“I wonder why I became a Christian. Things have been very difficult for me ever since I became a Christian; my situation is getting worse and worse and I don’t seem to find my bearing. It’s not that I am not grateful to God; it’s just that I have to be honest to my self. I pray, read my bible and I believe and nothing seems to change. I borrow money all the time because I have to pay tithe and offerings to the church. Life is unbearable for me, with my tiny salary, I have to sponsor my wife through school, feed, clothe her and now with the arrival of the new baby, I just feel like running away, far, very far away into the Tundra region. I am fed up; I think I should go back to my 419 business where everything seemed to work. You know what? I need more money, tons of money.†Musa said with a lot of anguish on his face.
Lara stared straight into his eyes and said “You don’t need more money, you only need wisdomâ€
“Have you ever wondered how Jesus was able to feed 5,000 people with 5 loaves and two fishes?†she asked.
He immediately replied “That’s a miracle, you don’t expect me to do that anywayâ€
“Why cant you? Everything we do in life is a miracle; it just the way we perceive it.â€
“Are you saying you can do miracles now?â€
She ignored the question and told him what she had been bottling up for sometime now “Miracle is regarded as an unusual event; something that is perceived as extraordinary. It is a perception not necessarily a reality. A plane before the Wright brothers created one could be regarded as a miracle, having babies could be regarded as a miracle but with the advent of cloning, things are changing, the internet is a miracle. Anything we can not provide a logical answer for, we regard as a miracle but once we provide an answer to the know-how, it is no longer a miracle. So what is unusual to you may not be unusual to me. A man may give testimony of getting a job as a miracle, while the employer of the man may be wondering what the miracle is all about. You see it is all perception, what the employee is calling a miracle is what the employer calls a usual event.
“Hmm†Musa muttered under his breathe and nodded his head
“There is an exact science to what Jesus did, he first showed gratitude to God for what he had by thanking him and then he broke the bread and divided it amongst the people and note that it was for the people not for himself, thus he was able to feed all of them.†Lara submitted.
“I don’t still understand. Are you saying, I have to thank God for what I have then divide the measly 80k, I earn amongst my family, then I would be able to feed them.†Musa asked.
“First of all calling 80k, measly money is not gratitude.†Said Lara
“It’s easy for you to say, you earn 500k a month†Said Musa
“Yes, it’s easy for me to say because I started with 5k a month and I grew it to 500k, very soon, I would be commanding a million a month but you know what I am digressing from the issue at hand, Let me use something else to explain it to you.†Lara quickly said.
He was shocked at the statement and wondered what Lara was going to come up with this time. Lara continued “there are two things that please God – faith and conversion of a lost soul.†He cut Lara short immediately and asked her “are u saying I don’t have faith? Look lady; try another line to pacify me because I have faith, huge faith for that matter. I pray 2 hours a day, read my bible everyday (I have almost finished the bible for your information), I praise God almost every time, confess positive things into my life, I pay my tithe and offering judiciously, I preach sometimes when I have the time and I don’t miss church. Please, don’t tell me I don’t have faith because I have it and don’t tell me I don’t have patience because I have truly been patient.â€
There was a moment of silence after his speech and he felt very uncomfortable with the silence but felt good after the outburst. Lara looked at him and smiled. He reminded her of the rich young ruler and she was very happy that he could be real with himself because that was the foundation to repentance. She said “there are two kinds of faith; your faith and the faith of God. Most times we operate on our faith level without operating on God’s level of faith, the two of them go hand in hand for change to occur†She saw the curiosity in his face and continued “ When you come to God with your faith, you have to obtain God’s faith in order to resolve your issue. God’s faith is simply what he tells you concerning the issue you have in mind so this takes us to another level of hearing from God which is the foundation of many frustrations experienced by Christians.†This time Musa was wrapped in attention and he could feel the confirmation of what she was saying in his heart.
“God is always speaking but because we are not tuned to the frequency he is speaking with we seldom hear him. Most times in order to hear him; we have to upgrade our internal operating system for the software that picks God, at the level of the issue we are facing, to run. The software, that picks God at the level of your issue, can not run because your OS is outdated that’s why God uses people like me to tell you thisâ€. Musa was fascinated by this revelation that he immediately asked “How can I upgrade my system to accommodate that software?†She smiled “that’s what you are doing now; by being true to yourself and seeking the truth. When this is achieved the seal would be opened and you would be able to access God on a different level, that’s why God says that if you call on him, He would show you great and mighty things that you know not.â€
He immediately understood what she was saying. There was a “know†that he himself could not understand. He quizzed “Is that why when Moses knew he was an Israelite, he tried to operate on his belief but failed but when he obtained God’s faith years later, he passed; is that why when Joseph was in prison and tried to get out by telling the butler to remember him to the King, until it was time for God to grant him the faith, it did not work out, so the essence of prayer is to have God communicate his faith to you concerning that issue and when you obtain the faith you know it is going to work out. Wow, thanx men, I am so glad, it looks as if a chain has been broken of my feet. Lara concurred “yep and when God has told you, it’s your duty to follow it through.â€
“I feel lighter and better; it’s as if a burden has been lifted off me.†Lara checked her time and immediately stood. Musa could not help perceiving the Ise mayaki perfume oozing out of Lara’s body as she gave him a hug. He escorted her to her car and he went back to the fast food joint meditating on what he had just heard…………
EXCERPT FROM MYÂ UPCOMING Â NOVEL – MEMOIRS OF A VIRGIN
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