"And the Lord said to him, 'You are old.'" –Josh 13:1

If you are into Nigerian gospel music, you will agree with me that these young guys from Christ Embassy are just it. My favorite artiste is Frank Edwards. I mean that guy blows my mind everytime. Just when you think it can’t get better than this he comes out with something out of this world. Of course, Sinach is in another world of her own. Let’s not even talk about her here. But have you ever wondered how they get their inspirations?

I remember watching one of their T.V stations. I can’t remember whether it was Love World or Love World Plus but one of these artistes from there was being interviewed and he was asked that very question. Guess what he said: among others was that he sits in church listening to a message and right where he is seated a song comes into his mind from that very message and he quickly writes down the song.

The same message that some other people hear and fall asleep, someone else listens to it, gets an inspiration for a song, goes to the studio, records it, mass produces it and makes millions out of it. Life is spiritual.

I am not into music professionally but I identify with that experience completely. The inspiration for this note came while listening to a speaker in church. The verse of the bible stated at the beginning was one of the scriptures he used in his message but I got an inspiration to write a note from that verse.

First, let’s go through some of the names or attributes of God as regarding age: The Rock of Ages; Ancient of Days; Beginning and end; One who was, who is, and is to come. All of these attributes tell you that even carbon dating cannot tell you how old He is. How do you measure the age of the one who created time?

The puzzle here is how come God, who created time, will now call a mortal old? When the one who created time; when the one who has always been and will always be; when the one who is the ancient of days, calls a man ‘old’ that man must have serious issues. That man has got some major problems.

You see, we have been told that opportunity comes but once. The truth, however, is that there will always be opportunities. We will never run out of opportunities. Scriptures say, as long as the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest will not cease. Those are opportunities. They will always come.

However, and this is where most of us miss it, time is a limited resource. We don’t have control over time. We only have control over what we do within time. That was why God looked at a man whom He created and told that man that he was old. God can do anything for a man but rewinding time is not one of them. He created seasons and expects us to accomplish certain things within the season set for them.

There is a misconstrued notion around that whenever you wake up is your morning. I’ve heard it in gospel music, heard great speakers use it, and read it even on the notes of people here on facebook. But it is not true. Whenever you wake up is not morning. Your belief system will always affect your life. And when you believe those kinds of postulations, you will live a laid back life.

Seasons have been set by God. You cannot alter them. Praying in the tongues of men and of angels will not turn springtime to summer. Seasons don’t respect persons. When you try to change things outside your control, sir, ma, you’ve missed it. You are only signing a contract with frustration. You only have control over what you do within the season.

The man who wakes up at 2:00pm and tells himself that that is his morning is living in self deception. I’m sorry to tell you sir, but your morning is gone. You missed it. Just maximize whatever is left of your afternoon and evening. You will never reclaim your morning.

When I see youths in the morning season of their lives, living like it will always be morning forever, my heart breaks. If you are in that category, you are in the very last bus stop of ignorance. Ignorance does not go beyond there. Soon, your morning will pass you by.

When a retired medical doctor who once participated in my class said she wished she had participated in a class like that when she was a teenager, a sharp sensation ran through my spine. It was more than just a comment to me. It was a word from God.

In life, you must learn to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. The skills necessary for growth must be acquired before the opportunity comes. A big change is just around the corner. Nigeria is at a bend. And once we successfully negotiate that bend it will be too late to start getting ready. If you think this nation will remain like this forever, think again.

God said to Joshua, “You are old,” not because there will be no more opportunities, but because time was running out. There were yet many lands to be conquered but time was far spent. All those big aspirations you have will remain castles in the air if you don’t wake up now and start laying the foundations for the castles.

The man who wakes up at 25 to pursue his dreams will be light years ahead of the man who wakes up at 65 to start pursuing his dreams. Their capacities for shocks are not the same. A 25yr old who fails can start again because he has time on his side. A 65yr old who fails will find it harder to get back on his feet.

When you’ve passed the season when you should have achieved certain objectives in your life, God will look at you and say you are old. And when God says to a man, “You are old,” then that man is in serious trouble, because he is now older than God.

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

N.B.
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