“Ephphatha”

 

◄ What does 'Ephphatha' mean? ►

Definition and Occurrence

The term “Ephphatha” occurs in Mark 7:34, where it is recorded as an Aramaic word spoken by Jesus during a miraculous healing:

“And looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means, ‘Be opened!’).”

Mark’s Gospel includes this Aramaic term with an immediate translation for the original readers who might not have known Aramaic. In context, Jesus uses “Ephphatha” to restore the hearing and speech of a man who was deaf and had a severe speech impediment.

Biblical Context

In Mark 7:31-37, Jesus ministers in the region of the Decapolis, an area populated by both Jewish and Gentile communities. When the deaf and mute man is brought to Him, Jesus sets him apart from the crowds, performs the healing, and utters “Ephphatha!” Following this, the man’s hearing is restored, and he immediately begins to speak plainly.

This healing account demonstrates the inclusive compassion of Jesus, extending miraculous grace not only in predominantly Jewish localities but also in places culturally influenced by Hellenistic and Gentile populations.

Language and Etymology

“Ephphatha” (אֶפְתַּח in Aramaic versions) is derived from an Aramaic verb meaning “to open.” Aramaic was widely spoken in first-century Judea and Galilee alongside Hebrew and Greek. The transliteration “Ephphatha” appears in Greek manuscripts of Mark’s Gospel to preserve Jesus’ exact Aramaic expression.

This is one of several instances in the New Testament where Aramaic words are preserved to convey a powerful moment-others include “Talitha koum” (Mark 5:41) and “Abba” (Mark 14:36). In each case, the authors either translate or clarify these words for the wider Greek-speaking audience.

Theological Significance

1. Healing and Restoration. By speaking “Ephphatha,” Jesus demonstrates divine authority. The immediate restoration of the man’s hearing and speech reinforces Jesus’ identity and mission: to bring physical, spiritual, and relational wholeness.

2. Fulfillment of Prophecy. The healing of the deaf and mute recalls prophetic expectations such as Isaiah 35:5-6 (cf.), describing the coming Messianic age: “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped … and the mute tongue will shout for joy.” Jesus’ action fulfills these promises.

3. Symbolic Meaning. While “Ephphatha” literally means “be opened,” it can also signify a spiritual opening. Many interpreters note that Jesus’ miracles often point to deeper truths. Just as He opened the man’s ears and freed his tongue, He also opens hearts to understand God’s message of salvation.

Textual and Manuscript Considerations

The inclusion of the specific Aramaic word followed by its translation underscores the reliability of Mark’s eyewitness accounts. Ancient Greek manuscripts, such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, preserve the passage. Scholars note consistency among the manuscripts regarding Jesus’ spoken words and the immediate clarification “which means, ‘Be opened!’”

This textual harmony supports the authenticity of the event as recorded. Even minor differences in grammar or spelling among manuscripts do not affect the account’s core meaning, further confirming that the word “Ephphatha” has been faithfully preserved throughout centuries of copying and translation efforts.

Practical Applications

1. Faith and Expectation. Just as Jesus “opened” the man’s ears to hear, today readers are reminded to have faith in the power of the divine to intervene in every situation, trusting that God can bring miraculous change, physically and spiritually.

2. Spiritual Openness. “Be opened” can be applied beyond the physical realm, encouraging believers to remain open to divine truth, guidance, and growth. It urges a prayerful heart posture, seeking both understanding of Scripture and alignment with God’s will.

3. Divine Compassion. The example of Jesus’ personal attention and care for the individual highlights the compassionate nature of the Healer. It engages believers to be likewise attentive, caring, and ready to help those around them.

Historical and Cultural Notes

Aramaic served as a common language in the region during the Second Temple period. Archaeological findings and scholarly research on inscriptions and manuscripts corroborate the widespread use of Aramaic among Jewish communities in Galilee, Judea, and surrounding Gentile areas.

Culturally, miracles recorded in the Gospels show continuity with the Jewish understanding that God intervenes in creation. The direct use of Aramaic words in Mark, alongside their Greek explanations, reflects an authentic integration of local speech patterns preserved for a broader audience.

English idiom: Burn the Candle at Both Ends

 Burn the Candle at Both Ends 

‘Burn the candle at both ends’ is such an old phrase. I mean, who burns candles unless there’s a power outage. And can you even picture a candle being burned at both ends?

If the phrase has left you feeling confused, you’ve come to the perfect place. Here , I will teach you what the phrase means and explain how it may have originated. Then we’ll go onto usage of the phrase, including how and when you can use the phrase, before going through some examples of alternative phrases that you can use in its place.

And without further ado, let’s get down to it…

What is the meaning of the phrase ‘burn the candle at both ends’?

The phrase ‘burning the candle at both ends’ dates back to the period before we had electricity, when we had to rely on candles for light whenever there’s insufficient sunlight.

The term was used to describe when someone is trying to do too much in a short period of time, which means that they have to stay up late at night, and get up early in the morning to get it all done.

Following on from that, when someone has to burn a candle late into the night, and then light a candle before sunrise in order to complete a project of some kind, then the candle is likely to burn out, and the individual is also at risk of reaching ‘burn out’.

What is the origin of the phrase ‘burn the candle at both ends’?

The phrase ‘burn the candle at both ends’ originally showed up in the French language: ‘Bruloient la chandelle par less deux bouts’. It first appeared in the English language in the early 17th century, but back then it had a different meaning. It referred to wasting material wealth, since burning a candle at both ends can be considered needlessly wasteful.

However, of the course time, the phrase took on its more modern meaning about overextending oneself in their efforts, as popularised by the poet Edna St. Vincent Millayin her poem ‘First Fig’ published in 1920 where she wrote:

“My candle burns at both ends;

It will not last the night;

But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—

It gives a lovely light!” 

We also have the phrase ‘burn the midnight oil’ which refers to staying up late, and this dates back to at least 1635, since it appears in a poem published at this time titled ‘Emblems’ written by the English author Francis Quarles, the official chronologer to the City of London, who wrote:

‘We spend our midday sweat, our midnight oil,

We tire the night in thought, the day in toil.’

