"It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John, son of Zechariah, who was living out in a strange place." - Luke 3:1-2

Occasionally, I collect my thoughts together before I write. But most times, not until I take the pen and start writing, nothing flows, all I just keep seeing is the title. This is one of such notes. You may not believe it, but right now, I have no idea what I am going to write about. I have spent some time thinking about what to write about such a title, nothing came besides the verse I used as my supporting scripture. But what I know beyond the shadow of doubt is that as I write something will flow.

The passage of the bible I used in my opening is about John. What I find interesting about those two verses is the way the writer, Luke, who, by the way, was a medical doctor, did not just go straight to the point to tell us that the word of God came to John, which really was the essence of the passage. Instead, he first mentioned all the big names of that day and time, the up and in, before telling us that the word of God by-passed all of them including the high priests, and went to John, a strange man, by the circumstances of his birth, living in a strange place, the wilderness, eating strange foods, locusts.

One of the most difficult lifestyles to live then and even now in our days is the lifestyle of being different. All through history, the lifestyle of solitude is the most difficult lifestyle to live. And it has only gotten worse today. Everything and everyone is calling for you to belong. Everyone wants you to be like them. And it takes a lot of will to be different, to stand out from the crowd. And it is a painful experience.

Somehow, in a way I am still unable to decipher, the man who must experience God, the man who must function at maximum potential, must be ready to walk the lonely path. For the man God will send to the palace, He first sends to the wilderness. And like Ravi Zacharias would say, "You must be willing to pray and pay for the privilege and responsibility of beholding God’s glory." It does not come cheap. After all the Oohs! And the Aahs! in church, after all the electrifying messages from the platform, the man who is yearning for significance must be ready to walk the lonely path.

I think this is where there is a disconnect in this age. We've lost the value of solitude. We want to stand before kings, but while waiting we still want to be partying at that club, instead of spending time in the wilderness preparing for the palace. We are ready to go anywhere as long as we can go with the television box. But things don't really work that way. The caterpillar that must become a butterfly must be ready to lose water first. It must be ready to go through that process of pain that will drain it of every fluid so it can become light enough to fly.

John was a strange man, by the circumstances of his birth, living in a strange place, the wilderness, eating strange foods, locusts. But when God was sending His word, it went right past over the names that matter in that age. It went right past the up and in of his days. And that word came to him in the strange place where he was living. I see a principle worthy of emulation here.

Oje Ohiwerei, the man who created me, hypothetically speaking, drummed it into my head in the 90's when I was in my late teens, he always said, "The period of waiting might be painful, but it is worth it." Don't get distracted by the names around. Don't get distracted by what the crowd is going for. God is always looking for that man who nobody knows but has been faithfully doing his thing. It is that man God is looking for to make him a sight to behold.

"That it works does not make it right, because everyone is doing it does not make it right" was also another counsel Oje Ohiwerei gave those of us who sat under him in the 90's. Cummulatively, I am not sure I have had more than a 20mins conversation with him in the last ten years. But what he taught me in the 90's still sounds in my ears everyday of my life.

What he said to me almost two decades ago is what I am telling you right now. Don't let the noise drown you. Those who walk with the crowd never get ahead of the crowd. Go through the process. Practice personal leadership. Stay in your zone, even if no one stays with you. Fight for what you believe, never, never, never, give up. The Chinese say he who must play six, must first throw the dice. If out of fear of getting a one or a two or a three, you refuse to throw the dice, then you have already failed before you started.

I am not here to be the best writer. I am here to make the greatest impact in the lives of people around the globe. I am not a local champion; Nigeria is too small for me. The world is my constituency. Why play in the pond when the ocean is waiting for me? That is why I do what I do with a passion. Because whatever I do must resound through eternity. I hope you are on this train too? Because it is when I am functioning maximally in my zone and you are functioning maximally in your zone that we will make a great team making the greatest impacts in the lives of people.

I feel like praying for someone, I don’t normally do this in my public notes, I normally only pray for my students in the School for Personal Leadership. But I have a strong urge to pray right now. I pray for that person who is crying on the inside. You have been on the lonely path and it seems like no one is recognizing your effort. You put in the best at the office, yet no one seems to notice. I pray for that person who is asking, "When will my time come? I have been on the lonely path for long." I pray for you, that in just a little while, the cloud will shift to your location, your rain will fall. They think you have failed because you've been going through the process. Soon, very, very, soon, they will be the ones asking, "How did it happen?" I declare a season of change for you, in Jesus' name. Amen!

Thanks,
Mute Efe. (www.facebook.com/mutehimself)
+234-803-874-9796

Tx for d wonderful impartation this morning. I'm improved

Bless you sir!words of wisdom!

Never to give up.Thks for this

Just read it today. God bless you! Refreshing hope