Need To Know I

“Using a dull ax requires great strength,
 so sharpen the blade.
That’s the value of wisdom;
it helps you succeed” Ecc.10:10

Know your allies. Who are the people around you? Do you know the people around you? Who are your allies? Do you know the people that appear to be on your side? Write down their names, take the list to God and pray for them one after the other. Some people have been married for twenty years and they do not know their spouse. He or she may be flying while you are sleeping. You need to know everyone around you and what they are capable of doing. As a leader, if you do not know what everyone around you is capable of doing, then you are in for surprises.

Even Jesus did things deliberately to test His disciples to see who will say what. Sometimes that is the easiest way to know the people around you. Sometimes you just need to wait and watch. While sometimes God will reveal their hearts to you directly. But you must know everyone around you and who is capable of making decision. Which of your children is capable of knowing that this food has been set aside for Mum or Dad and still eat it? If you do not know, then deliberately set it up. The objective is not to punish that child but for you to know and update your database.

Do you know how the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar died? Have you heard the statement “et tu brute”? It means “and you too Brutus”? Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by Brutus his “friend”. When Brutus plunged the dagger into him, he could not believe it. He knew he had enemies but he did not know one of his enemies was someone he called friend. I pray in Jesus Name that your last words will not be “et tu brute”.

One Yoruba proverb my grandmother would often say to us is, “Bi iku ile oba pa ni, t’ode ole pani”. And it means, “If the internal enemy does not destroy you, the external enemy cannot destroy you”. It is good to know the enemy without but greater than that, is the enemy within. There are people that if you fall they just want to be in that position of saying sorry, let me help you up. Such people are dangerous. Some people are praying for you to fall so that they can say we are all human after all.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please help me accurately discern the people around me so that I will stand tall for Your glory alone, in Jesus Name.