What is the Work of God?

I am sure this article will provoke deep reflections in some of my readers as I share my opinion on the “Work of God.” What is the Work of God? So many Christians think that the Work of God is the voluntary responsibilities one takes in a church. Permit me to show you that the Work of God is more than that.

The Work of God is anything you do to improve the lives of those made in the image of God i.e. fellow human beings. It is not limited to the service you render in a church. Remember that you cannot see God, but you can see human beings made in His image. You cannot be active in your church but not active in society or at least your neighborhood. [Yes, I agree that the church is a part of society, but your talents, ideas, and efforts are needed more in the larger society.]

The Work of God is what a driver does when he drives his/her passengers carefully without recklessly cutting their destines short in an accident. It is what an evaluation professional does when s/he helps to evaluate the impact of an intervention on the lives of the beneficiaries made in the image of God. It is the work of God that a teacher does by teaching pupils diligently thereby helping them shape their future. It is what a nurse does when s/he cares for sick patients till they recover their fitness. It the work of God that a pilot does when s/he takes a plane carrying human beings made in the image of God and grants them safe landing. It is the work of God when a banker helps his/her clients to make profitable investments to avoid poverty. These are examples of what it means to Work for God.

To make your life count, you must see your work/job as the Work of God. Render your services with godliness and sincerity of heart, and God in heaven will be smiling because you are doing His Work.

Regards,

Taiwo Adesoba. Tennessee, USA

Procrastination: Over-confidence or Diffidence?

A major cause of setback for many people is procrastination. This means putting off what you should do right now till later time or postponing a task until a “more convenient” time. It is important to realize that there is no “convenient time” for an urgent and important task than now. Moreover, most of the activities we procrastinate are those that can be completed in a time shorter, very much shorter than estimated in our minds. What drives me crazy about procrastination is the emotional troubles and guilt that come with it. I have categorized the causes of procrastination into two:

1. Over-confidence: This means you believe that oh this is a small task and I can accomplish it within a few minutes when I am ready or when I feel like. This attitude suggests that we underrate the task and do not give consideration to the potential intricacies inherent in the task. I have done this several times, only to find out that there is more to this “little” task than I thought.
2. Diffidence: We sometimes realize that a task is beyond our capacity, then we put it off. This is a major cause of failure in any respect. If you found out that the task is too big or hard for you to handle, the proper thing is to be tenacious and not to relax until it is solved, since the problem will persist if left unresolved.

Procrastination panics its victim into a hasty delivery of task which results in poor quality of work. Tasks completed in a hurry are usually not our best. As you may have experienced, the first draft of a piece of writing, for example, is not usually excellent. When you look at the piece a second time, you are likely to identify areas that you should have used a better expression, or typos that need to be corrected, or even general weakness in the composition.

How do I manage this situation?

It makes a lot of economic and moral sense not to rest until an urgent and important task is completed. If you are confident that a task is an easy one, then do it quickly, and thereafter you can relax, or conversely,  quickly seek assistance from anyone who can support you to get it done, and you are then free to play.

Finally, remember that most tasks can be completed in a much shorter time than you estimated. You can overcome procrastination!

Taiwo Adesoba

Tennessee, USA.

Passion WITH capacity

Passion without capacity results in frustration.

While it is important to be passionate about a particular cause or about creating change in a sector of your community, acquiring knowledge of that subject matter and the intellectual capacity to deal with the issue is equally important, if not more important than passion.

Many young people have passion about very important issues but they are not willing to go through the training process. That is why they may look promising at the start but in the process of implementing those ideas, they are fatigued because of lack of capacity.

When I realized my passion for public health and international development, it dawned on me that I needed more knowledge in order to achieve my desired success. I started seeking the right opportunities. I abandoned many things to seek appropriate knowledge and skill. Participation in monitoring and evaluation conferences and workshops, and even further academic studies were some of my options.

Once you identify what you are passionate about, what you need next is a hunger for knowledge of that subject matter. You can get this through further academic studies, mentoring, volunteering, etc. Passion combined with capacity makes you an authority in your field.

Start receiving desktop notification from Gmail email account

I recently discovered that my desktop stopped notifying me about new incoming emails from my Gmail account and was disturbed because the notification really improves my personal efficiency. I searched online on how to fix it but many of the suggestions I found online were not helpful such as downloading an unnecessary extension.

Finally, I was found out that the problem was because I did not sign into my Windows’ account center. This is how to fix it:

1. Look at the bottom of the right-hand side of your computer.
2. click on that little box with a sharp edge facing down (Window’s action centre)
3. Sign into your Microsoft account

That’s it!

