I had been posted to one of the
Northern states of Nigeria; Bauchi to be precise for my mandatory 1 year
National Youth Service Corps program after graduating from school. I went a bit
disappointed because I was hoping to be posted to a state that was not too far
from home so I could start my professional exams with the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) immediately after school but I
determined to apply for redeployment. In those days, re-posting could
only be granted on three grounds; Marriage, Health or for a compassionate
reason (such as loss of a family member or relative). My reason for wanting
redeployment didn't fall under any of the categories.
Reluctantly I went to camp, did the
three (3) weeks orientation program and was further posted to a village which
was about three (3) hours away from the capital of the city. It looked like I
had been thrown farther from my dreams. I went to the village hesitantly
but I had a vision in mind; my redeployment. I came back to the capital a day
after and headed straight to the NYSC state office. By an act of providence, I
met with the NYSC state coordinator who told me point blank that he was not
going to approve my application if it ever came to him from the Head office at
Abuja. That was a major setback but I went about my business of getting somewhere
to work, not losing sight of my dream.
A month after that, a friend told me He
had an uncle who knew the Director General of NYSC, the man at
the helms of affairs and we headed to Abuja with high hopes. We were in his
office and He bluntly told us that NYSC had decided to strictly redeploy only
on the three acceptable grounds hence he couldn’t help. I was distraught. If
the Director General, being the number one man himself couldn’t do
anything about my redeployment, then I had better forget about it.
Another month passed by and a friend suggested we go back to Abuja and
see if anything could happen and I reluctantly went with her. On that fateful
day in year 2001, I stood outside the gate of the NYSC office, confused and
with no specific plan in mind. Then suddenly an old man, (must have been in his
late 60s), one of the security guards at the gate accosted me
and asked why I had been loitering around the gate area for a couple of hours. I
told him how I had tried unsuccessfully to get redeployed back home so I could
pursue my dream of becoming a Chartered Accountant early enough. He sounded
interested in my story and he mentioned he had a son who was also pursuing the
same professional qualification.
To cut the story short, he asked me to
give him some minutes and went into the building. When he came out, he called
my names in full and this surprised me as I had only given him my first name
and surname. He said he had been with the Director of Corps
Mobilisation, who was in charge of redeployment and coincidentally my
application form was on top of the whole bunch of applications on the man’s
table. I was shocked to say the least. He added that he told the man I was well
known to him and that I needed that redeployment desperately. Right in his
presence, my application was approved. It was too good to be true! He asked me
to go back to my base and that within 2 weeks, I would get the letter. I sauntered
to the park happy but very doubtful. In any case, my letter came after about 4
weeks and the rest is history. I got redeployed,finished my exams and
qualified the year after. The most amazing thing was that I tried to contact
the man after about 3 months after that experience but no one could tell of his
whereabouts. Perhaps, he was an angel; in form of a security guard who made
destiny happen for me at that moment!
God uses the most unlikely people or
things to meet our needs. The story I described above is one of the most
amazing things that have happened in my life; a typical case of sheer
divine intervention. I am reminded of the story of the ravens that fed Elijah
in the bible in 1st Kings 17. Elijah had been up and about for
God and he needed to go on an assignment .God doesn't use and dump. He doesn't leave us stranded. He knew there was a need for him to be well fed so He could
have stamina for the journey ahead of him. 1st Kings 17 in
verse 2 says:
And
the word of the Lord came
unto him, saying, 3 Get thee
hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is
before Jordan.
4And
it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the
ravens to feed thee there.5 So he
went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is
before Jordan.6 And the ravens
brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening;
and he drank of the brook.
Ravens are scavengers. They eat berries, fruit,
insects, bread and carrion (the flesh of dead animals). They sometimes kill
small birds and mammals such as rabbits and rats. Despite their negative image
and as stingy as they could be, God in this case used them to feed Elijah His
prophet day and night. After this encounter, He made an arrangement for a
widow who had absolutely nothing, except for some flour with which she was
going to feed herself and her son to feed this same man. 1st Kings
17: 8“And
the word of the Lord came
unto him, saying, 9Arise,
get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I
have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. He rained manna and quails for the Israelites to feed on, brought water out of the rock for them. Isn't He just amazing?
Most times, we look to the wrong sources but let's not forget that God is able to direct whomsoever He wills to be a source of
blessing to us. A lot of times, people disappoint us, not deliberately but because they are also not all-knowing or all-wise just as you and I are not. No one has the infinite capability to help as He does. Psalm 145: 16-17 says -The eyes of all look expectantly to
You, and You give them their food in due season. 16 You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. God is very much interested in our
well-being (Psalm 35:27) and He wishes above all that we prosper and be in
health. He’s concerned about our feeding, clothing, prosperity, marriage, children, EVERYTHING! He had planted and equipped the Garden of
Eden for Adam before He even existed. Adam came into the scene just to
co-ordinate things. There are higher demands for our existence in life. There
are yet many books to be written, codes to be developed, designs to be made,
cars to be built, aircrafts to be assembled, lives to be influenced and so
on. We are created to operate in the same capacity God operates in. We possess
such a great creative inspiration and mind-blowing divine tendencies. We are dynamites!
Yes in life, there are a lot of struggles and most
times we have to labour so much to breakthrough but that is not God’s idea for
His children. His blessings make rich and adds no iota of sorrow to it.
If He cares for the birds of the air, such that none of them falls to the
ground without His knowledge, how much more His own children, created in His
image? The basic things of life such as food, clothing and shelter are so
trivial and are the least on the pyramid even on Maslow’s Law of Hierarchy.
These Physiological
needs are just the physical requirements for human survival. I know what
the absence of these things could mean but my point is there is more to us and
there are much more important things to make out of life.
If a security guard could make my
redeployment pursuit possible after the Director General of the organisation
had said a No No, then there are no limits to what God can do. When He says
yes, none can say no. When He opens a door, none can close it.Whatever He
ordains, He sustains! He is the one that rules in the affairs of the universe.
Yes, I am certain He can send a Raven
to your Haven! Would you trust Him enough?
It’s a blessed day people, expect the miraculous touch.....
The Pen….
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