HOLDING ON TO GOD.
I grew up in Benin City, Nigeria, many years before independence came to that African nation.
In many areas of my life, I had every encouragement one could possibly lay claim to. But life was not easy in my family although I tried to make the best of it.
We were poor and the future looked bleak. I was never one to indulge in wishful thinking, but deep in my heart I knew that a change had to come some day, some how. I had convinced myself that hard work would bring a good harvest to anyone, so I put all my energies into my job of transporting goods in a wheelbarrow for a fee.
Every morning my mind would go to the success that lay ahead of me by God's grace in my daily work as a barrow-boy. It was not easy, but there has never been an easy way to success; it has always been a hard road to travel.
Someone has noted that since we expect to spend the rest of our lives in the future, we ought to be assured of what kind of future it will be. Do you want to be sure? The answer is straightforward hard work and the abiding grace of God.
Benin City, capital of Bendel State, Nigeria, has, since my youth, gone through a massive facelift, and has undergone vast social change; it found new prosperity as a result of the oil boom. Today, it is characterized by beautiful mansions and well-kept lawns, first-class roads full of modern vehicles, and people striding confidently along busy streets.
The Benin City of today is not the Benin City of old; civilization has given it a new coat.
Every morning I would be on my way—with a determination to succeed where others had failed. I pushed my way through the morning crowds with my wooden barrow. If I could work hard, and do as much as my strength permitted, God would add His grace. This was my firm conviction and my charter of service. I allowed nothing to distract me as the day went on, believing that as God was with me, success
would be waiting for me at the end of the way.
It has been said that true vision is an inspired look at reality. And some time ago Bob Mumford wrote in a Life Changers newsletter: "Vision is more than understanding, revelation or knowledge, though it may be all of these. Vision is seeing in our mind's eye the present as God sees it, as well as seeing the future of God's purpose as an accomplished fact. It is the ability not only to look at an empty field and the
hidden treasure, but also to see how to acquire that field and obtain the treasure."
If ever there was a young man determined to succeed through struggle at every step, I was the one.
And new vision opened up with God's help.
One day I painted the word "Opel" on the side of my cart, so that traders looking for quick service could easily identify it. Before long, I had effectively established myself as the barrow-boy who carried foodstuffs with the greatest security in the quickest possible time. Market women sought me, and traders longed to see me at dawn behind my "Opel" truck.
In all this, God was weaving a new pathway to greater heights. Many nights, as I lay in bed counting the ceiling nails to while away the time, I would feel exhaustion in my body and excruciating pain in my aching back; fatigue was taking its toll on me.
"I must do something about this condition, change my job," I pondered.
Another holiday arrived, and I made my decision:
"I must have a go at being a vendor."
So I rose each morning before anyone in the compound and made my way to the Vendor's Office.
I was following a demanding schedule, dividing my time between selling newspapers and rushing over to push my barrow at the market as the early traders arrived. Though I worked long, hard hours, day after day, giving up was not a part of my vocabulary. I knew everything about success, but nothing of failure.
And on the day I married, I knew that God had blessed the work of my hands through the labor and toil of the past. From the black moments in the mud thatched classroom through to the scorching sunfilled months of pushing my barrow at Oba market, everything worked together by God's grace to lay the
solid foundation for a better tomorrow.
That's how God dealt with me. How did He deal with people in Bible days; what lessons are learned from their lives?
- ARCHBISHOP BENSON IDAHOSA (Strangers To Failure)
I grew up in Benin City, Nigeria, many years before independence came to that African nation.
In many areas of my life, I had every encouragement one could possibly lay claim to. But life was not easy in my family although I tried to make the best of it.
We were poor and the future looked bleak. I was never one to indulge in wishful thinking, but deep in my heart I knew that a change had to come some day, some how. I had convinced myself that hard work would bring a good harvest to anyone, so I put all my energies into my job of transporting goods in a wheelbarrow for a fee.
Every morning my mind would go to the success that lay ahead of me by God's grace in my daily work as a barrow-boy. It was not easy, but there has never been an easy way to success; it has always been a hard road to travel.
Someone has noted that since we expect to spend the rest of our lives in the future, we ought to be assured of what kind of future it will be. Do you want to be sure? The answer is straightforward hard work and the abiding grace of God.
Benin City, capital of Bendel State, Nigeria, has, since my youth, gone through a massive facelift, and has undergone vast social change; it found new prosperity as a result of the oil boom. Today, it is characterized by beautiful mansions and well-kept lawns, first-class roads full of modern vehicles, and people striding confidently along busy streets.
The Benin City of today is not the Benin City of old; civilization has given it a new coat.
Every morning I would be on my way—with a determination to succeed where others had failed. I pushed my way through the morning crowds with my wooden barrow. If I could work hard, and do as much as my strength permitted, God would add His grace. This was my firm conviction and my charter of service. I allowed nothing to distract me as the day went on, believing that as God was with me, success
would be waiting for me at the end of the way.
