How to Attract Success 2

 

In the first part of this piece, I shared two important principles you need to succeed as a believer (you can catch up with the first part using this link: Part 1). I shared that although God has set laws in motion and placed abundant resources in the earth for our benefit, there are principles we must imbibe and things we must do to attract success.

In this piece, I will quickly share the remaining three principles. As I mentioned in the introduction of the first part, these principles are by no means exhaustive, but I believe that if you practice them faithfully, you will experience great success.

3. Be Diligent

Prov. 22:29: Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

Diligence is the steady, earnest, and painstaking effort applied to work, reflecting a strong work ethic, persistence, and careful attention to detail. It is surprising how some believers think that God will prosper anyone without the quality of diligence. God has never been, and will never be, in the business of sponsoring lazy people. As you read through the scriptures, one easily recognizable pattern is that God calls and uses only diligent people. God has never called a lazy man; for if a man is useless to himself and his community, he can have no use to God.

Some folks think they only have to be diligent if they like their work, but this is not true. Scripture enjoins us to be diligent regardless of whether we enjoy the task or not. Joseph was a slave in the house of Potiphar, yet he was diligent. He certainly could not have liked the idea of being someone else’s property when he was born a free man, but he remained diligent. Whatever the circumstances of your life and work, you must never compromise on diligence if you are seeking God’s lifting. If diligence is not your thing, you may as well count yourself out of success, not because God is not with you, but because it goes against His principles to promote laziness.

Furthermore, if you have a genuine and close relationship with the Lord, you will be diligent. In fact, I am tempted to say that one of the workings of God in your life as a believer is diligence. If you find someone who claims to be a believer but is not diligent, God is still dealing with them in that area. In time, that individual will change; but if they never become diligent, one might conclude they are not truly yielded to the Lord.

4. Be Spiritually Intelligent

2 Tim. 3:15-17: And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

There is a whole series on Spiritual Intelligence taught by Prophet Moyo Akin-Ojo, and it would do anyone great good to listen to it. He defines spiritual intelligence as the ability to acquire and apply spiritual knowledge and skill to life’s matters.

There are several things in life that you can decode through spiritual intelligence; we can observe patterns, perform predictive analysis, and even engage in scenario planning, all by spiritual intelligence. This type of intelligence comes mostly by spending time in scripture, meditating on it, and allowing the Word to minister to you. You can be sincere in your dealings, which is good, but if you lack spiritual intelligence, you may still suffer. You will always need spiritual intelligence to succeed in business, enjoy favor with men, and rise to the top of your chosen profession.

There are times we wait for God to move in a spectacular way just because He is God, when all that is needed is the application of spiritual intelligence. There are also times when spiritual intelligence manifests as "common sense," and the tendency is to despise it. The key is to allow the Spirit of God the liberty of expression through you, even when it seems like a natural move. This is where spiritual intelligence sits.

5. Seek Valuable Relationships

Prov. 18:24: One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (NIV)

This is one of the most obvious principles for attracting success. No man is "self-made"; there will always be an element of help from others. If you are going to succeed in this life, you need valuable relationships. If you do not care about others or about building these bonds, you are bound to be stranded. The idea here is not to build "value-extracting" relationships where you only take without giving back; that would be a mistake.

Building valuable relationships means you are willing to put something on the line and make sacrifices for others, just as you would expect them to do for you. If you are seeking a relationship with someone ahead of you, you must still find a way to be of value to them. A one-way relationship soon breeds entitlement, and once that sets in, the relationship is bound to collapse.

Don't build relationships simply for association or optics; it will take you nowhere. Furthermore, valuable relationships are not built by coincidence, but deliberately. You may start by coincidence, but you must grow the connection with intention.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I have shared these five principles to help you succeed. Remember that mere knowledge means little unless it is applied. Begin to apply these principles in the best ways you can. I am believing God with you that as you apply them, you will experience overwhelming success in every area of your life.

Shalom!