WAKE UP!

WAKE UP!

 Some years ago, there was an unforgettable horse named Sunday Silence.  The back story is that Sunday Silence actually should have been dead…twice.  As a young colt, Sunday Silence contracted a deadly case of colic.  Colts with colic only rarely survive.  Sunday Silence contracted severe colic as colt, yet he survived.

 Due to his prior medical condition, Sunday Silence was put up for sale at two separate auctions.  However, no one wanted to purchase a horse that had a history of colic, or one with his unsightly appearance.  In addition to his horrific health issues, Sunday Silence was nearly killed when the driver of his trailer had a heart attack and experienced a terrible traffic accident.  Bottom-line: Sunday Silence was universally viewed as an unwanted and unmarketable horse – damaged goods.

 However, eventually a man named Charles Widdingham bought Sunday Silence (sight unseen) for $25,000 because everything he had heard suggested to him that Sunday Silence was tough, a genuine survivor.  At the age of 76, Charles was the oldest trainer to ever bring a horse to The Kentucky Derby, but he entered that prestigious event anyway, only to become the brunt of other horse owner’s jokes. 

 Even the jockey he had chosen, Pat Valenzuela, was in semi-broken condition.  He had only recently been rehabilitated from drug abuse.  So, the odds were heavily stacked against them.  Most people would not have wagered one dollar on that horse, his rider, or owner.

 Nevertheless, Charles and Pat had faith and trained Sunday Silence rigorously.  They worked around the clock to get him ready for the toughest race in the world.  Of course, they were competing with million-dollar thoroughbreds whose sponsors possessed deep financial pockets.  Thus they were categorically dismissed, as an old fool, a young punk drunk and a sickly unsightly horse.

 The day of The Kentucky Derby finally arrived.  When the starting gun sounded and the horses bolted out of their gates, a pitiful looking Sunday Silence wobbled back and forth at first, appearing to be completely confused.  But the gloating spectators overlooked one important thing: SUNDAY SILENCE HAD HEART!

 Suddenly, something strange and unprecedented occurred.  For reasons unknown to his startled critics, Sunday Silence seemed to WAKE UP – and he raced down the track like the champion thoroughbred his owner expected him to be.  It seemed that he had an internal realization: ‘I’m in a big race…and I want to win!’  Sunday Silence shot forward like a bolt of lightning, passing all of his ungulate competitors, and winning The Kentucky Derby that day – all because he had incredible heart.

 My friend, others might have grossly underestimated your worth, or occasionally devalued your contribution.  Please do not allow your dream to be deterred or deferred by disapproving glances or unsavory commentary.  You know better.  Wake up!  Put your entire being (body, soul and spirit) into that unique assignment for which only YOU been purposed and positioned on this planet.  No, it is not too late!  Start seeing (TODAY) what GOD had in mind for you, long before the foundation of the world.  Write it down, meditate on it, plan it, declare it, then act on it.  Constantly evaluate your character and your progress.  Then you can tweak your strategy, and try (again and again and again), until you succeed!

 Sunday Silence literally silenced all his detractors without speaking one word.  His bold actions were the loudest and clearest expression of his winning destiny.  YOU, winner-believer, have far more value and capability than Sunday Silence.  WAKE UP, STAND UP, GET MOVING, win!

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!