How and when to use the phrase ‘burn the candle at both ends’?

The phrase ‘burn the candle at both ends’ is suitable to describe both personal and professional circumstances. For example, you could use it to describe how you’ve been working long hours on a particular project for work, or equally you can use it to describe how you’ve been putting long hours in for a hobby.

It is generally considered informal language on the whole, and it is also used as a warning. For example, someone might say ‘If you keep burning the candle at both ends, both you and the candle will burn out’.

What can you use in place of the phrase ‘burn the candle at both ends’?

If you’d like to choose an alternative phrase to ‘burn the candle at both ends’ for example if you’re speaking with a non-native English speaker who may be unfamiliar with English idioms, then there are many alternative phrases to choose from. Here are some examples for you.

• Mind you don’t overwork yourself.

• Don’t do hours you don’t get paid for.

• Be careful you don’t burn out putting so many hours in.

• I’m working all the hours God sends to get this job done.

• I’ve been working late into the night and getting up early in the morning for this project.

• This project has had me working late into the night and getting up early in the morning.

Final word

So, to sum up, the phrase ‘burn the candle at both ends’ means working on something late into the night and early in the morning, or generally putting long hours in. The phrase dates back to the use of candlelight prior to the invention of electric light, but the phrase was not truly popularised until the year 1920, when it appeared in a poem by poet Edna St. Vincent Millayin called ‘First fig’.

The phrase is often used as a warning that if someone spends too much time on something, then they are not getting enough rest, and are at risk of reaching burn out.

Knowing from the Lord that he had but "five-times-three" years to finish his work, John Sung burned the candle of his life at both ends without any let up. He died in Peking August 18, 1944 at the age of forty-two, consumed in the Master's service.

40 John Sung Revival Sermons

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE

In the early years of the thirties, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" of the Church in China began to echo to her sons and daughters in Southeast Asia. It was the voice of a Chinese John the Baptist, the greatest preacher China has ever heard.

The voice of John Sung, preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ, brought thousands, campaign after campaign, to the feet of the Saviour. The voice of John Sung, preaching holiness and dedication, called thousands more to an evangelistic crusade and hundreds into the fulltime ministry. In a brief fifteen years, this apostle of modern China had traversed the length and breadth of his own country and all over Southeast Asia, winning several hundred thousand souls to Christ.

John Sung was born in Hinghwa, Fukien Province in 1901, one of many sons and daughters of a Methodist pastor. A brilliant scholar with a high ambition, he found his way to the United States in 1920. From 1920 to 1926 he applied himself with all his might to the study of science. He graduated with a Ph.D. in chemistry at the head of his class.

At the zenith of success glittering with many honours, there came the Word of the Lord Jesus to him, "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).

Remembering his vow of earlier years to serve the Lord, John Sung gave up a lucrative profession to study for the Gospel ministry. He was introduced by a friend to Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Alas! A seminary that taught a "God-is-dead" theology under the care-taking of a principal surnamed (Henry Sloane) Coffin became but a "cemetery" to John Sung's troubled soul. But God showed John Sung the way to salvation and life everlasting as he diligently sought Him, the modernist theologians notwithstanding. This brought such a flood of joy to his quickened soul that he literally burst out to tell his teachers and friends of his newfound salvation.

    Supposing John Sung had lost his mind, the Seminary authorities sent him to a mental hospital. Here he was kept for 193 days, days of bitter suffering, yet of deeper communion with his Lord. During this period, says William E. Schubert his bosom friend, he read his Bible forty times!

    His wilderness days over, John Sung made his way back to China, answering the call of God to minister to his own people. As the ship he sailed in ploughed through the Pacific Ocean, he tossed into the sea all his academic awards, even medals and gold keys, save his doctor's diploma to show his father in filial piety. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it" (Mark 8:35).

The first three years of his labours were years of probation. From 1930 onwards, however, the Lord began to multiply his ministry, more and more, until the close of the decade. Knowing from the Lord that he had but "five-times-three" years to finish his work, John Sung burned the candle of his life at both ends without any let up. He died in Peking August 18, 1944 at the age of forty-two, consumed in the Master's service.

One decade after John Sung's death, his exploits were made known to the English-speaking churches by Leslie T. Lyall through "John Sung, the Flame for God in the Far East." Other English publications on John Sung, such as William E. Schubert's "I Remember John Sung" and numerous articles appearing in magazines and periodicals from time to time have also increased this knowledge, to the edification of saints old and young.

In the Introduction to his book, "I Remember John Sung," veteran missionary William E. Schubert says of China's flaming evangelist:

Dr. John Sung was probably the greatest preacher of this century. I have heard almost all the great preachers from 1910 until now, including R. A. Torrey, Billy Sunday, Henry Jowett, the great holiness preachers, the Methodist bishops, including Bishop Quayle, even Harry Emerson Fosdick, who set a great example of the homiletic art, though I did not agree with him, and finally Billy Graham. Yet John Sung surpassed them all in pulpit power, attested by amazing and enduring results, of which we will give examples later.

A young missionary after reading Schubert's book in which are appended a couple of John Sung's Sermons asked for more. So have other English readers of Dr. Sung's biographies.

Dr. Sung's sermons are published in Chinese by my aunt Miss Alice Doo. With her cooperation and in response to popular request, I have translated a first instalment of twenty sermons (of a total of forty), particularly the shorter ones and those it was my blessing to hear at the peak of his ministry in Singapore in 1935. The reason why Forty Sermons are chosen is that this was the number preached in Singapore during a two-week period, three sermons a day. To go through all forty sermons would give the reader a sampling of the Revival we went through.

These Sermons are called "Revival Sermons", for such they are. The aim of the preacher in these sermons is the breaking down of strongholds of resistance of the unregenerate heart, rebuke of carnal Christians and professional Church workers. The style of John Sung's preaching is eminently expository, verse by verse, under a given theme. But the centrality of any theme is always the Cross --- Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3). Hence the power of his sermons.

Another feature of John Sung's sermon delivery was the coupling of the message with an appropriately chosen Gospel chorus --- one with a catchy tune, Western or Oriental, that helped to drive home the sermon into the hearer's heart. The evangelist usually preached a two-hour sermon. That he was able to keep up the interest of his audience was by the recurrent singing of these choruses. Hence the inclusion of a "Theme Song" at the beginning or end of these translated sermons.

