep at the time of sleep. This is wisdom. Otherwise, it would ‘suddenly’ dawn on you that you have wasted your opportunity and you have become a permanent host of poverty, ensnared by its nuisance. Please do not be lazy. Take time to think right now and make necessary adjustments in your lifestyle.

 “First plant your fields; then build your barn” Proverbs 24:27

This is wisdom. Do the 1st things 1st. Let your priorities be right. A farmer will only need the barn to keep the harvest. He will have crop to harvest only if he had planted! Get a clear plan before you begin to build. Take care of your own home before you can have strength to care for others. This is the principle we see here; and it is good to apply it at this early part of the year.

So, take time to think about your life. For example, it might be wise for you to sit for one more professional exam and pass it before you apply for the next position. Sow your bountiful seed, and then expect the plentiful harvest. There is a time in life that you work hard and invest; later in life you expect dividends. Notice the word ‘fields’; plant your fields. Ask God to show you the different aspects that you can invest in, and then take the necessary action. When it is harvest time, your barn will certainly be full to overflow.

Amplified version puts the verse this way: ‘[Put first things first.] Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field; and afterwards build your house and establish a home.’ I believe this is some dimension of wisdom for single people to consider when planning for their future.

May you walk in divine wisdom in every aspect of your life this year, in Jesus name; have a great day.