Have you ever taken time to consider this important question? Life is not just about how long we live but also how well. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the greatest fully authenticated age to which any human has ever lived is 122 years 164 days, by Jeanne Louise Calment of France. But the Bible also contains the record of Methuselah, who died at the age of 969.However, at whatever age you die, the important thing is fulfilment of the purpose for which God created you. Without that, life has no meaning.
Everyone wants to be successful. Success has definitions and various interpretations. But my own understanding of success is simply doing and being what God expects of you. This implies that you must have a relationship with God to enjoy success. You must know what He wants you to do and become. In Joshua 1:8, God said to Joshua, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (NIV). True success comes through carrying out directives from God.
When I have a certain task to perform, I try to do it well, to please God and protect His image and reputation. I like to seek His approval in my work, knowing full well that I am serving Him. If He approves my work, then man has no choice but to approve it also.
I have come across some workers who do their work carelessly and produce bad products. Some do not put their talents and abilities to profitable use. Some want to acquire money, without providing the equivalent service or product. This is fraud. Slothfulness is bad. Proverbs 13:4 says, “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat” (KJV).
Among the sluggard are people who spend so much time in public prayers, fasting, retreats and vigils, like the Pharisees, while neglecting the work they have been given to do. Failure to do what you have been asked to do is disobedience, which attracts curses.
Looking at the universe, it’s obvious that success is inherent in all that God created. For instance, birds are designed to fly; therefore, wings are provided so that they can fly. Seeds have something inside them to make it possible for them to germinate under favourable conditions and grow into seed-bearing fruits. The seed has the in-built ability to reproduce its kind.
Fish is designed to live in water and not on land. I remember how I caught a fish when I was young. I had gone to the stream to fetch water one evening after school. As I approached the stream, I sighted some fish darting, splashing and drifting with the wave, as if they were having a party and some of them were already drunk. I watched with interest, as one of them dashed sharply and landed at the edge. As it made desperate attempts to get back into the stream, I quickly grabbed it and threw it farther away from water. That was the end of that fish because it was not designed to live on land. It had only got itself outside its natural habitat through excessive excitement. Fish outside water is like someone outside the will and purpose of God.
It is interesting how God uses people for special purposes.
To Prophet Jeremiah, God said, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5, NLT).
Do you sometimes ask yourself why God created you? God created man for His glory and pleasure. Isaiah 43:7 says, “…For I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him” (NKJV). When God created man, He gave him dominion over all other works of creation. He wanted man to succeed and give Him glory. However, some people do not succeed because of their own choice. In Deuteronomy 30:19, Moses said to his people, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you, life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (KJV).
