The book of Romans 9:15,16 states: “For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. It does not therefore, depend on man`s desire or effort, but on God`s mercy.”

This shows that our blessings or upliftment here on earth does not depend on our competences or efforts but rather they are dependent on God’s whims and caprices. It shows that God picks and chooses whom to bless and in doing that He does not rely on data or statistics. In fact, records mean nothing when God is deciding on who to bless.

This could probably be the reason why a lot of people, instead of working hard to develop their skills and competences, would be fasting and praying to God for favours and upliftments with the mindset that God does not rely on records or statistics in choosing who to bless.

However, a glance through the Bible shows that God never made use of people who did not show capacity for the roles he intended to use them. Put in another way, a glance through the Bible shows that God never made use of people whose books of life were blank pages: that is without records of achievements.

Whoever God chose for any role, he or she demonstrated capacity before the choice was made. The person demonstrated preparedness for the role he or she was expected to play.

There was no record of anybody who fasted or prayed his or her way into God`s selection book.

The reason is because God does not think like Nigerian voters who some years ago, some of their ‘smart’ compatriots came up with change mantra, even when they had not changed themselves and voters fell for it, not knowing that as Henry Ford famously declared: “Nobody builds a reputation for what he is going to do but rather for what he has already done. Today, the cure they brought has become far worse than the disease.”

God is a God of capacity. He knows that if somebody is given a responsibility for which he has no capacity he would fail. And since He is not a God of failed or abandoned projects, before he chooses somebody for a role, He makes sure that the person has developed personal capacity for the role so, that He would just support the person with his grace.

Instances: There was nowhere in the Bible it was prophesised that Moses would be the one to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. But when God felt that the time had come to take His children out of Egypt, He began to look at the CV of the Israelites both at home and in captivity for the person with the capacity to do the job. The CV of Moses came tops.

Reason: Moses was raised as a prince in the palace in Egypt. He went to the best school in the ancient world. He was given the best leadership training as an heir to the throne in Egypt. Moses loved his people passionately and that was why when he saw an Egyptian fighting with an Israelite, he killed the Egyptian and buried him. Now watch this: Moses knew the wilderness like the back of his hand, having spent 40 years there and that was the road the Israelites were expected to go through when they left Egypt.

So, from the records, it was clear that God saw that Moses had the capacity for the job he was about to give him. There would be nothing like learning on the job.

In the case of David, he was not in the Synagogue fasting and praying and God touched his heart, strengthened his hands and told him to go and kill Goliath. He came from the wilderness where he had demonstrated capacity for the intended role by killing lions, bears and other dangerous animals.

It was the capacity that he had already built in himself that paved the way for him being the one to kill Goliath. Even Abraham demonstrated faith and obedience before God chose him to be what he later became, the father of faith and blessing to mankind.

So, God does not make use of the mediocre. He doesn’t even look at people who are second bests in the fields they are operating. He always goes for the best.

Therefore, in any space that you find yourself, keep on building capacity; keep on developing skills and competences. Keep on preparing yourself because when opportunities come, it is always the best that would be chosen.

When Moses was acquiring leadership training, he never knew that the time would come when he would be called upon to exercise leadership role. When David was killing the lions and bears in the wilderness, he never knew that he was developing capacity that would make him one of the greatest men in history.

On your own part, keep on improving yourself; keep on getting better and better in whatever endavour you are in. Keep on developing your skills and competences and in case you don’t know, people are quietly taking note and waiting for the time when the question, who do we need for this or that would be asked.

ABOUT THE COLUMNIST

Peter Anosike is a well-known journalist and development economist.

His book, Dangote’s Ten Commandments on Money (Lessons on How to Make Money from One of the World’s Richest Men), was rated as one of the best development books in the world by Wall Street Journal and FORBES. The book has been adopted as a workbook for grooming entrepreneurs by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN). Anosike’s other of his books include, How To Be The Best You Can Be and Look Forward and Lean Less On Your Past – all trending in Smashwords along with Dangote’s Ten Commandment on Money and How To Be The Best You Can Be. You can follow him on Facebook and Linkedin.

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