 

I hope this helps.

Your motivation matters

Sometimes, you see someone from afar and you can see they are doing well, getting some recognitions and making impact; then you assume, this guy’s situation is better than mine. Or this guy seems to have lesser challenges. You may even become jealous, and you may be soliloquizing, “who did I offed?” Little did you know that the challenges of life do not care who you are, where you are or how good your intentions are. Everyone, including those you admire has one or more challenges to overcome on a daily basis. It could range from anything to anything. There is no beginning or ending to the diversity of life’s challenges. Even plants are not exempted from struggling with the soil before becoming big trees. Please who did they offend? That’s just what it is.

You need to realize that one of the things that keep people going is their motivation to overcome their challenges; this could also mean their motivation for doing what they do. When your motivation is weaker than your challenges, you may be stranded. Have you ever wondered why almost all organizations have preference for potential employees who are self-motivated? They know that challenges abound everywhere; their own organizational ecosystem, not exempted.

The crux of the matter is this, you must overcome to become! Those challenges are meant to be overcome. If you don’t stop them, they can stop you. So, you have to be smart. Your victory is very much linked to your motivation gauge. With God, ALL things are possible.

Now, do all to stand firm, be strong, be bold, and be HIGHLY motivated.

Everything’s gonna be okay!!!

 

Taiwo.

Being a man of conviction

To be a man of conviction is to be a man of your own beliefs. This applies to men and women alike. It means you know what you are doing and why you are doing it, even when others do not see a sense in it. It also means you are ready to walk alone when you are deserted by others who do not believe in your dreams.

Men of conviction sometimes suffer “shame” and “neglect” particularly when their opinions and convictions are unpopular, but they are also usually rewarded greatly with success and good reputation, because they remain undeterred.

The world will always test your resolve! And that is why many people give in to all sorts of things and become irrelevant because they are moving with the crowd.

Men of conviction are leaders and starters. Their somewhat unpopular convictions sharpens their creativity. They see what other do not see. Anyway, they care less what others see or say.

To become a man of conviction is not difficult. Identify your identity and move on with it. That’s all!

 

Taiwo Adesoba

Johnson City, TN, USA

Self Motivation

When the challenges of life come, what do you do? How do you manage them? No matter where you are, who you are and what you have, challenges will always come! Sad, but true. A Nigerian musician Chief Ebenezer Obey said in one of his songs, no matter how sunny or bright the day may be, there will be some dark patches in the sky. It is true!

The truth is this, there is a direct relationship between challenges and self-motivation. The bigger the former, the bigger the latter should be.

Self-motivation is a life-changing factor that makes people wonder how you keep going, against all odds. It is the factor that draws helpers to you when they see how willing and single-minded you are to succeed. It is the factor that makes your enemies to get scared of you, and wonder what spirit moves you. It is a factor that makes God love you because self-motivation is linked to faith and when you have faith, you please God.

Let me add that, it hastens emotional healing which transforms to improvement in physical wellbeing.

The possessor of self-motivation thinks faster out of the box to solve their personal challenges. So, if you think you have challenges, it’s okay; but you have a responsibility to solve it. The world cares less about how big your challenges are, they only want to see results! Sorry, if this sounds too harsh. It is a bitter truth.

Please note that self-motivation is no magic! It is acquired, nurtured and integrated into one’s existence. It is an indispensable tool that helps you deal with life’s hard times.

Self-motivation does not necessarily stop you from crying when you are heart-broken; remember, you have emotions too. It helps you to promptly wipe your tears and PRESS on! When some people tell you where they used to be, and where they are now, you wonder how they overcame some seemingly impossible challenges. This is why carriers of self-motivation cannot always explain their success process as much as the success stories. They can tell you where they left and where they are but some aspects of their stories are just amazing and miraculous.

When self-motivated persons are shaken by challenges, they tell you boldly “No Shaking”, and you know what, they mean it! They have string faith!!!

I encourage you to be self-motivated. Let motivation come from within you. Be strong! And you know what? Everything will be alright. Don’t ask me how. Just believe!

 

Taiwo

Johnson City, TN USA.

 

 

 

Childhood Dreams

Permit me to start by telling you that if you did not dream, you cannot become! This is not to scare you, but to encourage you. No one can achieve big things without dreaming it first. In my view, one of the most critical things parents have to do for their children is to help them dream of the kind of future they want to achieve. It is not limited to asking “What would you like to become, son?” It involves providing access to different information materials that help children identify what they really love, and then grow into that thing. I remember that earlier in life, I wanted to become a medical doctor because that was the popular aspirations of people. At the age of seventeen (17), I personally identified what I wanted to become- a public health professional after requesting for some public health materials from Pfizer. I pursued it so vigorously; working at the community level, then to higher levels. I’m still pursuing it!!!