Though much of the power released by the Holy Spirit during the Revival in the thirties could not be preserved on paper, the faithfully recorded words of his sermons are surely a means of grace to lead a new generation to Christ. Nor are some of the things he said without reproach, for after all, he was but an earthern vessel --- but God was pleased to use him for His own glory.

If some souls will be brought into the Kingdom and oldtimer Christians re-quickened through these Sermons in English syllables, the efforts of this translator will not have been made in vain.

    Lord, send the old-time power, the Pentecostal power!

Thy floodgates of blessing on us throw open wide!

    Lord, send the old-time power, the Pentecostal power

That sinners be converted and Thy Name glorified!

 

speak directly to the deepest needs of the human heart

    Each new sunrise greets us with choices. 

   What we'll believe, how we'll respond, where we'll place our trust. Behind every decision are unseen battles, spiritual weariness, emotional burdens, and the quiet ache for clarity and strength.

    But beloved, you were never meant to face the day alone. 

   Father God has already made provision not just through strength and grace but through His Word alive and speaking and there is no better place to begin than in the Psalms. 

   These three psalms carefully chosen speak directly to the deepest needs of the human heart.

   Psalm 27 offers confidence in chaos. When fear rises and the unknown looms, this psalm reminds you that God is your light, your salvation, and your safe place. You don't have to pretend to be strong. You just need to lean into the One who is. Our Father God is strong always.

 Psalm 34 is written for the brokenhearted, the weary, and the wounded. It tells the truth about pain, but louder still it tells the truth about Father God. He hears. He rescues. He surrounds. When your cries are messy, he still listens. When your courage fails, His compassion holds. 

   Psalm 51 is a psalm of mercy and renewal. And when  guilt whispers and shame lingers, this is your reset. This is where your heart is made new. Where grace does not just forgive, it rebuilds. Where your past does not define you, but God's mercy restores you.

   They are more than verses. They are weapons, wells of living water, songs for the soul. I encourage you, listen and declare these psalms for the next seven days. Why 7 days? 

   Because in the Bible, seven is the number of divine completion, spiritual fullness, and covenant promise. 

   In Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth in six days. And on the seventh day, he rested,  signifying completion. 

  In Joshua 6, the Israelites marched around Jericho for 7 days. And on the seventh day, the walls fell, signifying breakthrough. 

 In 2 Kings 5, the prophet Elisha told Naaman, the commander of the Aramean king's army,  to wash in the Jordan river seven times. And after the seventh dip, he was healed, signifying restoration. 

   Seven isn't just a number. It's a rhythm of heaven. When you meditate on these psalms for 7 days, you're not just repeating words. You're aligning your heart with God's promises. 

  You're planting seeds of truth that grow into strength. You're building a spiritual rhythm that invites breakthrough, healing, and peace. 

   So today we declare together, 🗣️: "My strength comes from the Lord, my deliverer, and my  healer. 

   Let the psalms lead you. Let the Word hold you. And let the next seven days begin your journey into deeper victory and divine restoration." 

  Let's begin with bold confidence. Psalm 27:1, 🗣️: "The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?" 

David's words in Psalm 27 are not written from a palace, but from a battlefield of the soul. They are not theoretical comfort. They are tried and tested truth. When he declared, "The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I  fear?" It was not because he had never known fear. It was because he had faced it and found God greater. 

  Sometimes we wake up with a heaviness we can't name. We feel surrounded not by armies but by deadlines, loneliness, disappointment, or dread.    Psalm 27 reaches into that space and lights a candle in the dark. David begins not with his fears, but begins with his faith in GOD. The Lord is. David names God's identity before he names his enemy. 

   Light is more than brightness. Light is clarity, guidance, hope. 

  Salvation is not just being rescued from hell, but being delivered today from hopelessness, from confusion, from the crushing weight of self-reliance. 

  When God becomes your first thought, fear loses its grip. 

 It's because he had God. And that's our challenge to trust not in what we can control, but in the One who controls it all. This psalm doesn't promise absence of threat. It promises presence of peace in the midst of threat. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is choosing to move forward in the strength of God even while fear whispers. 

   Remember the story of Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6. Surrounded by an enemy army, the  servant panicked. But Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see." And suddenly the servant saw chariots of fire on the hills. What surrounds you is surrounded by God. 

 Declare Psalm 27. When your spirit trembles, let it remind you. God goes before you. He shines his light in your darkness. You are never outnumbered when the Lord is your salvation. 

Psalm 34:4 remind us. I sought the Lord and He answered me. He delivered me from all my fears. 

  David wrote Psalm 34 at a strange and humbling time after pretending to be insane before King Achish (also called Abimelech) in Gath, to escape harm.  1 Samuel 21:13. It was messy. It was not his  proudest moment. Yet out of that desperation came this praise because even there God delivered him. 

  We often  think deliverance only happens when we do everything right. But Psalm 34 reminds us God answers even from the cave, even from the confusion, even when we feel like we barely scraped by. 

  David sought the Lord. And the Lord  didn't shame him. He answered him. This is not a distant theological promise. It's personal. 

He delivered me from all my fears. All, not some. 

Not the manageable ones. All the ones that keep you awake. The ones you hide from others. The ones you've named and the ones you don't understand yet. 

  Fear is sneaky. It can disguise itself as control, perfectionism, or overthinking.

  But Psalm 34 exposes fear for what it is, a thief of peace. And God's response, deliverance. 

  Remember Peter in the prison in Acts 12, chained between guards, sleeping under the shadow of death. But the church prayed, and an angel came, chains fell, doors opened. 

   Deliverance is not limited by iron or circumstance. It is powered by prayer and God's unstoppable love. 

David goes on in Psalm 34, "Those who look to him are radiant. Their faces are never covered with shame. 

   Deliverance doesn't just rescue you, it restores your joy, your identity, your dignity." 

So today, if you're trapped in fear, whether it's fear of the future, of failure, of being alone, seek the Lord. Not once, not perfectly, just honestly. He will answer and he will deliver. This next verse shifts us into renewal. Psalm 51:10. Create in me a pure heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within   me. 

  This psalm is David at his most broken and his most beautiful. After being confronted by the prophet Nathan for his sin with Bathsheba, David didn't run. He didn't deny. He fell to his knees and penned one of the most vulnerable prayers in scripture. This is not a psalm of surface repentance. This is the sound of a soul unraveling before a merciful God. And in that unraveling, there is incredible power. Create in me. 

David doesn't ask for an upgrade. He asks for a miracle. The word create is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1. 

David is saying, "God, I need a brand new beginning, a fresh heart, a re-creation." 

  So many of us walk around with silent shame. We smile, serve, lead, but carry guilt like a second skin. 

  Psalm 51 gives us language to lay it all down, to stop performing, to ask God not just for forgiveness, but for renewal. 

   David also prays, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation." Sin doesn't just break God's law. It breaks our joy. 

It doesn't just break God's law. It breaks our joy. It drains us. It muddies our clarity. But God's mercy isn't just about erasing sin. His mercy is about restoring life. 

  Mercy rewrote my life, I should have fallen , my soul cast down, But mercy rewrote my life. 

Think of  the prodigal son in Luke 15. He came home rehearsing shame. But the Father didn't let him finish his apology. Instead, he called for a robe, a ring, and a feast. God does not just forgive. He celebrates restoration. 

Psalm 51 is your invitation to step out of hiding. To believe that mercy is stronger than failure. That no matter how far you've wandered, grace is still calling you home.  

Declare 🗣️ this psalm when you feel unworthy, unseen, or ashamed. 

   Let it wash you. Let it remake you. Let it remind you God is not finished with you. 

Together, these three psalms form a healing path.

 Psalm 27  teaches us to stand strong in God's light.

 Psalm 34 calls us to seek and praise our deliverer.

 Psalm 51 draws us 10:32 into renewal and rebirth. 

Meditate on them. Declare 🗣️ them. 

 Let them become the daily song of your soul. And as you walk through this 7-day journey, expect your heart to change. Not because of the words themselves, but because of the God who meets you in them. 

Now let us pray. 

🗣️: 

Father God in heaven, this moment I come into YOUR Presence not because l am worthy, but because You are willing. Willing to meet me in my brokenness. Willing to walk with me through my doubts. Willing to cover me with grace when I barely have the strength to stand. Some days, Lord, I wake up feeling like l'm already behind. Behind in hope, behind in peace,  behind in joy. The pressure to perform, to fix everything, to be strong for everyone. It wears heavy on my heart. 

But you, Lord, offer a better way. A way of surrender, a way of stillness, a way of abiding. 

So today, l anchor myself in YOUR Word. I declare what is true even when my feelings disagree. I speak what you have spoken because your promises do not return void. 

 Lord, you are my light and salvation. I will not fear. When shadows surround me, when anxiety knocks before l even leave my room, I choose to look to YOU. Fear has been a loud voice in my life. But today, I choose the louder voice of truth. You are not only near, you are light itself. And in that light,  I can see clearly, walk confidently, and rest securely. I trust you to fight my battles today. There are things I cannot control, conversations I dread, diagnosis I fear, outcomes I cannot predict, but You go before me, and I am not defenseless. You are the captain of heaven's armies. 

     When I want to retaliate or hide, remind me that victory begins on my knees. You fight best when I surrender deepest. Though the day feels uncertain, you are my stronghold. There is so much instability around me, in the news, in relationships, in my own thoughts. But you are my Anchor. You are not shaken. Therefore, I will not be shaken. My emotions may sway, but YOUR Truth is immovable. Wrap me in that Truth today. 

One thing I ask, to dwell in YOUR Presence. I'm not chasing comfort. I'm chasing communion. Lord, I want to be with you in every moment. Not just when I'm praying, but when I'm driving, working, serving. 

  Let my heart be a sanctuary, a place where You are welcome and worshiped. 

I will wait for You and be strong in Spirit. Waiting is not weakness. Waiting is trust and trust is strength.

 I won't rush ahead of you today, Lord. I will wait, not passively but purposefully. Strengthen my spirit as I stand still and let you be God. 

   I bless the Lord at all times. Your praise will  be on my lips even when I don't feel like it. Especially when I don't feel like it. Lord, let my praise be an act of defiance against discouragement. 

Let worship rise within me before the answer comes. You are worthy always. 

   I seek you today, Lord. 

Deliver me from all anxiety. I'm not seeking escape. I'm seeking encounter. 

Deliver me from the fear that paralyzes, from the thoughts that loop endlessly in my mind, from the tension I carry in my body. 

   Lord, speak peace where panic once ruled. YOU are near to the brokenhearted and YOU hear my cry. Sometimes I feel like my pain is too messy to bring to YOU. But YOUR Word says You draw close, not away from brokenness. 

When I cry in private, you catch every tear. I don't have to explain. I just have to come. You surround me with angels. I am protected. 

 Even when I feel vulnerable, I am not alone. You have stationed your angels around me like a heavenly perimeter. I may not see them, but I believe they are near, watching, warring, guarding. 

  I taste and see that the Lord is good. This isn't borrowed faith. This is personal. I have seen your faithfulness in my life. I have tasted grace in dry seasons. And even today I choose to taste again, to expect goodness, to believe for joy. 

  Have mercy on me, Lord God, according to your unfailing love. I don't come with excuses, I come with need. I bring my pride, my impatience, my moments of doubt and rebellion. You see it all, and still you welcome me. Your mercy is not hesitant. It is abundant.

 Cleanse me from sin. Wash me with your grace. 

 Sometimes, Lord, I carry guilt longer than I should. I rehearse failures YOU have already forgiven. 

   Teach me how to receive cleansing, not just   conceptually, but emotionally. Wash away the residue of shame. 

Create in me a clean heart free from pride and bitterness. Don't just remove sin, Lord. 

Renew the center of who I am. Purify my intentions. Scrub out the hidden places of jealousy, cynicism, and comparison. 

   Let humility and purity rise in their place. Restore the joy of my salvation. Bring me back to the wonder. 

 Remind me what it means to be loved unconditionally. 

Rescue me from numbness. I don't want to just be saved. I want to be joyful again in my salvation. Renew my spirit so I can walk rightly before you. Sometimes my steps grow heavy, my fire flickers, my focus fades. 

  But you are the God who renews, who breathes new life into dry bones. Revive me again today. Not just so I can serve you, but so I can delight in you. Lord, these psalms are more than words. They are my reality today. 

  You are my Confidence in the chaos, my Deliverer in distress, my Restorer in failure. 

  Thank you for meeting me where I am and for never growing tired of hearing my voice. 

Today I walk forward not in my own strength but in YOUR Presence. I carry not just tasks but truth. I face not just demands but divine promises. 

Be You glorified in my steps, my thoughts, my   words.

 My soul needs to remember who You are. 

My thoughts need to be reentered on what is eternal. There are so many voices calling for my attention today, but Yours is the only Voice that gives Life. 

   I confess, Lord, sometimes I wake up already tired, not just physically, but emotionally. The pressure to do more, be more, fix more weighs heavy on me. But You remind me I don't grow by striving, I grow by grace. 

  So I pause right now at the start of this day and invite YOU in fully, freely, faithfully. 

 Today I walk in boldness and humility, not arrogance, but God-given confidence, not timidity, but spirit empowered gentleness. 

  Help me speak with truth, lead with love, and serve without needing to be seen. 

 I release fear and take hold of faith of GOD. Fear has no home in my heart. 

Today I lay down 'worst case scenarios' and 'what ifs'. I pick up faith. The kind that stands when everything else shakes. The kind that whispers, "God is still good." Even when circumstances say otherwise.  The Lord goes before me. I am not alone. 

  When the day feels big and I feel small, remind me that You've already gone ahead. You see the roads I can't. You hold the outcomes I fear. You are not only with me, You are for me,  I will worship  You instead of worry. 

I choose to lift my eyes instead of spiral in stress. When lI'm tempted to complain, teach me to sing. When I'm tempted to panic, teach me to praise You. 

 My worship does not ignore the problem. It invites the problem Solver. God is delivering me from what I cannot fix. 

  Lord, you know the situations l've tried to control, the people I can't change, the questions I can't answer. I surrender them all. 

  Deliver me not only from difficulty, but from the illusion that I must carry it alone. I forgive and ask for forgiveness. Bitterness will not take root today. I release every offense, every word that wounded me. 

And Lord, forgive me too for the sharp word, the selfish moment, the silent judgment. Create in me a heart that reflects yours. 

  This day is consecrated to the Lord. It belongs to YOU, my schedule, my energy, my responses, my thoughts. I don't want to just get through the day. I want to walk through it with sacred purpose.

 Let every task be worship. 

Let every moment be an offering. 

I have peace that passes understanding. Not because life is perfect, but because You are present. 

Peace is not the absence of pain. It is the Presence of my Saviour who holds me through it. 

Lord, calm the storms inside me. Even if the storms around me remain. My strength comes from time in God's presence. Not caffeine,  not productivity, not affirmation, but you, Lord.

   Let my first breath be praise, my first thought be gratitude. 

 As I sit with YOU in stillness, fill me with supernatural strength that sustains more than sleep ever could. 

I am growing through grace, not striving. 

I lay down the pressure to prove myself. 

 I don't have to earn love or chase validation. I am accepted. I am enough. Not because I always get it right, but because You got it right for me. 

I will reflect God's light to those I meet. Let my face shine with kindness. Let my words bring healing. Let my presence carry peace into every room l enter. May people encounter YOU through the way I live, love, and listen. 

I received healing in every part of me. Physical pain, emotional scars, spiritual weariness, YOU see it all. And YOU are Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. I don't have to pretend to be whole to be loved. I am being healed in layers with every breath of surrender. I choose joy even in trials, but in joy is not found in outcomes, but in YOUR nearness. I refuse to let my circumstances define my countenance. I will laugh, sing, and hope. Not because life is easy, but because You are faithful. I am washed, renewed, and ready. Yesterday's mistakes are not today's identity. I step into this day  clean, covered, and called. You have prepared good works for me, and I will walk in them. 

   Lord, I begin this day with YOU and for YOU. Not just a spiritual moment, but a surrendered mindset. From emails to errands, from tears to triumphs, this day is yours. Guide me, speak to me, and remind me often that I belong to YOU. 

  I offer this prayer not just as a quiet devotion, but as a daily declaration, a spiritual reset, a reminder that grace is fresh every morning. 

 And as I begin this day, I declare it with joy, with trust, and in unity with others, praying with grace. Let this prayer rise as incense. Let this day unfold as worship. And let my life reflect the onye who gave it all, in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ. 

 Amen.

Dear reader, Take a moment with me right now. 

 Just pause. Let everything else fade into the background. and ask yourself this simple but powerful question. Which psalm is 23:48 speaking to you today? 

Is it Psalm 27 because you need courage? 

Is it Psalm 34 because you're crying out for deliverance? 

Or maybe Psalm 51 because your soul is aching for renewal? 

Whichever one it is, lean into it. I invite you right after this to open your Bible or your app and read that psalm out loud. Don't rush through it. Just read it slowly like you're having a conversation with God. Then graba journal or even a notes app and reflect. What part of that psalm touches where l am right now? 

Be honest. Be raw. Be real. 

And here's something powerful you can do throughout the day. Pick one verse, just one, that stands out to you  and let it become your anchor. Repeat it to yourself when fear creeps in. Whisper it when your heart gets heavy. 

Declare  🗣️ it when your faith needs a spark. This is how the Word does not just stay on the page, it starts living in you. 

  And now, if a psalm spoke to you, say it out loud as a declaration of  faith. I declare 🗣️ Psalm over my day today. 

Share this prayer with someone you know is going through something. You never know how one verse might change  everything for them. 

Psalms is a place where hearts are lifted, minds are renewed, and spirits are restored, one  morning at a time. And now receive this blessing with your whole heart. 

"May the Lord be your light when the day feels dark. May He be your Deliverer when trouble surrounds. May He be your Restorer when your heart feels tired or weak. Walk today in courage, in praise, and in purity because He walks with you. You're not alone. You're not forgotten. You're not without hope. In Jesus Christ mighty name, amen. 

From my heart to yours, this is grace. 

You Don't Lack Power, You Lack the Revelation of What You Carry

🗣️  I KNOW WHAT I CARRY  if this teaching landed in your spirit today. You are not waiting for power to arrive- it is already inside you. You are not a beggar at the gate.

 You have never lacked power. Not for a single day since the moment you were born again. Not in your weakest moment. 

 Not in your darkest hour. Not when the circumstances seemed immovable and heaven felt distant. Not when the enemy pressed hardest and your strength felt  thinnest. 

  You have never, not once, been without power. And yet most believers live as though power is something they are still waiting to receive, something they must earn through enough prayer, enough fasting, enough consecration, enough spiritual striving. 

  They approach God as though the supply line is somewhere in the future. As though the day will finally come when they are equipped enough, consecrated enough, worthy enough for the power to arrive. 

 And while they wait, the enemy advances in territories he has no legal right to occupy. While they petition heaven for what heaven already released, darkness operates freely in their bodies, their finances, their minds, their families.

   While they beg for the very thing already living inside them, they remain powerless. Not because power was withheld, but because revelation was never received. 

  This is the crisis of the modern church. Not a power shortage, but a revelation shortage.

     I remember sitting with a pastor once, a man who had been in ministry for over 20 years. He had built a congregation from nothing. He had seen God move. He had prayed for the sick and watched people recover. And yet he sat across from me in genuine confusion and said, "I feel like I am running on empty. like whatever power I had at the beginning has been slowly draining away and I do not know how to get it back. And as he talked, I realized the problem immediately. He did not understand what he was carrying. He thought power was something that came and went, something that rose and fell depending on his spiritual state, something that had to be maintained through religious performance. He had 20 years of ministry experience and almost no revelation of what actually lived inside him. That is the condition we identified in new creation realities with a precision I have never seen matched anywhere else. 

¶Note:  The greatest tragedy in the body of Christ is not that believers lack what they need. It is that they do not know what they already have. They are spiritual billionaires living like beggars. They are heirs of God's kingdom standing at the gates of their own inheritance asking to be let in. They have the answer living inside them and are still searching for it on the outside. 

  And this is not a peripheral problem. This is the central problem because everything in the Christian life flows from revelation. 

  Every bold declaration, every healing enforced, every enemy resisted, every mountain that moves, all of it is rooted in what you know about what you carry. 

  So the question is not whether God has equipped you. He has. The question is whether you have seen it, whether revelation has moved what is true in scripture from information in your mind into living  reality in your spirit. 

    Because there is a vast distance between knowing something and truly knowing it. There is a distance between reading that Christ lives in you and actually living from that reality. 

   There is a distance between reading Ephesians chapter 1 and walking in the consciousness of what Ephesians chapter 1 declares about you. 

     And most believers spend their entire Christian life on the wrong side of that distance. 

    Second Peter 1:3. according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of HIM that hath called us to glory and virtue. 

    All things, not some things, not the things you have prayed long enough for, not the things reserved for the especially consecrated. 

  AlI things pertaining to life and godliness have  already been given. Past tense, completed transaction. 

   The supply is not coming. It is already in the account. 

  But notice the phrase governing the entire verse. 

   Through the knowledge of HIM, not through the striving for HIM. Not through the performance before HIM. 

   Through the knowledge of him, revelation. Seeing HIM clearly enough that what he has done becomes real to you. Because the moment you truly see what has already been given, you stop asking for it and start using it. 

  The moment revelation arrives, the posture of the believer shifts entirely. 

   You are no longer at the gate asking permission    to enter. You are already inside moving in the authority of the One who purchased your access. 

    Today we are going to show you exactly what you are carrying, why most believers never see it, and what happens the moment revelation finally lands. 

    Starting with the most important prayer in the New Testament and what it tells us about why most believers are still waiting for what they already possess. 

Apostle Paul understood this problem with stunning precision. He did not write the church at Ephesus to introduce them to new doctrine. He wrote to them because they were already saved, already filled with the spirit, already in Christ, and still not walking in the fullness of what they possessed. This is what makes Ephesians one of the most revealing prayers in all of scripture. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. 

Notice what brother Paul is praying for. He is not praying for them to receive more. He is not asking God to dispatch additional resources from heaven. He is not interceding for a fresh outpouring or a new wave of the spirit. He is praying for them to see what they already have.

   Eyes of understanding enlightened, not new resources deposited, not additional blessings dispatched. The opening of the eyes of the inner man so that what is already theirs becomes visible to them. 

   Brother Paul is praying that they would see their inheritance, not that they would be given one. They already have one. The entire prayer is about perception, not provision. This is where the church has missed it generation after generation. 

  We have turned a revelation problem into a resource problem. We have assumed that the reason believers do not walk in power is that God has not yet given them enough. So we pray for more. We fast for more. We cry out for more. And heaven  responds the way a father responds to a child asking for something already placed in their hands. Not with judgment, but with a quiet redirection. 

   Open your eyes. It is already there. The word know in Ephesians 1:8 is the Greek word ido. It means to see, to perceive, to have full and complete vision of something. Brother Paul is not praying that they would accumulate more theological information. 

  He is praying for experiential sight. The kind of knowing that changes how you walk. The kind of knowing that makes you dangerous to the kingdom of darkness. 

  Because you are no longer operating from assumption. You are operating from revelation. 

  And what is brothe Paul praying they would see? He tells us exactly in verse 19. And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us ward who believe? 

   Power already directed toward believers, already flowing toward those who believe, not coming, already present to us, ward, in your direction, already oriented toward you, already engaged in your life, already active in your situation. 

   But here is where this passage goes somewhere most teachers never take it. 

Apostle Paul does not simply say power. He uses four distinct Greek words in verses 19 and 20 to describe it. 

  Dunamis, inherent ability, explosive force. 

   Eneria, active working energy, not potential but actual. 

 Kattos, dominion, ruling strength. 

  Issues, might that overcomes resistance.

 Four words.  Because no single word contains the magnitude of what God has directed toward the believer. Brother Paul is saying there is a concentration of divine force operating in your direction that human vocabulary cannot fully express. 

   And then verse 20 sets the standard for this power, which HE wrought in Christ when HE raised him, Jesus Christ from the dead. Not a healing, not a miracle, not a deliverance. The standard saint Paul sets for the power operating toward you is the resurrection of Christ from the dead. 

  The same force that pulled a dead body out of a sealed tomb and transformed it into a glorified resurrection body. That is the power, he says is already directed toward you. Not as a theological statement you mentally agree with, but as a living reality you operate from daily. 

    Now consider what this means for the way most Christians actually live. 

    They wake up carrying resurrection power and ask God for strength to get through the day. 

    They face a doctor's report contradicting the Word of God and instead of standing in the power that already conquered death, they beg heaven to do something. 

   They walk into spiritual conflict with the full backing of the same force that harrowed hell and rose on the third day and they tremble with fear. 

  Not because the power is insufficient, but because the revelation is absent. 

¶ Note:  In new creation realities that the believer who does not know what he carries is like a soldier entering battle without knowing he has a weapon. The weapon is in him, but because he has never been shown it, he fights with his bare hands and wonders why the enemy is not retreating. The enemy is not retreating because the enemy knows something the believer does not. The enemy knows what is inside you. And his primary strategy, his most consistent, most relentless, most effective strategy is to make absolutely certain you never find out. 

  So if the enemy cannot remove the power inside you, what exactly is his strategy? Because he is not passive. He is not waiting to see what you will  discover. He is actively, consistently, and aggressively working to ensure that you never see what you carry. 

  And understanding how he does that is one of the most practically important things a believer can grasp. His strategy is not complicated. It is not sophisticated. It does not require extraordinary demonic intelligence. It requires only one thing. Keeping you religious about your power instead of revelatory about it. 

   There is a version of Christianity that talks about the power of God constantly without ever actually walking in it. It sings about it. It preaches about it. 

   And yet the believers inside that version remain weak, fearful, and defeated. Not because the power is absent, but because the revelation never arrived.

   They know the vocabulary. They do not know the reality. And this is precisely the environment the enemy works hardest to maintain. Not overt unbelief, not open rebellion, just religious familiarity where you have heard about the power so many times that you have stopped expecting to actually experience it. 

  I think about the believers I have  encountered who could quote Ephesians 1 :19 perfectly and yet were living in absolute defeat. {and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength}.  Not because they rejected the verse, it is because they had memorized it without ever receiving it. 

   Information without revelation produces no results in the physical realm. 

¶Note:  In new creation realities that a human can be born again, spirit filled, and doctrinally sound, and stilI live his entire life below the reality of what he possesses simply because he has confused knowing about a truth with knowing the truth itself. 

   And this is where second Peter 1:3 becomes critical. According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of HIM that hath called us to glory and virtue. 

 The word knowledge there is epignosis, full precise complete knowledge, not casual acquaintance, not information received and stored. The kind of knowing that moves from the head into the spirit and produces a change in how you live. 

   This is the revelation-knowledge through which all things are given. Not head knowledge, but epignosis. And this is the knowledge the enemy fights hardest to prevent because he knows even if you do not, that the moment epignosis arrives, his occupation of territory in your life is over. The moment you stop knowing about the power and start knowing the power, the game changes entirely. 

   Now I want to bring this to Ephesians 1 with even more precision. Verse 21 says, "Christ was raised far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. far above all principality, far above all power, far above all might and  dominion and every name. 

   And then Ephesians 2:6 says, "And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Raised us up together in the same position, at the same elevation, far above every principality and every demonic name that operates against your life." 

   That is not a future promise. That is a present legal reality. 

   You are not below the enemy fighting upward. You are above the enemy enforcing downward. 

And the moment that revelation lands, the moment you stop seeing yourself as someone being attacked from above and start seeing yourself as someone with legal authority over everything beneath, everything changes. 

¶This is what we described as the new creation reality.

   The believer is not a rehabilitated sinner barely hanging on. The believer is a new species of being created in Christ Jesus, seated in heavenly places, filled with the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, carrying authority,  purchased at Calvary.

   Romans 8 11. But if the spirit of HIM that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead dwelleth in you, He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that dwelleth in you. 

Dwelleth permanent residence. 

     The same SPIRIT that raised a dead body from a sealed tomb is permanently resident in your recreated human spirit right now. That is what the enemy does not want you to know. 

That is the revelation he has fought for generations to keep from landing in the spirit of the believer.

 Because a believer who knows this is not manageable. A believer who knows this is not afraid of a diagnosis. Not paralyzed by a financial crisis, not intimidated by a spiritual attack, not defeated by circumstances that have no legal authority over a new creation seated in heavenly places. 

    A believer who knows this knows what he carries. And everything changes the moment you do. 

    Now, here's where this truth moves from the theological into the absolutely practical. Because revelation is not the destination, it is the beginning.

   The moment epicnosis lands, the moment you truly see what you carry, a responsibility comes with it. A responsibility that most believers never fully embrace. 

    Revelation must move from your eyes to your mouth  🗣️, from your spirit to your declaration 🗣️, from what you know internally to what you enforce 🗣️ externally. 

   This is the transition point where most believers stall. They receive the revelation. It lands in their spirit. They feel the weight of it. They know it is true. And then nothing changes. They go back to the same prayer posture, the same defeated confession, the same way of talking about their circumstances, the same way of approaching God as though he has not yet acted on their behalf. 

   And James 1:22 identifies exactly why. But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves, hearers only. Speak 🗣️ the Word.

 The word deceiveth them, not because they reject it, is because they receive it mentally without ever activating it practically. 

They know about the power. 

 They agree with the power. 

They can explain the power. 

But they have never spoken from the power. And unspoken revelation produces no results in the  physical realm.

 ¶ Note:  In new creation realities ,  the new creation was never designed to be passive. It was designed to be vocal, bold, speaking 🗣️ the realities of redemption into the atmosphere with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what they carry. 

  Romans 10:10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth 👄 confession 🗣️ is made, with the heart 🫀 and with the mouth 👄, not one without the other. 

