by Enife Atobiloye
She was excited!
Of all the 5 schools my daughter applied to, 3 had just come back with acceptances. The fees ranged between $42k and $57k.
I took a look at the mails and said “But these fees are high!”
“But mum you said we’ll cross that bridge when we get there”
Apologetically, I admitted to that statement and somehow gained sudden momentum in my belief that there was no need to fret.
Not too long later, we got letters from the top 2 of the schools offering us scholarships. The most preferred of both offered us $43k. Total fees were $42k. This God!
As I reflected on the several hurdles God has helped me cross and the giant solutions He has provided over time, I shuddered. I have indeed seen bigger demons.
This decision to take God verbatim, slowly but surely builds up muscles of dependence in you as you encounter the multifaceted dimensions of God’s power. Indeed all things are possible!
When the challenges show up, I am not always sure, which direction He will address it from but one thing I am certain of is that He will do it. He always had.
I have now learnt to just release my needs to Him and let Him handle it as He wishes. He pays all my bills, takes care of all my needs and honestly undertakes for my entirety.
But you see, this God, does not always operate in ways that my small brain can understand. The snag really is that He does not necessarily work within readily understandable frameworks. For these fees for example, it would have been more understandable if God allowed me to build a bank account overtime, where I saved towards my needs. I would have even felt accomplished. After all a wise man ought to save, right? But I have hardly had a chance to own as much as $5k saved money in my name. God always sends me to use that money for one thing or the other.
And so, I find that as I continue in my journey to align with His ways, I am progressively becoming a societal misfit. This is simply because God operates outside the confines of human perspectives. I don’t like it but it is getting even more glaring to me that it is an ‘either’ ’or’ situation. Either star in society or star in Kingdom affairs. As Ron Kenoly put it, “There is no demilitarized zone”.
There is so much I am learning from this journey. It is a definite exchange of lifestyles. As soon as you sign up with Heaven by being born again, the journey becomes possible. Interestingly, not all embark on it. Some remain on the periphery.
One big element of the journey is dependence. You must now depend on Him to tell you who you are; set the vision, not your vision but His vision for you and then guide your path. That really would be all!
The deal is to focus on knowing Him and He would give you understanding of you and your purpose. Honestly He takes care of every single thing else. Everything!
When you meet people living in this space, they are hardly fazed, because over time they have come to see that though it may not be according to common templates, the Lord surely undertakes for them in the final analysis. These ones hardly have prayer points in those aspects of life anymore because somehow they know it is covered. They are not idle or lazy people either! They channel all their work and resources towards kingdom pursuit. Interestingly, they are not your typical “religious” people but they have come to understand the use of God through practice that is often creased with mistakes.
As it always is with God, this lifestyle of dependence is a journey with loads of lessons. You learn patience; many times He seems to show up at the eleventh hour! You learn to release control as your options become evidently inferior. You learn the power in the blood of Jesus as God continues to write off your mistakes. You learn the integrity in His word that says “…all things are possible” when you begin to see Him move mountains for you. More importantly, you become confident as your own experiences increase in numbers and intensity.
Your life slowly but surely becomes like music to those around you. Your stories become so compelling and the consolidation of God’s nature inside of you begins to radiate to people around you. At that point, your life reflects the admonition to “… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”. The fastest route to soul winning.
I am a long way to getting there but thankfully I know I have left and I see my dependency quotient increasing daily.