Superman Needs Rest

When I was 39, a sister called
me aside after vigil one day
and asked me to get a driver.
She said due to the long
hours we spend during the day
at work and the lack of
sleep due to vigils, it is
the best thing to do.
I told her I was too
young to get a driver, people
may see it as a sign
of pride.
 
Besides, the ministry was just a
Few months old and I know
many great men and women who
combine work with ministry (plus vigils) 
everyday and they are doing fine.
I believe myself to be a
careful driver and I have never
been involved in an accident
since I started driving in 2011.
The sister didn’t press the issue.
 
A few days later, I was
driving to my office in Magodo,
I drove in through Shangisha.
I was driving at the normal
pace recommended by the estate while 
listening to gospel music. I slept off.
By the time I opened my eyes,
the car had climbed the kerb
and was heading for someone’s gate,
I grabbed the steering and turned hard.
I averted the accident, however I lost 
both tyres on the right side of the vehicle.
I berated myself.
"You need to sleep more and
next time play loud music or
make a phone call and engage
someone in conversation on the phone.
You’re smarter than this."
 
A few months later, I was
on my way home from a vigil
when I fell into a ditch as
I was about to get into
my car. It was as if my
sense of awareness of danger
or my environment get dull
due to lack of sleep!
 
I was almost 40 and I still
didn’t see the need for a
driver. Sometimes when I get caught
up in traffic or have to
drive long distances, I would
discover that I have missed
very important calls.
When I return the calls, sometimes,
terrible things would have happened!
 
A young mother whose baby had
died tried all day to reach
me by phone but I couldn’t
pick because I was driving.
By the time I returned the call,
the baby’s father had taken the
baby off to be buried. We still
prayed and the baby came
back to life in the sack
the father put his body
just as he was about to
be buried. The name of the
baby is Dominion, the testimony was 
shared on my timeline about two
years ago and it is on the
GSWMI website.
 
I always imagine that if I was
too busy or too tired to
return her call that day and
wondered if the baby would still
be alive as he is today.
 
There is also the issue of
decision making and availability.
While I am driving, a member
of my team or my wife might
call asking me for approval or
requesting that I do something
which had to be done immediately.
I would often be handicapped to
respond immediately and sometimes 
a good window of opportunity would
be missed.
 
The final straw was a few
days after my fortieth birthday.
I had gone to minister at
a location all night and I was
driving home. Again I found myself 
dozing, I parked my car beside the
road to rest a little. About an
hour after parking, (I left the
engine running because of the 
Air Conditioner and my door was locked),
I felt the presence of someone.
When I opened my eyes and
saw this guy peeping into the car
(I can’t say what he wanted
but it was a scary sight).
I quickly drove away from
the place.
 
I told myself I had to
get a driver and I got one.
Imagine my shock when we are
having a vigil and my driver insists
he has to be in the vigil
all night with me because he
is a Christian and didn’t want
to miss out on the blessing
of the vigil!
 
How wise would I be to tell
him to sit down in the
meeting so that he can now
do what I was preventing myself
from doing to myself later during
the day. Our team was traveling
once, out of the blue, I told
a brother to go to the
bus and take over the wheels
from the driver. The brother did
so and the driver slept off
in the passenger seat some minutes
later. I had asked this same
driver if he was tired and
wants to rest and he kept
insisting he was fine but I know
human nature.
The body must rest!
 
I have a pastor friend who
slept off at the wheel after
a vigil and crashed his car
with his entire family in it
against a Lagos State Television van!
Nobody died (Thank God) but they
were injured and he had to
spend a lot of money repairing his
car and the vehicle he crashed.
 
Wisdom is always profitable to direct!
If you know you need a driver,
please get one and make sure
he rests when he ought to
so that he can deliver without
stress. Your driver, like you,
is not a superman!