“There is a divine finger behind whatever is going on in your life right now. If you don’t understand this, you will mess things up for yourself.” That’s not my message anyway, but I needed you to understand that God works all things together for your good. He is not interested in making your life miserable. It is not his plan. Never has it been, neither can he start now. Whatever he is doing now, is definitely for your own good. But wisdom is the secret to understanding this.
I discovered recently that there is an eternal purpose that God has, which he already accomplished through Christ Jesus (in his birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and then the outpouring of the Holy Spirit). Yet God has a present purpose in mind which underlies everything happening now. This present purpose is God working thru the Church to accomplish certain things on this earth –and most of it is going to be through young persons like you and I.[more…]
In this edition of Living Letters, I want to show you just three of these how-to’s to acquiring more brains. I believe it’s going to help your life, especially now that you’re young.
A preacher once said, “If the axe is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must exert more strength; but wisdom brings success.” Paraphrasing it, he is saying, “The duller the axe the harder the work; Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.” (Eccl 10:10)
Physical exertion of strength and energy, generally known as hard-work in Africa, is actually a product of little wisdom. You don’t have to join that crowd. Wisdom prepares the way for success. It gives you winning advantage where others are struggling to make things happen.
Even in the church, we have been taught to believe that being a Christian is a ‘spirit-spirit’ thing, so we surrender our hearts to Jesus Christ, and then shut down our mental capacities to think, create, and solve natural challenges. But the truth is that being born again imparts to you the supernatural mind of Christ, which empowers you to be more mentally productive.
Leadership effectiveness requires plenty of wisdom. This is why Proverbs 8:15 says, “By wisdom kings reign, and rulers decree justice.” As a young leader, it is important you have a breadth of wisdom to match your leadership calling and LifeTask.
I recently read, “An expensive weave-on can never cover the effects of a cheap brain.” That’s sarcastic, yet true.
Someone said he wonders if our generation is born with expired brains. That is because the little exposure that our grandparents had, brought creative innovations to their living and lifestyle. But our generation seems to be getting deeper into backwardness. We seem to rely heavily on what has been done before now with no improvement of any kind. Anyway some of us have vowed to be different, and I believe you are one of us.
ENERGIZE & STRENGHTEN YOUR MIND TO EXPAND BEYOND LIMITS
Nothing really can be compared to a functional mind.
I believe reading and studying helps you expand your mind, and expanding your mind quells your stinking-thinking.
In case you need to know, “Schooling is not a system to distribute, collect or store information by a given course of knowledge. Rather it is a system to inform, inspire and reform man to become resourceful, creative and productive in his given course of life,” says Samson Adah Paul.
“If the Bible is just all that you read, you might end up being poor,” says my mentor, Victor Atokolo. That is to say that there are several things that God has put in print for you through other men which until you read you won’t understand, even though they are in the Bible.
Before 25 years of age, you learn to read, but after 25 you read to learn. This is because your life is entirely in your hands, and your breath of knowledge is what determines how productive you make this phase of your life.
EMULATE: FOLLOW AFTER SOMEONE
“Life happens fast! Sadly, there are no rewind buttons: only play,” says Kunle Soriyan. As young adults, we tend to make mistakes because of our explorative approach to life. What we don’t know is that we can only be young once. There is no second chance!
It is now that you are young that you can learn the best way to approach life. And that is what mentors do for you. You don’t have to struggle your way thru, your mentor(s) can show you how best to wade thru life.
There is a volume of wisdom that can be passed down to you if you will bend down to learn from mentors. In this world, especially under the sun, there is nothing that is completely new in itself. Every innovation is a re-invention of an old idea. Mentors have been there before you, and they can show what worked and what didn’t work for them, because you either win or you learn, there is no failure involved.
What you may not know is that when you have a mentor, you have access to their network of colleagues and acquaintances. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself learning new things and meeting new people who can help take you to new levels of success and fulfilment. By simply observing the type of people your mentor associates with will help inspire you and guide you as you choose new friends. Make up your mind today!
EDIFY YOUR SPIRIT
Nothing can be compared to a functional mind, yet nothing also can be compared to a well-built spirit-man. I discovered some times back, that the mind is the seat of wisdom, the centre of innovation and creativity. I also discovered that a man’s spirit and his mind work hand-in-hand to mine wisdom and to apply it effectively which makes me want to show you the spirit side of wisdom.
Let me not assume, I know that not everyone that is reading this speaks in tongues. But if you do, whenever you are speaking in tongues, whether in prayer or just to yourself, what you are doing is to dig the wells of wisdom. How do I know this? A proverb says, “Wisdom in the heart [spirit] of a man is like deep waters, but a man of understanding [mind] draws it out.”
James wrote, “If you lack wisdom, why don’t you ask God who doesn’t withhold anything from His own?” (James 1:5). And Paul adds, “Anyone who prays in an unknown tongue not only edifies himself but speaks mysteries [which are hidden wisdom] to God, and not to men.” The surprising thing is that in Jeremiah God said, “Call unto me and I will answer, and I will show you great and mighty [mysterious] things which you previously don’t know of.”
The question is, what are these things? The answer is: Wisdom communicated in words un-understandable to the normal mind (1 Cor. 2:6-15). These words become processed either as pictures or words and come out of our mouth as wisdom from God. Wow! That is big. Think on it.
Friend, make the leap from where you are today to a more powerful and purposeful future. Acquire more brains. You won’t ever regret doing so.
I am your friend,
Dayo Samuel, Lead Facilitator, Young & Strong …redefining youthfulness, raising next-gen leaders
(Extracted from my forthcoming book: E10:10 – How to Acquire More Brains)
