If it bugs you, do something about it

In the animated Disney film Tangled, Rapunzle is an eighteen year old girl who has lived all her life in a hidden tower in the woods, she is estranged from society, and has no access to anyone except her ‘mother’, Gothel, who had fed her with lies that the outside world was extremely dangerous and unfit for her, and that she was incapable of surviving its trials.

Whilst locked away in the tower, Rapunzle becomes obsessed with these distant lights she sees every year, and desires more than anything to see them up close. But over and over again her mother, warns her about stepping foot out of the tower, claiming that the tower was the safest place for her to be.

A little pause before I continue, have you noticed something peculiar about Disney’s movie characters? They all seem to have one thing in common: they all seem to be centered around dreams and the drive to achieve them. This is why I am a big fan of Disney, I watch their cartoons and animated films almost the same way I read the Bible, with intense concentration like “ok what is the message in this story?” I don’t know how the script writers do it but man the messages are always so deep and inspiring! Have you seen Moana? Gosh that’s another deep one… I’ll do a writeup on that too some day.

Ok so back to Rapunzle, the girl was so passionate about her desire to see the distant lights that for once in her life she defies her mother’s rules and plots her way out of the tower, with the help of a thief, Flynn. 

I’m gonna have to ask you some pertinent questions at this point: How much do you believe in your dream? How obsessed are you with it? Do you think about it when you lay in bed, when you’re driving, or even when you’re working? How deep is your obsession with this dream, I want to know; on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being insanely obsessed, rate your obsession in the comment box at the end of this writeup. 

There is a Tibetan saying that goes “When the student is ready the teacher will appear”. And a Bible verse that says “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21. When you are consumed enough with your desire for something, God sends signs your way. It could be a gentle whisper that says IT IS TIME, and it could also be a deafening thunder that roars MOVE!!! In whatever way He chooses to drop the hint, if you just pay a little attention you will know that it is the green light. I once read a book by Max Lucado where he said God can adopt any approach to get you to see the signs, sometimes He may choose to drop a conviction in your spirit, or use someone to communicate His message, while at other times it might be an unpleasant experience that will jolt you into hearing the message He’s been trying to pass across to you. There are no guarantees to how the sign will come, so as humans we can’t be fixated on the ‘familiar’ way He speaks, instead we have to be open to learn and relearn. God can use the most unlikely human to say something profound that will strike a cord inside of you, and He can use situations to do the same thing. As a matter of fact. if you have strong head like Balaam God could use an ass!!! 

In Rapunzle’s case the universe sent her a thief.

I have watched this film just short of a dozen times… wait don’t judge me, I have three daughters ok! But you see, this last time that I watched it, I got a new inspiring message that completely blew me away. It was the escape scene. When I watched that escape scene where Rapunzle kept fluctuating between moods of excitement for the adventure in front of her and regret for leaving the tower, I clearly saw the life of every dream chaser/entrepreneur. Heeeey brethren, these erratic emotions is an unending cycle for us. Do not be deceived by the facade of masculine prowess we put up, behind that facade is a scared kid who is thronging forward in faith, hoping that he hasn’t made a wrong decision and believing that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It is what it is! You see, the moment you take that step out of the boat to walk on water, out of safety into the unknown, I can guarantee you that it is going to be a fierce daily battle for your mind! One minute you’re all pumped and ready to take over the world, the next you’re doubting yourself and thinking you’ve made a horrible mistake. One thing I will tell you is that you have an enemy, and he is ready to empty all his artillery on you just to make sure that you do not come to the fullness of who God says you are. And the first place he attacks is your mind. If he can win there, he can completely take over your life and ruin it. He will come against you by bombarding your minds with cleverly devised lies and nagging thoughts that lead to doubt, fear, and reasons why you shouldn’t embark on this new journey. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Corinthians 10:4.

When Gothel realized that Rapunzle had left the tower, she went after her like a mad man. She went as far as employing two rouges to frustrate Rapunzle’s quest because she knew that she (Rapunzle) might discover her true identity, which would invariably lead to her (Gothel) demise. Gothel wasn’t the only one Rapunzle had to contend with, there were other obstacles like the kings soldiers and the pub thugs that were out to slam a gavel on her quest. Talking about the pub thugs, even though their indirect plan was to thwart this dream, they ended up setting Rapunzle and Flynn for success.  It’s interesting how God uses what is supposed to break you to mould you instead. “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Proverbs16:7

Rapunzle dared to be audacious. She forged ahead despite her fears and the challenges she faced along the way, in the end she saw the floating lanterns, she discovered her true identity, and got liberated from her real enemy, Gothel. 

Have you ever stopped to wonder why everything is calm and peaceful until you decide to do the ‘extraordinary’? It’s almost as if all hell gets loose the moment you leave your comfort zone to walk on unfamiliar waters. The reason is simple, the liberation of souls is linked to your purpose. It’s not you per se that your enemy is after, what he is actually fighting it is the emancipation of these enslaved lives that are connected to your dream. God I can write a book on this warfare topic! Brethren you’re gonna have to fight o, this battle go carry you dey go where you no know, but guess what you will win if you stay resilient and have just a little faith. Do you know why you will win? Because your mission is Heaven’s mission, you carry an ambassadorial status that cannot be stopped. And you see those lives connected to yours hnnnnn they mean the world to God. He has relentless love for them and will search high and low for a  lost sheep. He will go after whoever or whatever stands against the mission and He is ready to bring down the wall for Jericho for anyone in His team in this quest of emancipation of men from poverty. 

Step out, you’re gonna be fine. Yes there will be days you’ll doubt yourself and there’ll be days you feel pumped. Whatever the case let the Spirit lead, make God your source of hope, and know that your dream and your business success isn’t about you, it is about the bigger picture.

Has this write up inspired you in one way or the other? I’d like to know how, please leave a comment, I like to know that someone is being encouraged by my ramblings 

Gbemisola Ademola – Adebayo, Mission Entrepreneur, MD Hegai & Esther