I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. ~ Philippians 4:13
What might God want to accomplish through you in your lifetime? As a workplace
believer, you may yet have your greatest contribution to society. Such was the
case of Cyrus McCormick, born in 1809. Raised on a farm by an inventor father,
Cyrus McCormick sought to invent a mechanical reaper to harvest wheat. His
father's attempts at inventing a successful machine had failed until Cyrus, at
22, created one that worked. McCormick had to overcome many setbacks including
the loss of his patent 14 years after his first invention. This opened up
competition. Then, in 1837 he went bankrupt due to the bank panic of 1837.
However, these setbacks did not prevent McCormick from achieving his goals.
He expanded his market by trying to sell his machine to European farmers in
1851. A long series of honors compensated for the lack of recognition and praise
from his American compatriots. By 1856, he was not only a world figure but his
factory produced more than 4,000 reapers a year.
McCormick was a committed believer. He lived during the time of D.L. Moody and
gave $10,000 to Moody to start the Chicago YMCA in 1869. That building burned
along with his Chicago factory in 1871. By this time, McCormick was over 60 and
wealthy enough to retire. Before his death in 1884, he had given $100,000 to
help open Moody Bible Institute. His son, Cyrus Jr., was to become the first
chairman of the school's board. Cyrus McCormick was a devoted Christian who
passed his faith on to his son who later met up with J. Pierpoint Morgan to
become the first president of a combined reaper firm, the famed International
Harvester Corporation. [John Woodbridge, ed., More Than Conquerors (Chicago,
Illinois: Moody Press, 1992), 328-331.]
What might God want to accomplish through your life? Surely you can do all
things through Christ who strengthens you.
Excerpted with permission from the book TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman,
copyright 2000, Destiny Image Publishers, Reprinted by permission. For free
daily email subscription to TGIF Today God Is First marketplace meditations,
visit www.marketplaceleaders.org (Os Hillman)
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