Spring time in Thomasville is about as beautiful as it gets! Except for the pollen we have to endure for a few weeks, it is a wonderland of bright colors bursting forth everywhere. The temperatures have not yet soared into the sweltering summertime heat where we usually retreat to our air conditioned homes or head to the beach or lake. I am a walker so taking the time to walk in our different neighborhoods with my two sisters each week gives us the opportunity to see some of the natural beauty displayed in numerous varieties or ways.

In my travels to different countries I have seen and experienced other expressions of God’s vast panorama in His creation. Each area seems to have a uniqueness and beauty different from my surroundings here. Deserts, mountains, lush forests and fertile valleys, farmland and modern cities, ancient history and ruins, villages and villas, the list goes on and on.

Our creator God expresses Himself through flora and fauna and most of us never stop long enough to “smell the roses.” Our lives are busy or we are just too distracted to enjoy what He has provided for each one of us to enjoy. My life currently is quite full — busy most days — because I thrive on that kind of life style but I really am trying to put things in perspective. Until recent days, life was less hectic for most people generally speaking. The generation before me would agree but in my life time things have changed radically and drastically. Computers and cell phones rule and control many of our lives. If your business is not dependent upon both of those, then you use them for recreation and pass time. We can live in a virtual world and almost forget about the beauty our Creator provided for us to freely enjoy.

I recently watched a video presentation by a successful businessman who takes one full day out of his very busy week to go away from all of his commitments to spend the day with the Lord. He has no phone service or internet access for the whole day and purposely goes into his wilderness camp with only the basics and his Bible. 

He has built a billion dollar business (30-plus businesses) plus runs a large ministry for business people, teaching them the principles of success that he has learned over the years in his times of intimacy with the Lord. I also have a very successful friend who has put his relationship with the Lord first and foremost in his daily life. He attributes his own personal success to the intimacy with the Lord that he has developed over the years. He also travels and shares the principles of the Kingdom of God that have proven themselves out in him and his family’s success.

If these two men and many more with similar stories attribute their success to time and developing intimacy with the Lord, then probably none of us have a legitimate excuse for not doing the same. You may not be called to business or successful ministry, but the Lord has put certain talents within you that He desires you to develop to bless humanity. Every one of our lives influences others to some extent. 

There should be within each one of us a desire to make a difference in our own sphere of influence. I wrote about that very thing not too long ago. It is very sad to waste your life and God-given talents on frivolous, selfish pursuits that have no eternal value. Neither of these men I mentioned above started out with a silver spoon in their hand — they started from the bottom and worked their way up to be the successful influencers that they are today. It didn’t happen overnight, but through faithfully applying the godly principles they were learning, their lives began to thrive. The outcome has been success and the ability to bless and help others reach that same level of success they are currently experiencing.

May I encourage you to press into a deeper place of intimacy with the Lord? Establish regular times of fellowship with Him and allow Him to speak to you from His Word. The more familiar you are with His voice, the more you will hear clearly “this is the path, walk in it.” His desire is to prosper each one of us and use us to be a blessing to humanity.