A Christian’s steps to divine prosperity
Most people think achieving greatness is very difficult. But Fatima Olanrewaju Queen Afelumo thinks it is as simple as A-B-C! And she has explained why she thinks so – simple as A-B-C – in her new book. Perhaps the first thing that would be pleasing to your eyes when you start reading this down-to-earth book […]
Most people think achieving greatness is very difficult. But Fatima Olanrewaju Queen Afelumo thinks it is as simple as A-B-C! And she has explained why she thinks so – simple as A-B-C – in her new book.
Perhaps the first thing that would be pleasing to your eyes when you start reading this down-to-earth book is the author’s reassurance in the ‘Prologue’ that you (the reader) were designed by God to be great, especially if you are a believer in Christ. According to her, “in His own divine plan, God pre-programmed every believer in Christ to be an achiever. We are supposed to be achievers in all areas of life based on our faith in the finished work of Calvary…it is a covenant issue.”
Why then are so many Christians around NOT great? Why do we have so many non-achievers around? Those were the key questions Mrs Afelumo, a Deaconess and Minister with the Foursquare Gospel Church, tried to answer in this book.
She begins to unfold the mystery behind the flood of non-achievers in the society in the four-page Prologue of the book by explaining what ‘achieving greatness’ means. According to her, to be great means that one has a high degree or extreme amount of effectiveness and that one is eminent and distinguished in what one is doing. She distinguishes this kind of greatness (which she called ‘true greatness’) from the jaundiced view of many people that to be great means to the rich and famous. While pointing out that it is possible for someone to be great and be rich and famous, she emphasizes also that one can be great without being rich and famous. The highest form of greatest, according to her, is service. Having established this thesis, she devotes the rest of the book to proofing her thesis. She does this in three parts: A – Activate; B – Believe, and C – Commitment. The last part of the book (Part Four) is actually an Epilogue which summarizes the entire book in the spiritual context.
Part A – Activate
The author begins this section by examining in detail what the word ‘potential’ means. According to her, it is having capacity to do things or making exceptional things happen. If someone is going to do things very well in the church, community or workplace, it does not just happen. There must be something inside of that person that makes him or her do things exceptionally well almost ‘effortlessly’. God put something inside of people to enable people do what He has purposed them to do. According to Deaconess Afelumo, God would not have bothered to ask humans to go ahead and take over (‘subdue’) the earth if He had not put something in them to achieve that. That which He put in us is ‘power’. The first step to attaining greatness, therefore, is for us to activate the ‘power’ in us. The most difficult thing for most people who are not great is that they either have not come to the knowledge of the power in them, or they do not know how to activate the knowledge so discovered. Knowledge is power and often it can be expensive to discover knowledge. But you must first find out that which God has put inside of you.
She says: “There is a missing link between potential and activation of potential. Let us consider a bulb to illustrate this fact, the bulb that has been connected to electricity has the potential to give light in the dark but the bulb cannot give light until someone locates its switch and switches it on.” (p.3). After establishing the fact that the Word of God is the foundation of all knowledge the author lists and explains five ways (steps) to activate the power within people. These are: discover yourself; conquer yourself; love and submit to yourself; choose your seeds and cultivate, sow and care for your seeds. Anyone who is truly great (whose greatness conforms to God’s word) MUST have gone through the steps. Deaconess Afelumo beautifully uses her experience in farming and veterinary business with her husband to explain the technicalities of sowing and reaping. For example, the farmer needs to pick good seeds and be patient (among others) to expect a good harvest.
Part B – Believe
“All the works were finished from the foundation of the world”. So what are we supposed to do – sit down and expect things to happen magically? No, we have to believe. We have to believe in the One who made us that He would do what He purposed to do with us when He made us. Many people seek to be great first. That is not the order of the Scriptures. The Scriptures say: “seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and these things shall be added unto you. (Mat 6:33). The author teaches the reader to believe by using the language of the fourth dimension. She encapsulates these into six principles: have a vivid vision of what you desire; have a burning desire of what you want; ‘see’ the desire accomplished already (even when they are not physically seen); have assurance for that which you desire always; confess that you have gotten that desire and give thanks for accomplishing the desire.
Part C – Commitment
The author uses the words ‘commitment’ and ‘dedication’ interchangeably. Once you have discovered the power in you and you believe God for it, you must see your vision through. You can never look back and must not if you want to be great. “No one, having put his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62). The author proves in this section that this golden Bible text is not only about making heaven. It is also about how to be an achiever. Many people fail to achiever because they give up just when they are about to be great. Deaconess Afelumo says the secret of being committed even when outlooks seems negative is to cling to ‘the Source’ (i.e. God Almighty). One is bound to give up if one relies on human or one’s power but if one trusts Him who is on the driver’s seat, the vision will surely be accomplished. One of the numerous Bible accounts she used to underscore this principle is the night the disciples caught nothing because they detached themselves from ‘the Source’ and trusted in their fishing skills. Greatness may come quickly; it may also come a little late or very late. What is recorded in the book of Habakkuk is that “though it tarries, the vision must come to pass.”
Deaconess Afelumo’s book is not one of those motivational books. It is a deep insight of biblical perspective of success and failure and profoundly explains why people designed by God to be achievers and outstanding are total failures. In the book, you will understand why someone made to be a great footballer ends up being an uncelebrated teacher and while someone who could have been a great teacher ends up being a failed footballer.
Just as Dr. Wilson Badejo, a former General Overseer of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria states in the foreword to the book, this book is easy-to-read. The author spares the reader the trouble of going forth and back the Bible while reading because all scriptures quoted by her are fully translated within the text except when such are for references only. The subject matter is located in the Nigerian context and she uses various examples from her personal experiences within and outside the Ministry. The quality of print is excellent. There is a list of references of other authors whose works impacted on the author and the principles she teaches although the publishers should have done better in referencing such works. The way the references are stated, it is practically impossible for the reader to make cross-references from these other authors and bible teachers.
Overall, however, the book is a down-to-earth perspective on why people whom God destined and equipped to be achievers have no medals to show for their journey on earth. It is a book that is bound to turn around positively, the lives those who study (not just read) and practice the principles in the book. It is a book teenagers and young adults must study now that the foundations of their greatness must be laid.