It has been said that true vision is an inspired look at reality. And some time ago Bob Mumford wrote in a Life Changers newsletter: "Vision is more than understanding, revelation or knowledge, though it may be all of these. Vision is seeing in our mind's eye the present as God sees it, as well as seeing the future of God's purpose as an accomplished fact. It is the ability not only to look at an empty field and the
hidden treasure, but also to see how to acquire that field and obtain the treasure."
If ever there was a young man determined to succeed through struggle at every step, I was the one.
And new vision opened up with God's help.
One day I painted the word "Opel" on the side of my cart, so that traders looking for quick service could easily identify it. Before long, I had effectively established myself as the barrow-boy who carried foodstuffs with the greatest security in the quickest possible time. Market women sought me, and traders longed to see me at dawn behind my "Opel" truck.
In all this, God was weaving a new pathway to greater heights. Many nights, as I lay in bed counting the ceiling nails to while away the time, I would feel exhaustion in my body and excruciating pain in my aching back; fatigue was taking its toll on me.
"I must do something about this condition, change my job," I pondered.
Another holiday arrived, and I made my decision:
"I must have a go at being a vendor."
So I rose each morning before anyone in the compound and made my way to the Vendor's Office.
I was following a demanding schedule, dividing my time between selling newspapers and rushing over to push my barrow at the market as the early traders arrived. Though I worked long, hard hours, day after day, giving up was not a part of my vocabulary. I knew everything about success, but nothing of failure.
And on the day I married, I knew that God had blessed the work of my hands through the labor and toil of the past. From the black moments in the mud thatched classroom through to the scorching sunfilled months of pushing my barrow at Oba market, everything worked together by God's grace to lay the
solid foundation for a better tomorrow.
That's how God dealt with me. How did He deal with people in Bible days; what lessons are learned from their lives?
- ARCHBISHOP BENSON IDAHOSA (Strangers To Failure)
HOLDING ON TO GOD.
I grew up in Benin City, Nigeria, many years before independence came to that African nation.
In many areas of my life, I had every encouragement one could possibly lay claim to. But life was not easy in my family although I tried to make the best of it.
We were poor and the future looked bleak. I was never one to indulge in wishful thinking, but deep in my heart I knew that a change had to come some day, some how. I had convinced myself that hard work would bring a good harvest to anyone, so I put all my energies into my job of transporting goods in a wheelbarrow for a fee.
Every morning my mind would go to the success that lay ahead of me by God's grace in my daily work as a barrow-boy. It was not easy, but there has never been an easy way to success; it has always been a hard road to travel.
Someone has noted that since we expect to spend the rest of our lives in the future, we ought to be assured of what kind of future it will be. Do you want to be sure? The answer is straightforward hard work and the abiding grace of God.
Benin City, capital of Bendel State, Nigeria, has, since my youth, gone through a massive facelift, and has undergone vast social change; it found new prosperity as a result of the oil boom. Today, it is characterized by beautiful mansions and well-kept lawns, first-class roads full of modern vehicles, and people striding confidently along busy streets.
The Benin City of today is not the Benin City of old; civilization has given it a new coat.
Every morning I would be on my way—with a determination to succeed where others had failed. I pushed my way through the morning crowds with my wooden barrow. If I could work hard, and do as much as my strength permitted, God would add His grace. This was my firm conviction and my charter of service. I allowed nothing to distract me as the day went on, believing that as God was with me, success
would be waiting for me at the end of the way.
It has been said that true vision is an inspired look at reality. And some time ago Bob Mumford wrote in a Life Changers newsletter: "Vision is more than understanding, revelation or knowledge, though it may be all of these. Vision is seeing in our mind's eye the present as God sees it, as well as seeing the future of God's purpose as an accomplished fact. It is the ability not only to look at an empty field and the
hidden treasure, but also to see how to acquire that field and obtain the treasure."
If ever there was a young man determined to succeed through struggle at every step, I was the one.
And new vision opened up with God's help.
One day I painted the word "Opel" on the side of my cart, so that traders looking for quick service could easily identify it. Before long, I had effectively established myself as the barrow-boy who carried foodstuffs with the greatest security in the quickest possible time. Market women sought me, and traders longed to see me at dawn behind my "Opel" truck.
In all this, God was weaving a new pathway to greater heights. Many nights, as I lay in bed counting the ceiling nails to while away the time, I would feel exhaustion in my body and excruciating pain in my aching back; fatigue was taking its toll on me.
"I must do something about this condition, change my job," I pondered.
Another holiday arrived, and I made my decision:
"I must have a go at being a vendor."
So I rose each morning before anyone in the compound and made my way to the Vendor's Office.
I was following a demanding schedule, dividing my time between selling newspapers and rushing over to push my barrow at the market as the early traders arrived. Though I worked long, hard hours, day after day, giving up was not a part of my vocabulary. I knew everything about success, but nothing of failure.
And on the day I married, I knew that God had blessed the work of my hands through the labor and toil of the past. From the black moments in the mud thatched classroom through to the scorching sunfilled months of pushing my barrow at Oba market, everything worked together by God's grace to lay the
solid foundation for a better tomorrow.
That's how God dealt with me. How did He deal with people in Bible days; what lessons are learned from their lives?
- ARCHBISHOP BENSON IDAHOSA (Strangers To Failure)
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