As I went about my duties, proud of my place and influence in the branch, I would like to introduce two individuals who had a huge part to play in my life. I would also give a few snapshots of the good I did for them this would in a small way help you to understand the emotions I later felt for their betrayal.
Lets start with Mrs. Foxy (Not her real name), she was newly married and as at the time I took over at the branch she was on vacation. She visited the branch a couple of times when I was still being briefed as to my duties at the branch. She was a Funds transfer officer and was accused of a few of knowledge gap issues and mistakes at the Funds transfer desk (though I didn't believe any of that at first). She was the next most experienced staff in terms of years spent in banking and was a candidate to replace the Cash officer(who deputized for the Head of Operations) who would shortly be transferred to Kano .
However because she was on vacation, I choose to recommend the staff (a guy) that had in my opinion the best experience for the job and when she resumed I moved her into the position since she had the most experience. This upset my relationship with the guy as he felt had been demoted after being given the power he had enjoyed. i explained my decision to him and tried to get him to concentrate on his job giving him less work to see if his attitude would improve. I was later left with no choice than to recommend that he be transferred as a Cash Officer to another branch. This seemed to solve the problem and Mrs. Foxy had no contender for her position.
Mrs Foxy was passionate, to some extent I would say emotional, dedicated to her job and seemed to enjoy her new position but when she resumed she made so many mistakes that I began to doubt her credentials of having previous bank operations experience. For instance imagine paying an unsigned cheque by a customer? The customer filled every information but did not sign the cheque. This cheque was received by a teller who did not notice that the signature, which was the authorization to pay, was not there and verified an imaginary signature (I kid you not). This teller then sent this to Mrs Foxy who was to give a second and final level authorization for payment while spotting any thing that was missed by the teller. She gave her approval and the cheque was paid. This was spotted upon review the next day and we had to seek out the customer and ask that he sign.
Next she paid a cheque of N250,000 to a third party (not the owner of the account) for an account that had only N10,000 as its balance.
These were some of the mistakes she made that kept recurring even after several talks, training, threats of escalation of these mistakes (not following through with these threats though hoping it would soon end) and covering for her mistakes sometimes putting my neck on the chopping board for her. I think that is enough about Mrs Foxy.
The next act, I will call Mrs Pity. hers was a peculiar case. She was offered employment by my new bank but did not resume because she had recently given birth. she also failed to inform her interviewers that she was pregnant and did not apply to defer the offer of employment extended to her. So when she came to resume at the branch, having resigned her former job at a bank, there was no information from Human resources about her. i wrote to the HR representative and he informed me that the bank assumed that since she did not resume at the date specified on her offer letter that the offer had expired and she needed a re-validation of the offer if a space was open for her in the branch.
So there she was at the branch, having left the job she had before, rejected at the new job she was going to for a mistake on her part, with a new baby to take care of and a husband,who I thought, may not have been doing so well financially.
I spoke with the former head of operations about her case but he didn't seem bothered saying to send her home as advised by Human Resources Department as it was her fault for not resuming when she should have. I did send her home because I had no document of employment to keep her at the branch, i wrote an extensive mail to my superiors explaining her situation and appealing for their recommendation as the branch still had space available to take her in.
I felt pity for her and took up her case so passionately that at a time my regional manager accused me of sleeping with her hence my interest in her case.
Well after all said and done, I was able to convince them to re-validate her offer letter and she resumed at the branch one day before an embargo on employment was placed by the MD of the bank!
I never knew the huge part these two women would play in my fall from grace.......
This Blog started off as a means to help people who are passing through trials that seem to overwhelm them. It started as a means to offer some comfort for those who are worn out by the troubles in their life and cause a new sense of Hope to rise in the midst of despair as in 2 Corin. 1:3-4. Right now I think it just serves the purpose of putting down the thoughts that flow through my mind. I hope it makes sense to you and challenges you
Monday, 25 March 2013
Thursday, 21 March 2013
My Testimony part 1- A Proud Beginning
Friends in these posts I have shared with you messages that affected my life in a great way.
Some I still struggle to have them formed in my life but in the coming days i hope to share with you the journey,I believe, that started this all. I hope to tell it as a story and capture as much details as possible.
I hope that this testimony series would help you believe that God remains faithful even through our storms and trials.
Our story ends only when we appear in eternity bearing his nature.
So keep changing!
Here Goes My Story.....
I had just made a career move that seemed to have all the makings of a great future ahead.
I resigned my position as a Relationship manager in a bank, with all the attendant stress of meeting targets, marketing etc and had got a job as an Operations Manager with another bank. While I know that some people love the challenge that the marketing job poses, I seemed to have run out of zeal for it; considering the constant threat that hung over our heads as we did our job. It was an unending circle of which the finish line always was extended beyond our reach it seemed. You meet one target only to have new ones assigned.
Anyway the Operations job suited me better, I even did not mind the fact it was in the Northern part of Nigeria, where there was the likelihood of religious crisis springing up and all.
So Having completed my training, I was sent to Head Operations of a Branch of my new Bank in Yola, Adamawa State(North-Eastern Part of Nigeria). This was a great opportunity and the pay package was better, Also upon confirmation of my appointment, i was to be promoted and paid a huge bonus. I had a car given me by the bank and I was in charge of all the operations in the branch. Just below the Branch Manager in the scheme of things. I had staff reporting to me and my work was quite interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. At last I had a Job I truly enjoyed and I was being paid well for doing it.
At my new Job, I was in charge of managing people and in some ways I felt I was good at my job and was soon proud about it. I have a skill for providing solutions when I noticed problems, worked well under pressure, learnt new things and taught my subordinates. To all i seemed invincible and I knew i was good at what I did.
My Archilles heel however was My pride!
May I interrupt this narrative to offer an advice.
Pride I have discovered or learnt by experience, can bring down a man from any height he may have attended in Life. Do not have an inappropriate opinion about yourself or your abilities. I don't advocate you have a low self esteem but I ask that you will be humble enough to acknowledge that God brought you to where you are in life and treat others with the respect they deserve. Be thankful to God for everything and don't snub others because of your position, power or possession in this life.
Going on. I had made it, I thought. I was in a position that I could exert influence and I soon lost my perspective on things, I was impatient with others when they didn't seem to understand or carry out my instructions, I was a perfectionist and a taskmaster of the worst kind. I soon became arrogant and constantly put down my colleagues when i pointed out their mistakes.
I seemed to have forgotten what it meant to be in their shoes
To be continued.......
Some I still struggle to have them formed in my life but in the coming days i hope to share with you the journey,I believe, that started this all. I hope to tell it as a story and capture as much details as possible.
I hope that this testimony series would help you believe that God remains faithful even through our storms and trials.
Our story ends only when we appear in eternity bearing his nature.
So keep changing!
Here Goes My Story.....
I had just made a career move that seemed to have all the makings of a great future ahead.
I resigned my position as a Relationship manager in a bank, with all the attendant stress of meeting targets, marketing etc and had got a job as an Operations Manager with another bank. While I know that some people love the challenge that the marketing job poses, I seemed to have run out of zeal for it; considering the constant threat that hung over our heads as we did our job. It was an unending circle of which the finish line always was extended beyond our reach it seemed. You meet one target only to have new ones assigned.
Anyway the Operations job suited me better, I even did not mind the fact it was in the Northern part of Nigeria, where there was the likelihood of religious crisis springing up and all.
So Having completed my training, I was sent to Head Operations of a Branch of my new Bank in Yola, Adamawa State(North-Eastern Part of Nigeria). This was a great opportunity and the pay package was better, Also upon confirmation of my appointment, i was to be promoted and paid a huge bonus. I had a car given me by the bank and I was in charge of all the operations in the branch. Just below the Branch Manager in the scheme of things. I had staff reporting to me and my work was quite interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. At last I had a Job I truly enjoyed and I was being paid well for doing it.
At my new Job, I was in charge of managing people and in some ways I felt I was good at my job and was soon proud about it. I have a skill for providing solutions when I noticed problems, worked well under pressure, learnt new things and taught my subordinates. To all i seemed invincible and I knew i was good at what I did.
My Archilles heel however was My pride!
May I interrupt this narrative to offer an advice.
Pride I have discovered or learnt by experience, can bring down a man from any height he may have attended in Life. Do not have an inappropriate opinion about yourself or your abilities. I don't advocate you have a low self esteem but I ask that you will be humble enough to acknowledge that God brought you to where you are in life and treat others with the respect they deserve. Be thankful to God for everything and don't snub others because of your position, power or possession in this life.