  Belief in the spirit and confession with the lips, working together as the complete instrument through which the legal realities of redemption become active in the physical realm.

  Proverbs 18 21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. 

Not in the power of your belief system alone, not in the power of your prayer journal, in the tongue, in the spoken word. 

 Because God's Word does not enforce itself silently. It enforces itself vocally. 🗣️ 

  Hebrews 11:3.  Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, spoken, declared, released into the atmosphere. 

   The same principle governs the life of the believer. The power inside you is released through the word  you speak. 

  This is why Psalm 103:20 says, "Angels hearken unto the voice of his word, not the thought of his word, not the feeling of his word, but the voice." Angels respond to spoken declaration.

   Power is transmitted through the believer's mouth. And this is precisely why the enemy fights your confession harder than he fights anything else in your life. 

  He knows that the moment you begin to speak out  🗣️ what you carry, the atmosphere shifts. The moment you open your mouth in alignment with what God has said about you, forces are set in motion that darkness cannot stop. We speak what GOD SPOKE. 

   Picture a river dam holding back an enormous reservoir of water. The water is there, but nothing flows until the gate is opened. Your mouth is the gate. Your declaration is the opening. And the power that has been yours since the day you were born again, all of it waits for the gate to open. It waits for the believer to stop being silent and start being vocal. 🗣️ 

 Romans 12:2. Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. The Greek word metamorphu. The same word used for the transfiguration of Jesus. Not gradual improvement. a complete change of form driven by a change of sight. 

  The renewed mind is the mind that sees what the spirit already knows. The spirit of the born again believer already knows it is righteous. 

 The renewed mind agrees. The spirit already knows it is healed. 

The renewed  mind agrees. The spirit already knows it carries the fullness of Christ. 

  The renewed mind agrees. And when the mind and the spirit come into alignment around what scripture declares, the   believer stops living from the outside in and begins living from the inside out. 

  This is not positive thinking. This is not the power of human optimism. This is covenant law. God spoke and worlds came into existence. He has now placed His Word in your mouth and His SPIRIT in your spirit. And he is waiting not  passively but expectantly for you to speak 🗣️ what HE has spoken. For you to declare what he has declared, for you to enforce what the cross already accomplished. 

  Because when you do, something happens that no natural force can explain and no spiritual enemy can resist. The believer who speaks from revelation is not the same as one who 21:14 spoke from habit. Not because they got louder, but because the sword has been drawn from the mouth of someone who knows what they carry. Not striving, not begging, but speaking, declaring, enforcing. 🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️ 

 So, let me bring everything together with something I want to leave sitting in your spirit long after this teaching is over. You do not lack power. You have never lacked power. Not for a single day, not in a single moment, not in your weakest hour or your darkest season or your most impossible situation. What you have lacked is the revelation of what you carry. And that revelation, that epicnosis is available to you right now, today. Not after more fasting, not after more consecration, not after you have cleaned yourself up enough to deserve it. Right now, because 2 Peter 1:3 already declared it. All things pertaining to life and godliness have already been given through the knowledge of HIM. The supply is not coming. It is already in the account.

   Now I want to give you something practical to walk away with today because revelation without application stays in the realm of information and we have already established that information without declaration produces no results in the physical realm. 

  Here is what this looks like, every single morning before your feet hit the floor, before the phone goes on, before the news, before the demands, before sense knowledge gets the first word. You open your mouth and you declare what you carry. 

You say, 🗣️ : "I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. Old things have passed away. All things have become new. The same SPIRIT that raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in me. Greater is HE that is in me than he that is in the world. I am seated in heavenly places.  Far above all principality, all power, all might, all dominion. I carry resurrection power. I carry covenant authority. I carry the legal standing of a son ( daughter ) of God before the throne of heaven. "

  And then you speak to whatever Red Sea is in front of you. Whatever mountain is in ñjjjj way. Whatever report contradicts the word of God over your life, you speak to it with the calm, settled authority of someone who knows what they carry. This is what Kenyon called living from the inside out. Not letting circumstances determine your confession, letting your revelation determine your circumstances. I remember the pastor I told you about at the beginning of this teaching, the man with 20 years of ministry and no revelation of what lived inside him. We spent several hours together over a few days going through exactly what we have covered in this teaching. And I watched something happen in him that I have seen  happen in believers many times over the years. 

  The moment revelation landed, I mean truly landed, not just mentally registered. 

His entire posture changed.  He sat up differently. His voice changed. His eyes changed. He went from describing his emptiness to declaring his fullness.

 Not because his circumstances had changed, it is because he had finally seen what he was carrying. 

  He called me about 6 weeks later. He said, "I do not know how to explain what has happened, but I have not felt empty once since that day. Not once. I wake up and I declare what the Word says about me, and something in me responds to it like a well that never runs dry. "

That is epicosis at work. That is revelation that has moved from the head into the spirit. That is a believer who finally knows what he carries." 

   Ephesians 3:20. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that workketh in us. According to the power that workketh in us. 

  Not the power dispatched from heaven. 

Not the power available in theory. 

The power that work. Present tense, active tense in us, right now, in you, already working, already active, already more than sufficient for every mountain, every sickness, every assignment of darkness, every impossible situation you will ever face. 

  The only thing standing between where you are and where God has placed you is not more power. It is the sight to see what you already carry and the mouth 👄 🗣️ to declare it. 

  Once you see it, once the revelation truly lands, you will never again approach your life as someone waiting for God to move. You will approach it as someone through whom God is already moving. You will never again beg heaven for what heaven already placed inside you. You will draw from it, speak from it, walk from it, and the world around you, seen and unseen, will  respond to the power of a believer who finally knows what he carries.

 Confessing 🗣️ : I know what I carry in right now. 

Not as a casual response,  but as a declaration over your own life that the revelation has landed. 

  That from this day forward, you are no longer a spiritual billionaire living like a beggar. You are a new creation seated in heavenly places filled with resurrection power speaking from revelation enforcing the finished work of the cross of Jesus Christ in every area of your life. You do not lack power. You never have. Now you know what you carry. Go and use it. To the glory of our Father God in heaven, forever and ever. So be it.