The conceptual framework is similar to this:

1. Dream: This stems from a strong desire to possess or become something. From experience, I can tell you that when you have a strong desire and work hard at it, the fulfilment occurs in usually an inexplicable way. It just happens!
2. Work towards it: Although, I said “it just happens”; yet it does not just happen without you working towards it. Persistence, hard work, prayers, efforts etc. are the requirements for our dreams to come true “suddenly”. I said “suddenly” because it comes with amazement.

3. Achieve it: When points 1 & 2 are present, point 3 (Achievement) is very easy. When you achieve, you feel so happy and fulfilled. An achiever inspires himself to dream more. Other persons around an achiever also feel inspired to work harder towards their dreams too.

The main point of our discussion today is this: “Do you have a childhood dream?” Honestly, it is sad if one becomes an adult without a dream; but be encouraged by the fact that you can dream at any time in life; the earlier, the better though. Also, when you achieve a dream, do not stop there. Please keep dreaming again, and again!

Taiwo!

 

YOU CAN REACH YOUR GOALS IN SPITE OF YOUR LIMITATIONS

When God created you and me, He gave each if us a particular task to perform on earth (i.e. purpose). While some are privileged to know their purpose early in life, others are not. Knowing your purpose helps you to conceive the right goals for your life and career. In line with this, I will categorize all human beings into three: (1) those who have not discovered their purpose (2) those who know their purpose but are not courageous enough to pursue it (3) those who already know their purpose and are living it. This write up targets the second group i.e. those who know their purpose but who feel they do not have what it takes to fulfill it.

Let me start by informing you that it takes faith, courage and strong will to fulfill purpose. Let us take Moses in the bible as an example. God called Moses in Exodus 4 v 1-11 and revealed His purpose for his life by giving him an assignment. Moses quickly did SWOT analysis and immediately rejected the task. Why? God gave him a task that involved public speaking but he thought his speech defect was a major limitation. Moses wondered why his calling was tied to his incapacity to speak. Although God persuaded him by giving series of signs (re-assurance) that he will succeed, he (Moses) remained obstinate that he wouldn’t take up the assignment, but he eventually did. This is the situation of many people. They think a major disgrace is awaiting them on their way to fulfilling their destiny because of their perceived or obvious limitations as the case may be. They forget that God who formed them in their mothers’ womb is able to sort out their worries and help them to succeed.

Let us see another case study. Peter and John saw a lame man at the beautiful gate in Acts 3 v 1-9. This man was obviously lame. But Peter instructed him to rise up and walk. Imagine that! How will you instruct a lame to rise up? it looked like a mockery command. This lame man, by faith, obeyed. He tried to lift himself up, and as he did that, his legs became longer, straightened and fully whole. This marked an end of his limitation. Some times, all you need to do is to take a step of faith in the direction of your God-given purpose, without giving attention to your limitations, and you will succeed.

If you already know your purpose but you are limited by funds, fear or a disability, encourage yourself and take the very first step towards realizing that purpose, you will be amazed that in a short while you will be living your dreams.

Peace!

God has made provisions for your weaknesses

For all your weaknesses, limitations, and disabilities, God has made provisions. All you need to do is to calmly look around for those pre-arranged solutions. An African adage says it is God who chases flies away from a cow that does not have a tail. In your helplessness, God is always there for you.

A woman named Hagar had a son for a her boss called Abraham. This woman was chased out of the house because she was not legally married to Abraham. In the middle of her journey she became exhausted, weary and thirsty. She was helpless. What made her so traumatized was that her little baby too was extremely thirsty and was dying, but she could not help because she couldn’t find water around. But guess what? God already provided a well very close to her but she did not see it.

Another example was that of this same man Abraham who was instructed by God to sacrifice his only son. This man, in obedience led his son to the place of sacrifice and was about to slaughter him when an angel of God told him that a ram was already provided in place of his only son. You can imagine how excited and relieved Abraham was following this divine rescue.

A final example, I will give is the story of a woman I just saw on a TV show today who was born arm-less. When I considered her situation, I saw that it is really a sad one But God already made a provision for her. She could draw with her toes. Not that alone, God in His aAlmightiness gave her a husband that accepts and loves her and she is living a fulfilled life.

Now, what actually made a difference in the lives of these people? I believe there was something more than physical that rescued these  people. I always believe that God has made provision for everything we need to succeed in life, if we walk according to His purpose for our lives.

God bless you!