Going on. I had made it, I thought. I was in a position that I could exert influence and I soon lost my perspective on things, I was impatient with others when they didn't seem to understand or carry out my instructions, I was a perfectionist and a taskmaster of the worst kind. I soon became arrogant and constantly put down my colleagues when i pointed out their mistakes.
I seemed to have forgotten what it meant to be in their shoes
To be continued.......
Thursday, 28 February 2013
When THE ALMIGHTY GOD shows up.
2 kings6:24-33, 2 Kings 7:1-20
An Impossible situation...
Samaria has been surrounded by an enemy,The gates of the city have been locked and none of its merchants could trade. There was scarcity in the Land, The city was suffering from lack and poverty/famine was destroying the land.
An "Easy" but Costly Temporary Solution...
This state of affairs drove two Women to reach and unusual and a terrible agreement.Their agreement was to eat the children born from their own wombs!!! Note that these were not the sons of strangers they wanted to eat (Though that would have been strange enough) These were children they had nursed and raised all through the years.
Sometimes the circumstances we face can drive us to take terrible decisions. A woman who has been barren for a long time toys with the idea of visiting a native doctor. We are tempted to cut corners or to give bribe to get ahead in life.We are always tempted with an easy way out to a problem that seems too great for us to handle.
These women choose an "easy but costly solution".
How much are you willing to pay for that easy solution? When you go to the native doctor, the price tag is always hidden and always costs more than is advertised. You may be wondering if these women had any faith at all. You may question their spirituality but the truth is that no matter how much faith you have it takes God to keep you from taking that easy solution
For Example, Abraham, the father of faith, who did not have a son slept with a maid to get a seed.
This solution still affects all of Abraham's descendants till date.Elijah, after calling down fire from heaven and slaughtering 850 false prophets, wanted to die instead of face the threat Jezebel.
What are you willing to do anything to ensure your survival?
These women having reached their agreement took the first child and killed him. I wonder how it must have been for the woman who gave birth to this child.To look into your child's eyes and kill him! Did the child beg for mercy? Did he trust mummy not to do this?
All that does not matter as the evil deed has been done.
The first child is dead and digested.The women are hungry again and the time to kill the second child has
come. Sinful pleasures never truly satisfy.The second woman finds she can not do it and hides her child. The aggrieved former mother takes her case to the king.
Seeking Help from the Helpless... (When the Helper needs Help)
I think you need to hear her appeal to him, as the king was passing," Help, my lord, O King!"(2 Kings 6:26)People only seek help from others whom they assume have the solution to their problem. No one goes to a poor man for money; No one asks the blind to look after his property for him.The king in this case was being looked at to judge the issue and probably give a judgment in favor of the woman.While I would like to know how the king might have judged this case, of greater interest is his reply to the woman. Hear him:
"If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? ..."
After he heard the problem, he rents his Kingly robes to reveal that the King Himself needed help too! Under the facade of kingly robes and bearing was a sackcloth! When your supposed help needs help what can you do? When the one you consider to be the solution to your problem has a few questions that require answers.
What do you do? The idols that Goliath trusted in could not help him.That's what Satan does; he leads one to a battle only to abandon him on the battlefield.In Egypt the bible says God judged not only the people but the gods of Egypt that was supposed to be their source of help.
What is your source of confidence? Trust God He has never lost a battle.
The King got so upset and cancelled his fast. He had been waiting on the Lord with sack cloth but when he heard this cry he became dissatisfied. He was in desperate need of a solution and he faced off with the man of God.
And God Stepped in
The solution to their problem can by the word of the Lord.Can you imagine how the woman that ate her child would have felt when she heard that by the next day the famine would be over?
Can you imagine when the next day the word of God came to pass?
"At this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria"
Praise God!! No matter how bad the situation may be it takes the word of God to turn it around.He can speak to that situation and change it.
He can raise your Lazarus;Heal your issue of blood;Calm your storms;Slay your Goliath;Divide your red sea;Make fruitful Barren Sarah.The beauty of this is that he can do it in an instant!!
A famine that had lasted for a while was dealt with by the next day by God.God did not only provide a solution but he made it easy to access.It is at the gate of Samaria that the solution will be at. Your situation will not be an exception.
He can deal with that mountain,He can handle that situation if only you would trust him. Don't be impatient, Wait on God. He would do it. It is well. God will show up for your sake!
