19/06/2017
EVEN GOD WORKS THROUGH RECOMMENDATIONS
Your certificate and gifts alone cannot secure you a promotion and bring you before Kings. You need the recommendations of others to get there.
You may have the best solution to the world's biggest problem, but if no one knows you, no body will give you a chance to try.
You may be the wisest person on earth, but if no one knows you, fools who are known will rule over you.
I have seen several people I am better than get platforms I can only dream of for now.
You may have come across several people you were better than occupy positions you can only occupy in your dreams.
And sometimes, you ask yourself, "Why is it so?"
Why is it that the best leaders don't get to lead? Why is it that the best women don't get the best husbands? Why is it that the best students don't get the best jobs?
Whilst it is true that people can sometimes maneuver their way through using unscrupulous means, there is a universal explanation to this trend of things.
It is called the principle of recommendation. Believe it or not, the world plays by who knows who can do what.
You'll only be entrusted with something if you give people enough evidence of what you can do, and someone will recommend you for a position or role only if you've given the person evidence of what you can produce.
Opportunities, therefore, belong to those who are always giving evidence of what they can do.
The principle works equally for the Christian, the Moslem, the Hindu, and the Buddhist, but since I am a Christian, let me be in my own lane, and show you how you can take advantage of this principle.
I will begin by first given you three biblical examples.
The first is Joseph, son of Jacob. Despite his faithfulness to his master and God, Joseph's rise to the position of Grand Vizier would not have been possible without the recommendation of the chief Butler.
We read the account in
Genesis 41:9,11-14 KJV
"Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: [11] And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. [12] And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. [13] And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged. [14] Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself , and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh."
The background story has it that the chief Butler forgot Joseph, but when a problem which only Joseph could solve arose, he had no choice than to recommend him.
The second example is King David. A lot of people are aware of David's heroic act in defeating Goliath, but most people don't know that it was through someone's recommendation that David came to the palace of King Saul.
The account is in 1 Samuel 16:16,18-19 "Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. [18] Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him. [19] Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son"
The last example is Daniel. During the reign of King Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel and his friends were no longer recognised, but when a problem which only Daniel could solve arose, someone had no choice than to recommend him.
The account is found in Daniel 5:10-12
"Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: [11] There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say , thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; [12] Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.
So there we have it. Joseph, David, and Daniel got their promotions through recommendation.
The question is how did they do it, and how can we learn from their example.
1. They put into use what God had gifted them with. Joseph, David, and Daniel got recommendations because they used what they had. They showed the world what was in them. They gave people evidence of what they could do.
Lesson: You need to show people what you can do before you'll get a recommendation from them. You can have the greatest gifts, but if no one gets to know what you have, you'll be a nobody, and the only way to show people what you have is to put your gifts into use.
2. They persevered and performed to the best of their abilities even when things were not going on well. I am not sure what I would do if I were cast into prison for a sin I did not commit, neither am I sure what I would do if I were the neglected son of a harlot relegated to the bush to tend sheep. Yet, according to the recommenders, Joseph and David were best among the rest in their time.
Lesson: Even when things are not going the way you want, dare to give out your best, for you may not know if you'll meet your recommender in those hard times.
3. Even when the opportunities were so small, they gave their best. I have always wondered who it was David played his harp to whilst in the bush. Though he had no audience, David still played at his best, and though in prison, Joseph served his two audience to the best of his abilities. Yet, I have met preachers who decide to reduce the intensity of their preaching when they meet small congregations, I have met people who prepare any how for programs with small audiences, I have met Christians who perform their duties anyhow because the church they find themselves in is so small.
Lesson: Joseph had only two people, but his recommendation came from one of them. You may not know if the person to recommend you is among that small audience you don't respect.
The conclusion, therefore, is, "a man's gift can bring him before Kings, but he needs the recommendation of others to get there."
Therefore, whatever you find yourself doing, do it with all your heart and to the best of your abilities no matter the situation, place or time, for you do not know at which hour you will meet your recommender.
Written by Daniel Kyeremateng for
Christian Youths in Leadership School
Visit our website and join the school at http://danielkyeremateng.cloudaccess.host
