My journey with God started sometime in June 1988 but I was like a the seed that fell on stony ground that grew up rapidly but had no depth and when the sun scorched it withered away because there was no root in me. Matt: 13: 5-7 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. I have to be honest I came up for the altar call but I was just in church to please my boss who introduced me to the church, to get the healing she promised I will get by coming to church [I had an issue of blood ailment for 5 years] and to feast my eyes on the clothes worn by the women, sometimes I found myself sketching some of the designs rather than listen to the preacher. [I know there are still people like that in churches today, they might not be there for fashions but they are there for business connections, marital connections, because their parents or friends worship there and not because they have truly surrendered their lives to Christ, if you are in the category it’s time to get real with God, stop your church flirting.] Meanwhile my ailment was still there despite all prayers, deliverances and confessions; sometimes I bleed for 28 days non stop.
At one point I even went to church with my boyfriend and when service is over we go back home to continue from where we left off. I felt then church was just an obligation I had to fulfill once a week and when that is over, God is not concerned with the rest of my week. I can live as I please, O what we do in ignorance!!!!
After 2 years of playing hide and seek with God, He arrested me fair and square on September 22, 1990, the boss changed church from Household of God Fellowship to The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Ladipo Oluwole Model Parish Ikeja and she invited me to a Drama Night with the Mount Zion Drama Ministry and I went because I enjoy a good christian drama, the title was “The Unprofitable Servant”. Now a good seed was being sown on a good land: Matt 13: 8- 9 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” By the time the drama was over, I was weeping like a baby and I finally surrendered my life to Christ and made a vow to serve him till the end of my days.
The next Sunday I was on my way to RCCG Ladipo Oluwole Model Parish and have just flagged down a taxi when a voice told me to stop and enter this church that was just by the roadside, it turned out to be The Latter Rain Assembly. When I entered the church, there was a sense of “welcome home” that just covered me, I could not explain it, I felt I have known the people there all my life but I only knew two people there and they lived on my street and they have never invited me to the church because our only interaction was hello and goodbye.
When it was time for the message, the preacher whom I have never met nor heard of came out and he started praying for the sick and suddenly I felt a movement in my stomach like something dropped down but since I was also in my period then so it didn’t make any difference to me but after the service I went home and told my mother what happened but she told me never to attend the church again but to my utter shock and surprise my period only lasted 4 days and it stopped and it been that way ever since my mother was dumbfounded because we have gone to several places, doctors, witch doctors, etc and spent so much money but no change in my situation. But she still insisted that I must no longer attend the church otherwise she is going to throw me out of the house. [She was a Christian mother in a religious orthodox church so the idea of healing miracle was strange to her so she resisted it]
3 days later I just finished reading a book titled “Why speak in tongues” that was given to me by one of the brothers from the church who lived on my street when I just busted out in tongues and I prayed in tongues for over an hour, my mother was beside herself, she was screaming that I have gone mad so she locked me in the house but after much persuasion from neighbors and the brother who gave me the book she opened the door and I came out. Needless to say the next time I attended the church, I came home to find my clothes out on the streets because she made good on her promise to throw me out, the neighbors intervened again and she relented and I packed my clothes inside the house.
The first few years of my conversion was full of persecution, I was refused food, clothes, shelters sometimes I have to go begging for food, I worked as a house maid so I can feed and clothe myself because my mother withdrew all the privileges I have at home from me but I thank God after a few years, she truly saw the change that God has done in my life and she also gave her life to Christ and because she changed, my father gave his life to Christ as well before they passed away.
I had to give a full background of where I was coming from so you can see that truly but for the grace of God, where will I be today, I am not where I would like to be but I am where He wants me to be and for that I am grateful since I know the thoughts He has for me is good to give me an expected end. I bless God for His faithfulness to me because He really brought me through a lot, when family deserted me, friends betrayed me, and He lived up to His word and took me up. Psa 27:10. "When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up". When I lost 3 members of my family in the space of 6 months, [my sister, my father, my mother] then another brother 9 years later if it was not by His grace what could have happened to me, when false friends tried to enticed me to do evil, take drugs, to prostitute but God’s hand and His word kept me. Psa 119:11 "In my heart I store up your words, so I might not sin against you". It’s being quite a ride but through it all I have learnt to trust in Jesus because He is the only one that has not let me down.
Sometimes the journey up to this point was really tough but I never lost my praise, sometimes I wake up early in the morning with songs of praises in my heart and I just sing and worship God. Psa 30:1-2 30:1 "I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up, and did not allow my enemies to gloat over me.30:2 O Lord my God,I cried out to you and you healed me".
My point of telling my story is to let you know that despite all you are going through God still has you in the palm of His hands, your life is in His hands but you have a choice in the matter because the Greatest miracle of your life starts the day you reach out and take for yourself what Jesus died to give you. Life will not be a meaningless parade of days the replay the same old questions and same old emptiness, he is ready to lift your burdens and carry it for you, you don’t have to be alone because He is always right there, you just need to call on Him, there is no sin too great that He can’t forgive, His mercy is everlasting.
When you ask Him to come into your life the wall between you and God comes down and the promises of Jesus is for you. He said “I will never leave or forsake you”. This is not a religious activity but a true life experience; this is not the time to play church but to get serious with God. He is alive to walk into your life and change it and fill that hole in your heart. He filled mine with love, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Don’t keep your hands and hearts tightly closed and hope things will change. Trade in your struggle of resisting Christ for the peace of trusting Christ. You can do it on your own.
Matt 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. 11:29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 11:30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry
I have shared part of my story, what is yours?
No comments:
Post a Comment