“Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” (Phil. 4:9 KJV)

Last week we started our conversation on some life lessons I learned meditating on the story of the healing of the paralytic man as recorded in Mark 2. We discussed five of the lessons —and this week, we shall continue the discourse. I trust God you’ll be blessed as you learn and glean.

Here are the lessons for this week:

1. Have an understanding of your operating environment.

I perceive the four friends of the paralytic man must have done their research to know the various entrances or outlets to and from the room.

Alex Banayan in his book —The Third Door, used the nightclub as a metaphor for life, business — opining that there are always three ways in. And I add that you must be accustomed to the nightclub environment to know how to access the third door.

Hear this: It takes an understanding of the operating environment to enjoy the cooperation of the environment.

2. The strength of a partnership, friendship or any relationship is as strong as the weakest link.

The four friends intuitively knew that their weak friend can weaken their collective efforts. Hence, their desperate desire to see their friend healed and equally strengthened.

I’m reminded of the story of David’s mighty men who rallied around their anointed self-exiled and beleaguered king-elect. They had the understanding that a strengthened David could make their team unbeatable. “And they helped David against the band of the rovers: for they were all mighty men of valour, and were captains in the host.” (1 Chron. 12:21)

3. Never be discouraged by the crowd.

The room where Jesus was ministering was too crowded that the entrance was tightly blocked. I believe that was enough to discourage these four friends. They could have missed their day looking at the crowd—but they refused to be discouraged.

You must know that God sees, treats and deals with us as individuals. In the midst of the crowd, you can distinguish yourself. Don’t crawl into your shell — because of the crowd. That your crown can be seen in the crowd.

4. Take advantage of every likelihood of opportunity even if it’s shrouded in complexity or mystery.

There’s no open door that shows you the full picture of the room and all its appurtenances. It can only be revealed when you boldly step into the open door.

It’s in motion that things are revealed. The four friends didn’t know there was an entrance from the roof until they moved.

Hear this: innovators and inventors may not have the full picture but they question the status quo and embark on an importunate quest.

5. Information is critical to your blessing or breakthrough.

You must be hungry for information that leads to transformation. It was obvious that these four friends were ready for an encounter with Jesus Christ. How did I know—someone may ask. They kept their ears to the ground for any information on Jesus’ itinerary— that when it was noised abroad through the various communication channels, they gathered and ran with it.

My father in the gospel, Dr. David Oyedepo said, “To be informed is to be transformed, and to be uninformed is to be deformed.” I counsel you again — be hungry for transforming information!

To be continued…

To learning,

✝️TCK

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