“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying hitherto hath the Lord helped us” 1 Samuel 7:12 (KJV).
Behind the making of every man is the help of the Lord. There is no self made man anywhere, even though most people do not attribute their success to God. They ascribe their victory, success and riches to their human efforts and skills. Even the serious issues of death and long life is often attributed by some people to their carefulness, nutritional skills sound medical scheme and human expertise. Others still attribute their wealth and successes to hard work, religious folks attribute success and wealth to the fasting, prayers, sacrifice, commitment and spirituality. What these people fail to understand is that it is not of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy (Rom. 9:16).
There is no self-made man anywhere. All our skills, hard work, talents and intelligence will amount to nothing without the blessings of the Lord. It is the hand of God in all human pursuit and endeavours that makes the difference. It is not by human power nor by human might but by the spirit of God (Zechariah 4:6). We must come to the point of realization that it is “not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”- 2 Corinthians 3:5 (KJV).
There is nothing we have that we have not received, even the very air we breathe and the very life we live are from God. Every day of our life is a gift from God and so we have nothing to boast of only to lift our hands and our voices in appreciation and thanksgiving to God who enables us.
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all”– Ecclesiastes 9:11 (KJV). That someone is hardworking is not a guarantee that he will be rich. The God factor cannot be ignored in any life’s pursuit if meaningful success and lasting rise to greatness can be achieved.
Prayer: Oh Lord, help me to always acknowledge your help in all my life’s endeavour.
Rev. Vincent Diolu