On The Path of
Winners
By Bayo Ogunmupe
Getting Ready For
Your Time
THE first person i know in history who prepared for his
future through reading is Abraham Lincoln. Due to poverty, he attended formal
education for less than two years. He was admitted to the bar through
apprenticeship and study. Five months before receiving his party’s nomination
for President, he sketched his life:
‘’I was born
on February 12, 1809 in Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia of
undistinguished families. My mother who died in my tenth year was of a family
of the name of Hanks. I grew up in Indiana. When I came of age, I did not know
much. I could barely read, write and cipher, that was all.’’ But Lincoln made
extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting
rails for fences and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois.
When he was
accosted by his friends over his devotion to reading, Lincoln replied that he
would prepare himself for when his time would come. And indeed, his time came
and he successfully gave account of himself by saving the United States from
disintegration during the U.S. civil war. He also defined democracy as the
government of the people by the people and for the people. He emancipated the
slaves in the United States. The second person is Baron James Callaghan of
Cardiff who entered the civil service at 17 owing to poverty. Self educated, he
later became British Prime Minister from 1976 to 1979. Another is Adolf Hitler,
dictator of Germany (1933-45). Hitler, not being able to gain education because
of poverty, read anything which came on hand while eking out a miserable
existence as a third rate artist. He enlisted in the German army in World War
I, and was wounded. His life took a higher turn thereafter. Also, a natural law
propels a man to the level of his knowledge and competence. However a person
may be propelled above his competence by his contemporaries. That accounts for
many failures in public office.
Getting ready
for future greatness is exemplified in the Bible by Joshua, secretary to Moses.
God said to Joshua: ‘’Moses my servant is dead. Now then get ready to cross the
Jordan River into the land I am about to give you. I will give you every place
where you set your foot, as I promised Moses,’’ Joshua 1:2. Are you standing
today at the crossroads of change? If so, observe two things in Joshua’s story:
One, when his time came to lead, Joshua was ready. Until then, he faithfully
served Moses and found fulfilment as a second fiddle. He didn’t push and didn’t
play politics. He just prepared himself. Then God promoted him.
Two, Joshua
went further than his mentor. Moses’ leadership ended where the Promised Land
began. Under Joshua’s leadership, Israel would move into it, possess it and
become a great nation. Everyday he had spent in the wilderness equipped him for
this moment. God never wastes experience. Everything you’ve been through,
including things you didn’t understand, are preparation for what God has in
store for you.
Ever wonder
how Joshua felt stepping into Moses’ shoes? He needed assurance, so God told
him: three, ‘’I will give you every place where you set your foot; meaning just
step out in faith and claim it. It is yours as long as you are willing to take
possession. Four, ‘’No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of
your life,’’ Joshua 1:5. Yes, you will face criticism and come under attack.
There were 31 kings, seven nations and giants waiting for Israelites in Canaan.
But every battle you fight is just an opportunity for Jehovah to show Himself
strong on your behalf.
Five, ‘’As I
was with Moses so I will be with you,’’ Joshua 1:5. If you are anxious about
the future, recall God’s faithfulness to you in the past. At the end of his
life Joshua wrote: ‘’Now, I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know
with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises Jehovah your
God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled,’’ Joshua 23:14. And
the God who came through for Joshua will come through for you. Thus, the bottom
line is: Everything works for the benefit of those who love God, and of whom
God has called for the fulfilment of His plan – Romans 8:28.
Our champion
for today is Muhammad, in full: Abu Alqasim Muhammad Ibn Abdallah Ibn
Abmuttalib. Born in 570 A.D in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Muhammad died on June 8,
632 A.D. in Medina, birth place of his mother. According to tradition, Muhammad
was the man to whom the religion of Islam was revealed. Thus, as the founder of
Islam his life is of monumental significance in the history of mankind.
Early in life,
his merchant activities resulted in his marriage in 595 A.D. to the wealthy
widow Khadijah. He received his prophetic call in 610 A.D., beginning his
religious activities with renegade followers of Jesus Christ.
At this time
in western civilization, only the Jews were known to believe in one God. Jesus
was a Jew and his disciples created a sect from Judaism namely Christianity. In
the fourth century, Christian Era, at the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) the
doctrine of Trinity was accepted by the Christian church. It divided the
Christians forcing a dispersal of the church.
Then the Unitarians merged with the
followers of Muhammad. Opposition in Mecca forced him to emigrate (hijrah) to
Medina in 622. He defeated his opponents at the battle of Badre in 624. By
January 630, Muhammad had conquered the Saudi peninsula, entering Mecca with great honours. On his death
he left Arabia united and ready for the spreading of Islam to Syria and Iraq.
The Quran Islam’s holy book was compiled after his death by the third Caliph,
Uthman Ibn Affan in 650 A.D. from the foregoing you can see that both Islam and
Christianity are sects of Judais
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