‘Through desire a man, having separated himself seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom’ Proverbs 18:1

Your success in life is not determined by how much labour you exert on your activities; but it is first determined by the amount of time you spend with God on a regular basis. You need to separate yourself from time to time, and seek the God of all wisdom. The scripture says ‘you will intermingle with all wisdom’. Notice that it takes personal desire; you have to purposely set that appointment with God and keep it.

This exercise goes beyond the short time you spend to have your required daily ‘quiet time’ of devotion. This is the time you think through and weigh all life questions with the principles of God’s word. It is the time set aside for prayerful meditative thinking with your regenerated mind! You ask God questions and you listen for His answers.

Daniel and his team were confronted with death because King Nebuchadnezzar had a frightening dream he could not remember (Daniel chapter 2). Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation (v16). The secret which astrologers, magicians and soothsayers could not access was revealed to Daniel.  You will receive answers to all life threatening questions as you spend time with ‘the God in heaven that revealeth secrets’ (v28). You will obtain all the wisdom you need for a fruitful, meaningful and peaceful life, as you invest time with the God of all wisdom. Forever may the Lord bless you, in Jesus name, amen.

The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want….’ The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour’. Proverbs 21: 5, 25

 The desire of the slothful kills him because his hands refuse to labor! You might have two people, both with desires and good ideas, very genuine proposals; the two of them might end up at different points. Imagine that one of them invests time to diligently implement his/her ideas or thoughts while the other does not.

The Bible says the result for the one that implements the ideas will only be plenteousness! As long as you put efforts into your thoughts, desire and ideas, you are destined for the path of plenteous increase, and prosperity. To the one that refuses to labour at the desires and ideas, it is that desire that will kill him because the resulting frustration will lead him to do evil things – he will worry, stress and at the end will not prosper!

I like the Good News Version: “⁵If you plan and work hard, you will have plenty; if you hurry to get rich, you will end up poor. ²⁵If you want too much and are too lazy to work, it could be fatal.” You might have grandeur plans; but if you are too lazy to back it up with hard work, you will end up poor; and that could be fatal! Get your ideas; work at them, and you will prosper, in Jesus name.

 ‘The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold therefore shall he beg in harvest and have nothing’ Proverbs  20:4

When it is cold, it is naturally understandable for a farmer to keep indoors; however the Bible says here that anybody who does not plough because of the cold is a lazy person. I think what God is saying is ‘don’t give excuses for your laziness based on even obvious reasons’.

When you are someone that always finds excuses to give for your inability to accomplish a task, it may look legitimate, but a day will come when your boss will be willing to be understanding with you no more.

You have to make up your mind, no matter what the weather or the situation is like, that you will brace up and do what is expected of you. Determine that in-spite of the obstacles, you will forge ahead. The working environment might not be friendly or conducive; do not look for excuses, but be determined that despite the challenges, you will arise and achieve what is expected of you. As you do this, you will prosper in all your life’s pursuits.

 ‘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.