Far or Farther

Ever read or heard something said and certain words or phrases - in and out of context - just form a life of their own?

Yes?

No?

Not too sure. 🤔

I'll press on...😉

⠀

In a world where the pronoun "I" followed by any number of ego-tripping adjectives and superlatives establishes the speaker as a self-made-stand-alone conqueror of anything that threatens to obscure their star power, ‘we’ is a word that is in danger of extinction.

And this puzzles me because all the best things happen in teams, even when one of said company is unquestionably a “movie star”.

Speaking of which, even the best A-listers know that without the rest of the cast and crew (b-listers to extras, cameraman to messenger) they're toast.

So too Fortune-500 CEOs, who once unashamedly took credit for the wholesome way in which their employees breathed and now refer to the latter as "colleagues", relying on a bevvy of savvy PAs to let them know when it's safe to revert to Me-Myself-&-I mode...👀

⠀

But history attests to the fact that Adam was given a companion for a reason.

Moses had regular face-to-face convos with God, yet he still needed Aaron and Hur’s physical help to literally hold steady his hands as he wielded his foe-defeating staff...thus allowing the Israelites to prevail over the Amalekites.

Esther didn't count on her ravishing good looks to bedazzle Xerxes and thus single-handedly save the Jewish people from extinction. No siree! At her request, a bevy of folks were fasting and praying up a storm in the background whilst she interceded in person.

Scion of a considerably wealthy family, Elisha was contentedly working the land and living his best life until he was invited to do something bigger and better. With a caveat. There were no guarantees it would work out. Yet he literally burned his bridges and stepped forward in eager anticipation of the goods if it did.

Three words to live by, then:

● We

Unity. Period.

● Can

The possibilities are endless.

● Going

Thinking and doing. It's all in the movement.

Let's go!!!

😎

⠀⠀

📖 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9‭-‬12 NLT (YouVersion)‬

📖 “While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle. After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.””

Exodus‬ ‭17:8-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (YouVersion)⠀

📖 “Mordecai told him the whole story, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. Mordecai gave Hathach a copy of the decree issued in Susa that called for the death of all Jews. He asked Hathach to show it to Esther and explain the situation to her. He also asked Hathach to direct her to go to the king to beg for mercy and plead for her people. So Hathach returned to Esther with Mordecai’s message. Then Esther told Hathach to go back and relay this message to Mordecai: “All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days.” So Hathach gave Esther’s message to Mordecai. Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.” So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.” Esther‬ ‭4:7-14, 16-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (YouVersion)

📖“So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field. There were twelve teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!” Elijah replied, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.” So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.” ‭‭1 Kings 19: 19-21 (YouVersion)

💬 Ilsa Faust - Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)

📷 Rawpixel