“Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk everyone in his path” - Joel. 2:8a. Today, there’s so much ‘thrusting’, pushing, even pulling. Bishop David Oyedepo will always say, “There’s enough room in the sky for every bird to fly”. Likewise, in the race to glory, there’s enough lane for each athlete. It’s not a competition; there’s a crown at the end of each lane. The goal, therefore, is to run and run till the finish line.

Any bird constantly colliding with another has abandoned its own flight path. In the same way, rivalry begins when we leave our lane and begin contending for another person’s place. (Exo. 22:18)—Korah, Dathan, Abiram and 250 others (Num 16:1-35) were haughty and felt they could also administer in the office of Moses. Long story short, they all died gruesome deaths. There’s a place for every individual under the sun; locate it and occupy it.

“But what if someone is occupying my place?” one may ask, perhaps humorously.

Wait for your appointed time. Job declared, “All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come” (Job 14:14).

Consider David. He had already been anointed by Samuel and knew what God had spoken concerning his future, yet he did not immediately ascend the throne. For years, Saul remained king while David carried the anointing for a position he had not yet been appointed to occupy. Even when opportunities arose for him to take Saul’s life and seemingly hasten the fulfilment of God’s promise, David refused to force his way into what God had ordained for him (1 Samuel 24; 26). He understood that if God had chosen him, God was also capable of determining when and how he would ascend the throne.

There is a profound lesson here: one can be anointed and yet not be appointed. Anointing speaks of divine selection and preparation; appointment speaks of God’s timing for manifestation. Do not allow the certainty of what God has shown you to make you impatient with the process He has chosen.

If someone appears to be occupying your place, resist the temptation to manufacture your own enthronement. What God has appointed for you does not require you to violate His principles to obtain it. Wait. Your anointing does not permit you to outrun your appointed time.

In sharp contrast, Absalom (the third son of David and best groomed for the throne) declared himself king while his father was still alive (2 Sam. 15:7-12). He also died the most unlikely death. The Path of Life is our place of divine ordination; every other path leads to death. “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” – Prov. 14:12.

The glory is not fame but the light of this glorious gospel which should be witnessed (demonstrated) across the ends of the earth; then the end cometh (Matt. 24:14).