An Impossible situation...
Samaria has been surrounded by an enemy,The gates of the city have been locked and none of its merchants could trade. There was scarcity in the Land, The city was suffering from lack and poverty/famine was destroying the land.
An "Easy" but Costly Temporary Solution...
This state of affairs drove two Women to reach and unusual and a terrible agreement.Their agreement was to eat the children born from their own wombs!!! Note that these were not the sons of strangers they wanted to eat (Though that would have been strange enough) These were children they had nursed and raised all through the years.
Sometimes the circumstances we face can drive us to take terrible decisions. A woman who has been barren for a long time toys with the idea of visiting a native doctor. We are tempted to cut corners or to give bribe to get ahead in life.We are always tempted with an easy way out to a problem that seems too great for us to handle.
These women choose an "easy but costly solution".
How much are you willing to pay for that easy solution? When you go to the native doctor, the price tag is always hidden and always costs more than is advertised. You may be wondering if these women had any faith at all. You may question their spirituality but the truth is that no matter how much faith you have it takes God to keep you from taking that easy solution
For Example, Abraham, the father of faith, who did not have a son slept with a maid to get a seed.
This solution still affects all of Abraham's descendants till date.Elijah, after calling down fire from heaven and slaughtering 850 false prophets, wanted to die instead of face the threat Jezebel.
What are you willing to do anything to ensure your survival?
These women having reached their agreement took the first child and killed him. I wonder how it must have been for the woman who gave birth to this child.To look into your child's eyes and kill him! Did the child beg for mercy? Did he trust mummy not to do this?
All that does not matter as the evil deed has been done.
The first child is dead and digested.The women are hungry again and the time to kill the second child has
come. Sinful pleasures never truly satisfy.The second woman finds she can not do it and hides her child. The aggrieved former mother takes her case to the king.
Seeking Help from the Helpless... (When the Helper needs Help)
I think you need to hear her appeal to him, as the king was passing," Help, my lord, O King!"(2 Kings 6:26)People only seek help from others whom they assume have the solution to their problem. No one goes to a poor man for money; No one asks the blind to look after his property for him.The king in this case was being looked at to judge the issue and probably give a judgment in favor of the woman.While I would like to know how the king might have judged this case, of greater interest is his reply to the woman. Hear him:
"If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? ..."
After he heard the problem, he rents his Kingly robes to reveal that the King Himself needed help too! Under the facade of kingly robes and bearing was a sackcloth! When your supposed help needs help what can you do? When the one you consider to be the solution to your problem has a few questions that require answers.
What do you do? The idols that Goliath trusted in could not help him.That's what Satan does; he leads one to a battle only to abandon him on the battlefield.In Egypt the bible says God judged not only the people but the gods of Egypt that was supposed to be their source of help.
What is your source of confidence? Trust God He has never lost a battle.
The King got so upset and cancelled his fast. He had been waiting on the Lord with sack cloth but when he heard this cry he became dissatisfied. He was in desperate need of a solution and he faced off with the man of God.
And God Stepped in
The solution to their problem can by the word of the Lord.Can you imagine how the woman that ate her child would have felt when she heard that by the next day the famine would be over?
Can you imagine when the next day the word of God came to pass?
"At this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria"
Praise God!! No matter how bad the situation may be it takes the word of God to turn it around.He can speak to that situation and change it.
He can raise your Lazarus;Heal your issue of blood;Calm your storms;Slay your Goliath;Divide your red sea;Make fruitful Barren Sarah.The beauty of this is that he can do it in an instant!!
A famine that had lasted for a while was dealt with by the next day by God.God did not only provide a solution but he made it easy to access.It is at the gate of Samaria that the solution will be at. Your situation will not be an exception.
He can deal with that mountain,He can handle that situation if only you would trust him. Don't be impatient, Wait on God. He would do it. It is well. God will show up for your sake!
Dare To Begin Again
"And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent." (Genesis 9:20-21).
When we have been struck by a tragic event or have experienced a storm or set back in our lives, starting afresh could be a difficult task.
We wonder how we will build what has broken down, where we will find the strength to pick up the pieces of our lives and move on.
Some keep on recounting what has been lost and hold regrets for what failed to happen, so much so, that the strength to move on is spent on dealing with all the generated ill-feeling from the past experience.
Noah was an example of a man struck with tragedy. He lost his neighbours in the flood, he lost some of his personal belongings, he heard the cries of his neighbours calling out to him as they drowned in the flood, such voices must have echoed in his memory and haunted his dreams. could that be why Noah took to drinking? to suppress the voices and the memory of drowning neighbours and friends? Just asking but these are not the issue I seek for us to discuss today.
The point is that after his tragedy and loss of friends, neighbours property(whatever could not enter the ark), Noah began to be something! He started picking up the pieces of his life and building again. He took up the challenge and started a career. Despite his age he could start over!
Friend no matter the pain life throws at you its not enough an excuse to curl up and give up. Your life can begin again! You can still make something out of that experience.
Rise up and begin again. You were something before the tragedy and you can still become something after it. Don't give up on your dreams!
Dare to begin again.
God, Can I tell you that I am struggling?
I really don’t know how to start this and my heart is so overwhelmed that I can’t stop the tears from failing down my face.
I am fine on the outside, I have got a job, I’m doing ok at, My wife isn’t the problem, I thank you for those blessings you have brought to my life but I know all isn’t well on the inside of me.
I want to serve you and I would love to love you with all my heart but God I would be lying if I told you I have done that. I want to know you, I need you in my life and I can’t carry on with this religious façade for one moment longer. I’m tired of the mask I wear to church, that mask that makes everyone think, that I am such a wonderful brother but you know me.
You know the pride that lives within my heart, you know my struggle with thoughts that no one else knows. You know my pray less condition even when I shout so much in church at prayer times.
So please step into the darkness that is in my soul and save me from myself. Thank you for dealing with the power of the enemy but help me with my self!
Help me to know you more! Help me worship you in spirit and in truth, Jesus speak to me cause it has been a while we shared fellowship together. Help me deal with the darkness in my own Heart and Change me.
Can I know you for real? That is my cry today. If this bible is real then God let it work for me! I’m not asking for a new job, car or things but Let me know you as your word has said is possible to. Let me walk with you today and for the rest of my existence. Let me know the peace that comes from an inner change into the image of your dear son.
Let me know this Love of yours that passes Knowledge.
In Jesus Name. Amen
Saturday, 23 June 2012
John Chapter 11-Part 2
"Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. " (John 11:3-4).
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28).
In the previous study I wrote of John chapter 11, I highlighted the fact that bad things indeed do happen to good people. By good people I mean people who are dedicated to God and have sacrificed so much for God.
This train of thought will be incomplete if I do not also tell you that God can turn the bad situation to favour you!
Now this may sound impossible to you especially if you are going through a trying experience right now, but may I ask you some questions? How does one get to become a prime minister by first going through prison? How does a man go from a king's servant to a king? How does a man go from losing everything he had to becoming twice as rich as was before?
All these questions are based on characters you should know very well from the bible. God turned their unpleasant situations around and gave them a testimony from their test. How did they provoke God's intervention in their lives?
In John Chapter 11, we see that the first step to provoking God's intervention is to call unto God! When Lazarus was sick his sisters sent for Jesus, why didn't they send for a doctor?-maybe they may have but the bible only tells us of their seeking assistance from Jesus. Who you call on when there is a problem reveals where you trust for the solution to your problem. Some call friends, others call their various connections only a few dare to call on their God. Friend could it be that, this problem still persists because you have told everyone about it apart from God?
Call on God in this time of trouble and he will answer you. That bitter water can be turned sweet, the wine that is finished can be replenished again, the unpleasant situation can be turned around, the lost axe-head can be restored, your lost glory can be restored if only you can turn to God for the help you need.
The help you need is a prayer away.
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28).
In the previous study I wrote of John chapter 11, I highlighted the fact that bad things indeed do happen to good people. By good people I mean people who are dedicated to God and have sacrificed so much for God.
This train of thought will be incomplete if I do not also tell you that God can turn the bad situation to favour you!
Now this may sound impossible to you especially if you are going through a trying experience right now, but may I ask you some questions? How does one get to become a prime minister by first going through prison? How does a man go from a king's servant to a king? How does a man go from losing everything he had to becoming twice as rich as was before?
All these questions are based on characters you should know very well from the bible. God turned their unpleasant situations around and gave them a testimony from their test. How did they provoke God's intervention in their lives?
