While on campus, one of our brothers in the fellowship shared a testimony of how God helped him in his exams, despite the limited time he had to prepare. His words, “I read until I was read (red),” became a common statement then in the fellowship. It spurred everyone up to a life of study.

Friend, developing a studious life is a personal responsibility (2 Timothy 2:15). Nobody can transfer their knowledge to you. The fact that you have a sound and studious husband does not automatically make you a sound wife. The fact that your pastor is sound does not necessarily mean that you would be a sound member of that church. At best, they should inspire and challenge you.

Read wide. Impact and relevance answer to being widely read. Make a decision to know something about everything and everything about something (Psalms 119:99-100). Knowing something about everything makes you a generalist, and knowing everything about something makes you a specialist. You need to be specially general and generally special.

The fact that you are a pastor does not mean that you should know next to nothing about politics and governance, health, law, sports, and even the entertainment industry. You cannot operate at the top of your game if you don’t learn widely (1 Samuel 16:18). Focus on your calling but gain knowledge widely so you can be effective in the same (2 Timothy 2:15).

God cannot use you beyond your level of knowledge and exposure (Luke 2:46-52). Learning puts you at a place of advantage. You can connect easily. This may be the reason God used Paul more than He used Peter. Paul was a widely read lawyer, Peter was a fisherman. He even found it difficult to understand some of the things that Paul wrote (2 Peter 3:15-16).

Moses’s mental capacity was instrumental to his success in life and ministry. He was mighty in words and deeds (Acts 7:22). Moses could accommodate God’s revelation to write the first five books of the Bible (the events of which he was never a part of) because he was schooled in the best university of those days in Egypt. You need to develop a studious life.

‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria