We were praying as a family sometime ago. As I rounded up the prayer, I began laying hands on my wife and children, saying prayers and blessings over them. When it got to the turn of my younger daughter, I said, “Father, thank you for our baby…” Immediately, my daughter revolted; “I’m not a baby!” I almost burst into laughter. But I learnt a lesson.
Friend, the difference between HERE and THERE is T, and that T is TIME. Time is a necessary factor that changes your game in life and destiny. However, time does not necessarily change you, but your response to time does. It has been said that patience is not just about waiting. It is about what you do while you wait (Hebrews 6:12).
Every man of destiny must realise that time must be used to transition from babyhood to maturity (1 Corinthians 13:11). We don’t just count years; we must make our years to count (Psalms 90:12). While it is not a sin or an abnormality to be a child, it becomes a concern when one REMAINS a child. Our Lord Jesus began as a child, but he grew to a point where he could stand tall on the stage of destiny and fulfil God’s purpose for his life (Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:40,49,52).
Someone has rightly said that, perhaps, the problem of the first man (Adam) was that he never had the opportunity to grow. He was created a GROWN man, no wonder he misbehaved. Jesus, being the last Adam, must necessarily pass through the phase of growth so that all that needed to be worked in him must have been worked in him so that he could fulfil his destiny without failing.
If Jesus grew, you need to grow. If Paul grew, you need to grow. Even John the Baptist grew, no wonder he could fulfil his prophetic destiny (Luke 1:80). This is where time comes in, and our response to it is very important. That you resume on campus the same day with your mates does not mean that you would AUTOMATICALLY become a graduate after 4-5 years. It is what you do within that time period that determines if that would eventually happen.
That you got born again 10 years ago does not mean that Heaven can count on you. It is how you maximize your time in the journey of Christianity that determines that. Also, position or status does not necessarily equal growth. You can be married and still be a child. You can be a pastor and still be a child. You can be the leader of a nation or group and still be a child (Ecclesiastes 10:16). It is not the position that confers growth on you; it is your growth that would affect the position.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria