Talk
about a young man who never knew what God has in store for him; talk about
Tsalla Emmanuel. Entering into a relationship with God has been and is my
testimony to eternity.
Growing up a church-boy, I never really saw beyond what I was told or casually read of who God is. There was no real relationship between me and God! Of course, I knew He did exist and was my heavenly Father, but the question ‘Do you know God?’ was something I had not come to fully grasp.
The question properly dawned on me when
I made it to the university.
You’d agree with me that the freshman year on campus is indeed overwhelming, that was me in 2014, I found myself at the crossroads of life, I was on the fence, hadn’t taken a decision as to what sort of lifestyle I was going to live.
I had attended at least two parties
already, was a fellowship attendant though not completely sold out to the
kingdom, had a mixture of friends from both worlds and wasn’t pretty sure where
I was headed. That was the dilemma I was faced with and this continued till my
second year.
I had prioritized my academics above all other things and was really focused on my studies, yet, things weren’t balanced for me. I started engaging in fellowship activities though not fully committed as I suffered the influences of wrong association, being a very young man faced with such divided attention, I was headed for destruction unknowingly but something strange happened along the way.
In the year 2015, I was nominated to
serve as a fellowship executive, yeah! I was still that church-boy who didn’t
know he had much to learn. Puzzled by this development, I couldn’t help but
wonder if it was maybe due to insufficient capable hands that a mild little
fella like me was called to serve. It was a mystery I couldn’t unravel at that
point, I couldn’t afford being embarrassed due to my poor knowledge of God
while in office, so I tried evading the screening process as a means of
automatically disqualifying myself but a friend tricked me right into the
interviewing centre.
While I sat facing the interviewers, I kept asking myself ‘what I had gotten into?’ I came to the conclusion that they’d see me for who I really was and definitely refute any thought of considering me as a church leader. I gave countless reasons why I couldn’t serve, that I wasn’t sure God had called me, I was also very young, had a poor relationship with God, and that I had never served in any such capacity before. However, there was something the interviewers saw in me, I had not come to see in myself.
Same evening was the elections, you bet I wasn’t there, I had decided to spend the evening in class. While I was headed back home after the prep, I met one of the leaders who approached me and the words that came out of his mouth left me bemused.
Congratulations for what sir? was my
response, he told me I had been elected as a fellowship executive, to my utter bewilderment,
he went further to say I was elected with over 100 votes.
I was taken aback and left totally dumbfounded.
Whaaat! How possible could this be? I rarely attended fellowship services, I could swear the members never knew me, and to worsen it even, I wasn’t there for the elections. The news left me in absolute stupefaction, to say the least.
I had no real relationship with God, and so running to Him never crossed my mind. Probably, I had mentioned it in my so-called ‘prayers’, but wasn’t really intentional about it. Being overwhelmed, I found myself at home consulting my parents and my pastor who all advised me to serve, so I decided to give it a shot.
God had picked a man that had not found
Him or himself, skipped laid down protocols for an inconsequential being who
never deserved it, all these to what end?
Knowing full well I needed beyond the
little knowledge I had gathered of God, I was driven to know Him better, this
was the turning point in my life because I knew in my heart that I could not
impart that which I did not possess. Albeit my drive as at then was for the
wrong purposes, it didn’t take too long for my understanding to become
enlightened and a fresh true motive born.
I got to realize that God reveals
Himself to those who diligently seek Him, and my worship to Him needed to be in
truth and in spirit. So, I started seeking God genuinely, an undeniable hunger
for Him was quickened in my heart and that gave room for different amazing
encounters.
I must admit, I’ve encountered lots of stumbling blocks in my Christian race thus far, but when I think of the glory of it all, I’m only encouraged to run farther.
I never would have thought I’d accomplish these much at such a young age, being aligned to my maker has brought me nothing but life’s satisfaction, this formerly lost boy is today a great inspirational speaker and writer, has led a large fellowship of believers on campus, became a director of a faith-based non-governmental organization burdened with the responsibility of transforming poor and impoverished lives in the world, a Christian blogger with hundreds of viewers, a mentor to many, to name just a few.
God has shaped my life to be a conduit
pipe for bringing others to the realization of their full potentials. All these
and lots of others I was able to achieve through the help of God, all I needed
to do was accept Him as Lord over my life and submit to His will. The
revelations God has shown me concerning my life are beyond my imaginations or
expectations, there are greater heights I am yet to behold and the deeper I go
with Him, the wider the scope of my purpose becomes. Having a relationship with
God has truly moulded my life for the better and has brought to me peace. “For
He, LORD, gives perfect peace to those
who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you”. Isaiah 26:3
The world today has misconceived the purpose of life in its entirety, the very essence of life is not the accumulation of earthly possessions or the attainment of a certain pedestal that satisfies humans’ standards but the fulfilment of purpose and the full release of potential, however, this can only be ascertained when divinity communes with humanity.
“It’s in Christ that we find out
who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and
got our hopes up, he had his eyes on us, had designs on us for glorious living”
Everything got started in God and finds
its purpose in Him.
There’s already a master-plan by the Master Planner for your life, all that’s required of you is to know the blueprint and until you know who holds it, you can’t access it.
Pastor Rick Warren in his book titled
“The Purpose Driven Life” starts his first chapter with these remarkable
insights;
“The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfilment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness, it’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”
The question “What on earth am I here
for?’ is one that can only be answered in the place of communion with God,
that’s where we get to see our thumbnail sketch.
Millions of people have failed in this
pursuit by allowing certain factors deter them, for some, it was life’s denial
(they saw themselves as mistakes/accidents), for others, it was pride, trials
and tribulations to name just a few.
The devil has swayed the minds of many
from God’s true plans for their lives, they’ve allowed the circumstances of
their birth, the opinions of others, the struggles they face and other factors
define them.
There are no accidents with God, the
fact that your parents didn’t plan you doesn’t mean God didn’t plan you, He has
never and would never consider you as a mistake, you’re His perfect creation,
so beautiful in His sight. He’s not concerned about the world’s opinion about
you, what matters is His thoughts and plans for you. “For I know the plans I have for
you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a
future and a hope.” Jer 29:11
He knew everything about you and the circumstances that would surround you. Before you were formed you in the belly, He already knew you.
Another factor that has hindered many, is the storms they encounter along the way. They allowed trials and tribulations hinder them from having a relationship with the Father, the mirage the enemy creates in our hearts most times is that we’re all by ourselves in such trying moments and then keeps us more focused on our problems and pains than the presence of our Father.
Here is an insight to digest on, the
psalmist in Psalms 66 enjoins the Israelites to bless God, the God which holds
their soul in life and suffers not their feet to be moved. Now here’s the more
interesting part, verse 10, “For thou, o God, hast proved us: thou hast
tried us, as silver is tried” David understood the trying phases and
its purposes, he got to find out God’s intentions for his people beyond their
temporal pains. Journey further with me to verse 11 and 12, “Thou hast caused men to ride
over our heads; we went through fire and water: but thou brought us out into a
wealthy place.”
Try creating a mental picture of some of
the trials the Israelites had encountered, then revert back to his last
statement again “But thou brought us out into a wealthy place” What is your
present situation reading? God is telling you, notwithstanding what it may be,
my plan is to bring you out into a wealthy place and believe me, it supersedes
the pains you had to go through.
Now, let’s juxtapose Psalm 66:10 and
Malachi 3:3
“He’ll take his place as a refiner of silver, as a cleanser of dirty clothes. He’ll scrub the Levite priests (replace the Levite priests with your own name) clean, refine them like gold and silver, until they’re fit for God, fit to present offerings of righteousness”
I was privileged to read the story of a
group of women having a bible study in relation to this verse. When they came
across the scripture, they kept pondering over it, what it meant about the
character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process
of refining silver and get back to the group at the next Bible study. That
week, this women called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him
at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond
her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched over the
fire and let it heat up, he explained that in refining silver, one needed to
hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were the hottest as
to burn away all impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a
hot spot then she thought again about the verse, that “He sits as a refiner and
purifier of silver.” She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to
sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The
man answered saying, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he
had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire, if the
silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then
she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?
He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy – when I see my image in it.”
Oh, what a father is He!
Beloved, at every time in the storm,
every moment we tagged as bad, He was right there with us, notwithstanding the
hotness of the flames, He remained at the centre of it all.
Try to picture the pains Jesus went
through for our sake and then place the Father with Him, seeing everything His
son had to go through!
God would never let His children go through difficult times except there’s a crown to be worn at the end. The glory or result of it outweighs the processes of it, 2 Corinthians 4:17 tells us “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving to us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
When life seems not to be making sense to you, rather than giving in to the enemy and his deceitful whispers trust God. Remember, Joseph saw a great vision for his life but it didn’t begin to manifest immediately. He was first of all criticized and envied by his siblings, sold into slavery at an early age, and was later thrown and forgotten in a cell for a crime he didn’t commit. Poor Joseph, after all these trials, should have given up on a bright future, but no! Instead, he made persistence, commitment, loyalty and fidelity his watchword and what was his end result? God’s revealed plans for his life were made manifest at long last. There’s light at the end of the tunnel friends. The dark moments, the trying times and testing in the burning flames are for the master to get His perfect image out of us.
“Can a woman forget her sucking
child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they
may forget, yet I will not forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the
palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me” Isaiah 49:15-16.
Beloved, our stories mustn’t be the same before God would walk with you, you don’t necessarily have to be a church or fellowship leader before you accept His call. He is interested in you just the way you are, not a little bit taller or slimmer, He’s got no interest in what you’ve achieved thus far or not, neither would He consider all your wrong deeds before He welcomes you home.
God is calling out to you today, to embark on life’s journey with Him with the promise that He would take care of you. All He seeks from you is a genuine, submissive and sincere heart of love for Him.
Don’t be frightened if you’re yet to begin with Him, the most important thing is to ensure you finish with Him.
God wants you!!!
Prayers!
Heavenly
Father, praise be to Your Holy Name, thank You for Your words and thank You for
being a Father to me. Lord, I’ve heard your call upon my life and I make the
decision today, to walk with You in accordance with your purpose for my life.
Thank you Lord for accepting me. This I ask through Christ Jesus, my Lord and
saviour. Amen.
TSALLA
EMMANUEL
19 comments: