THE THREE PRECIOUS STONES: Keys to living a successful life
THE THREE PRECIOUS STONES
Long time ago, there existed a city called the City of Life. This city has so many inhabitants who are into various occupations. In this city, anyone who would be successful had to embark on a journey known as the journey of destiny to a destination called, "the fulfillment of life”. Those who succeeded in this city were those who successfully completed their journey and got to the destination while those who couldn’t embark on the journey or those who started but never got to the destination were regarded as failures.
In this city there lived two friends whose names
were knowledge and ignorance. One day, the two friends, in their quest for success,
made up their minds, and decided to also embark on this journey. So, they got
themselves ready, the following day, and they set out for the great journey.
They
were required to consult a man called wisdom who would enlighten them
about the journey and told them what they would need to get to their
destination. On getting to the house of wisdom, they were wonderfully
entertained and welcomed. They intimated wisdom with their purpose of coming,
and he congratulated them on the decision they had taken to embark on the
journey of destiny. Very quickly, he began to tell them things which they need to know about the journey. He
told them about those who had gone before them and succeeded, and also those
who failed. He, however encouraged them and prayed for them that they would succeed. As they were set to leave, he told them that they would need 3 precious stones
for the journey. The stones were to be gotten from two towns. One would get his
from one town while the other would get his from the other town. The towns were
called the town of youthfulness. Wisdom told them that on getting to the town,
they would meet a lot of young people like themselves but that they should only
chose two of them as friends namely Focus and Seriousness. He also made them to realize the fact they could
only find the stones within their first two days of arrival. They appreciated
wisdom, and continued their journey. The next day, they each went their
different ways to the towns where they would get the stones. On getting to the town, knowledge did as
wisdom instructed and he was able to find the
stones on the first day he got there through the assistance of Focus and
Seriousness which he chose as friends. Ignorance on the other hand never chose the two friends; He rather
made a lot of friends among whom were immorality, laziness, irresponsibility, drunkenness, etc. And as a result, he was unable to find the stones, as the two days within which
the stones could be found were wasted.
On the third day the two of them met again having
left the towns of youthfulness, and they met each other at the border of the
city of life. On getting there, they were to present the precious stones at "the
gate of assessment" but ignorance could not provide any stones. This actually
disqualified him from continuing the journey of destiny which would lead him to
the destination of fulfillment. Knowledge who was however qualified having
presented his own stones was very much unhappy about the fact that his friend could not go
together with him. While he was about to leave, he asked gate keeper what the
stones meant. The gate keeper responded and began to explain to them…
Everyone’s desire in life is to fulfill destiny. Of
course, who would not want to live to fulfill destiny. There is no question about the fact that one's success in life is
tied to the fulfillment of one's destiny. A life that doesn’t fulfill destiny is
no more than a wasted life. And, so if you must be successful in this life, you
must strive to fulfill your destiny in God.
However, it is one thing to desire
to fulfill destiny; it is another thing to know what is required of you to bring
you into the reality of destiny fulfillment. I’ve discovered that three things
are very necessary for you to know before you can get to the fulfillment of
your destiny. The scriptures says that “my people perish for lack of knowledge”
. What you know is very important to your success in life. Men who have made —
and are still making — great impacts in life are men who had access to some
secrets and insights which ushered them into the realm of destiny fulfillment.
Men don’t just rise in life; they do by light. And what is light? Knowledge. Isaiah.
60:1 says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is
risen upon thee.” What makes you to rise and shine is the light that comes to
you. The man job who was reputed as not only being faithful but also having
great and mighty riches, and one who lived in abundance of success and
prosperity during his lifetime said, “As I was in the days of my youth, when
the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;
When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; When I washed my steps with butter, and the
rock poured me out rivers of oil;” — Job 29:4-6. The secrets he knew was what
gave him access into success and prosperity.
I’m going to be teaching you three
basic things you must know if you want to be exceptionally relevant, successful
and to fulfill destiny in life.