In John Chapter 11, we see that the first step to provoking God's intervention is to call unto God! When Lazarus was sick his sisters sent for Jesus, why didn't they send for a doctor?-maybe they may have but the bible only tells us of their seeking assistance from Jesus. Who you call on when there is a problem reveals where you trust for the solution to your problem. Some call friends, others call their various connections only a few dare to call on their God. Friend could it be that, this problem still persists because you have told everyone about it apart from God?
Call on God in this time of trouble and he will answer you. That bitter water can be turned sweet, the wine that is finished can be replenished again, the unpleasant situation can be turned around, the lost axe-head can be restored, your lost glory can be restored if only you can turn to God for the help you need.
The help you need is a prayer away.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
GOD HAS NEEDS TOO
GOD HAS NEEDS TOO!
Sa 1:2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children
1Sa 1:7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
Eric and Lucy were the only children of a very wealthy family, but they could not have been more different in character.
Eric only talked to his parents when he had a need and He could be very persistent about it! He would wine, cry, scream, scheme and do whatever it took to get what he wanted. In fact, Eric was a goal-getter! As far as those goals were his and no other persons! He knew how to get all his needs from his father! He was only polite or greeted you only when you could meet his need. The first word out of Eric’s mouth whenever his father came back from a trip was always ‘Dad, did you buy chocolates for me?’ There was always a need to be met with Eric since his father had come to know that the only way to keep Eric talking to him was to ignore his needs as long as he could.
Lucy on the other hand was so adorable. She was the joy of her father. She curled on her father’s laps when he came back from a trip. In fact that joy of seeing her father was all that mattered to her. She wanted to know how his trip was; she needed full details of what he did and where he went to. Oh, Lucy could be persistent but not like Eric. For unlike Eric she longed to spend time with her father just talking or asking several questions that came to her very curious mind. Her parents knew with Lucy we don’t need to have any gifts or withhold any to get her attention. So she got all she needed and some she never thought to ask for!
In the Christian race, I have also come across the Eric and the Lucy. Some are those who declare fasting and night vigils only when there is a need in their lives. They only crave a relationship with God as long as it advances their own personal needs! While on the other hand we have those who will seek God just to be with Him.
Could it be that God is withholding the answer because He knows you would never pray as much if the answer is given?
We must examine our relationship with God to see if we only seeking for our needs to be met or if we have a heart that seeks to meet God’s needs .Ops! That was a shocking statement, Yes, God has needs!
Many of us are in a give me, give me relationship with God and are not bothered if we meet His needs or not. We go to Him with our demands and ask Him to give it to us. When we get our needs we rush off and only return when we have another list of needs! Our relationship with God is based on what God gives to us and this puts no demand on us. We don’t change the way we live, we don’t want to honour God, or change the ungodly company we keep, and we don’t do anything that meets God’s demand on our lives.
In the above scripture, Hannah was a woman that kept going year to year. I believe her childlessness and the torment of the other wife may have driven her severally to ask God for a child. I mean you can’t go to the presence of God for that long and not ask God to intervene in your situation but God seemed quiet about Hannah’s issue until a day came when Hannah changed her prayer strategy.
Finally, Hannah went to God with a bargain God could not resist. Read it below:
1Sa 1:10 -11 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
Now that was one prayer God could not ignore. Hannah had changed from an Eric to a Lucy! She had realized that God also had a need in his house and that need was for a man to serve him. Here God needed a prophet and Hannah was willing to give Him one. Little wonder that God answered her prayer!
1Sa 1:27-28 For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
Friend do you realize God also has a need or has your own need so clouded your mind that you don’t care about what God wants. Hannah forgot about her needs for a moment and had a divine intervention from God. She lent to God a son and God paid her back with 3 sons and 2 daughters.
1Sa 2:21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.
What a great return on investment!
Today you may look around and ask yourself, ‘what is God’s need?’ Well, it may surprise you that there are several but Let me share with you a few.
- He needs a place to dwell. Isa. 66:1-Can you imagine God having accommodation problems on the earth? He has an office space in heaven but needs a house here on earth. Heaven is His throne. A throne is located were a kings authority goes out from.
- He needs true worshippers. Those who will worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:23
- He needs a man who will stand in the place of prayer. Ezk. 22:30
- He needs labourer s in his harvest-Matt. 9:37;7
These are a few of the needs of God and i know there are more but choose to met one and God will not forget to repay that which you have given.
Heb 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
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