1. YOU MUST
KNOW GOD
The very first thing you must do if you really want
to fulfill destiny is to pay the price to know God. Listen, this is not about
religion. It is the real matter. In the journey of destiny knowing God is not
an option but a necessity. You must know God. God himself says in Jer. 9:23,
“Thus saith the Lord , Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let
the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his
riches: But let him that glorieth glory
in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which
exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in
these things I delight, saith the Lord.” . It is not about your riches, wisdom,
intelligence, might or power. No! It’s about knowing God. If all that you pride
yourself in is the amount of money you have in your account or the intellect and
wisdom that you have, you are far from really fulfilling destiny. Because, it’s
not first about you or what you have; it is about God and what he has for you. He
said, let him that glorieth glory that he knows and understands him. If you
don’t know God, Friend, you cannot be relevant to your generation. This is the
greatest secret you must know if you want to go far in life.
Apostle Paul who happened to be the greatest and the
most influential apostle of the early church cried, “That I may know him, and
the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death;” — Philippians 3:10. Having done great exploits for
God, he still cried and sought to know more of God. He knew and understood the
fact that only, “…the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do
exploits.” Daniel 11:32. You can’t do exploits in your generation without
knowing God. It is not enough for you to just be a Christian. You must strive
to know more and more of God. Seek him desperately and passionately.
In case you didn’t know, knowing God, and being
satisfied in him alone is the ultimate essence of our being. There is this
silent hunger for God in all human being. The devil, understanding this silent hunger, commits himself to feeding this hunger with other gods —god of money, god of
unrighteous prosperity, god of materialism, god of immorality, god of power, etc, all in a bid to cut away our attention from the living God. We are designed to
be satisfied in God and not things. Things, no matter how beautiful they are, can
never lead to man’s ultimate satisfaction. King Solomon, the king who was
reputed to have been the richest and wisest king ever ruled in Israel said, “Vanity
of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” —
Ecclesiastes 1:2. Having greatly enjoyed life to the fullest, all he could say was that all is vanity. He knew what it means to be rich, prosperous, famous and powerful, yet, all he could say was that, 'all is vanity' without God. All that we seek in life without God is vanity. They can
never in themselves lead us to the fulfillment of our destinies. They are mere
traps of the devil to keep our focus and attention on the wrong things.
Jesus
Christ our Lord and savior told us what to seek for, “But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you.” — Matthew 6:33. Things can never satisfy. Only him (God) can! You must
know God. But, for you to seek and know God, you must have established a
relationship with him. And, in case you are yet to have a relationship with
him. I beseech you to do that now. He died for you to save you from your sins and
bring you to himself. He loves you so much. Just repent of your sins, believe
in the atoning blood of Jesus to cleanse your sins and save you, confess him
as your Lord and Savior, and begin to live a new life. If you have done that, I wish
to congratulate you. Welcome into the journey of destiny fulfillment.
2. KNOW GOD'S WAYS
Having
know God or while seeking to know God, you must as well strive to know his ways.
The ways of God are the ways of life. "Shew me thy ways, O Lord ; teach me thy
paths.”, cried the psalmist in Psalms 25:4. He sought to know the ways of God for
he knew that was what he needed not only to know God but also to walk in
destiny. His ways are what will guide you in your journey of destiny. Seek to
know his principles, instructions, systems and ways of achieving things. Many people today are suffering from the
consequences of some decisions they took in the past without God. Let your life
be carefully guided by God’s ways and instructions.
The scriptures says, “Trust in the
Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct thy paths.” — Proverbs 3:5-6. Never lean on your own understanding in
life. Depend solely on God and his ways. Many business and marriages have
fallen because they were never divinely guided by God’s ways. As you progress
in life, you would definitely want to take some decisions. Decisions about career,
marriage relationship, finances, academics, location, etc. You don’t just take
decisions on these crucial matters without knowing God’s ways.
The truth of the matter is that,
you might be enticed into following the ways of the world because the world has its own ways. They have their own principles and methods of getting things done. We are admonished not to be conformed to this world - the systems, practices, mindset and modus operandi of the world - but that we should be renewed in our mind. Rom.12:2 They might advise you
to engage in malpractice, walk in unrighteousness, engage in pilfering, looting
public funds, Immorality, etc. But remember that, “There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” — Proverbs 14:12.
These dubious and unrighteous ways, no matter how wonderful and appealing they
night be, will only lead you into destruction. Only the ways of God leads to
life everlasting. Strive to know the ways of God. Understand the principles of
his kingdom and apply them dilligently by faith into your life. They are the keys to life.
The
third thing you need to know for you to fulfill destiny is God’s plan for your
life. Jer. 29:11, God says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,
saith the Lord , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected
end.” — Jeremiah 29:11. You must seek to know God’s plans and purpose for your, for in its fulfillment lies your success. You are not just here to be here. No!
You are here on earth for a reason. You are here to fulfill a purpose. “The
greatest tragedy is not death; it’s a life without purpose”, says Myles Munroe.
You have to discover God’s purpose for your life now. Begin to take
responsibility for your life. Whatever you have been through does not matter;
where you are going is what does! You might have had a worrisome past but you
can always have a beautiful future. This is not the time to play away your life and destiny. Sit down with God and ask him why you are on earth. No
products can be termed successful until it has fulfilled — or it’s fulfilling —
what the manufacturer intended it to fulfill, however efficient it is. You have not succeeded until you
find, discover and fulfill God’s purpose for you life. I don’t care how wise,
intelligent, or affluent you are. If you don’t know God’s plan for your life.
You have not started living.
what necessitated your existence in the first
place is your purpose. So, if you don’t know it let alone fulfilling it, why
then are you living? You are born for a reason. I wonder what else you know if
you don’t know God’s plan and purpose for your life. Martin Luther King Jr
said, “a man who has not found something to die for is not fit live”. If you
have not found what you are created to accomplish, I’m sorry, but you are far
from fulfilling destiny. God’s plan and purpose for your life is the map that
should be guiding your life, and dictating how you live. If you are not living for what God created you to
be living for, what then exactly are you living for?
4. When
I began to realize this in my 100 level days, I
began to understand how meaningful, impactful, beautiful and relevant my
life would be if I know God’s plan for me.Thank God the light of God beamed
upon me in that area. I realized that It’s not about
my course of study but the content of my destiny that determines my success. Many students are greatly
suffering from inferiority complex due to humiliation by friends and
even frustration from their parents or maybe guardian due to their courses of study. I want to tell you today,
don’t look down on yourself. Look up to God and believe in yourself. Your
destiny is greater and bigger than your course of study. Your success in life
is not to be totally determined by the curriculum of 4/5/6 years in the higher
institution.
Strive to know God’s
plans, purpose and will for your life. I assure you that with these three things:
knowing God, knowing God’s ways and knowing God’s will; fulfilling destiny is
inevitable. Don’t waste your life my dear friend. Life is too precious to be
wasted. No! Make maximum and judicious use of your time and life. Don’t waste it
unnecessarily on frivolities. Always remember you are born for a purpose and
you have a destiny. Your generation is waiting earnestly for you to rise. You
are a solution to another person’s problem. Be serious with it now. I mean now!
Pay the price to know God, know his ways and know his plans for your life. Don't be like ignorance who lost his opportunity of finding the three precious stones (knowing God, knowing God's ways and knowing God's plans for his life) in the town of youthfulness. Never waste your time in your youthful days. I've always maintained this philosophy that one's youthful days are one's useful days. Many youth of nowadays are busy wasting their lives with the friends of ignorance: immorality, cyber crimes, cultism, worldliness, etc. Wake up friend and find your own precious stones in the town of youthfulness
i hope you have been really blessed by this message. Please, don't just read it. Digest it and take practical steps on it. Kindly drop your comment in the comment box. You can as well subscribe to this site to receive updates on more articles.
I AM OLAKUNLE ORIMAYE PAUL.
I WRITE. I TEACH. I INSPIRE
WHATSAPP NO: 08100624927
It's indeed message.
ReplyDeleteThanks and God bless.
Amen. Thanks so much for visiting
ReplyDelete