Clouded

It wasn't supposed to be a complicated deal
He was a businessman who dealt in import
and exports
Sometimes he dabbles into clearing and 
forwarding of goods
It was a business he ventured into as a 
last resort after months of hunger and 
endless wanderings all over the city in 
the search for a job
A friend introduced him to the business
The friend was a customs officer who 
understood the "in and out" of the business
The friend said "You don't have to know 
so much, just be an agent and make sure 
you are present at your duty post every day!
I will be the one to refer clients to you!
When people come to see to the clearing
and forwarding of their goods, I will 
recommend you to them!
When they come to you, make sure you 
write down what they want to do specifically!
Later in the day, you will pass me the 
instruction and I will get the job done!
Once the job is done, you will take delivery 
of the goods and deliver them to the clients
You will charge them the normal fees plus 
commission!
We will then split the commission
It was illegal but it was the norm!
That was how he became an "agent"
He didn't expect to do the job for a 
long time
But it turned out to be a lucrative job!
They made loads of money
He was able to rent a flat and eventually 
get married!
His wife was three months pregnant when
the Holy Spirit told her that he must 
leave the job!
Neither of them paid any heed to the 
instruction!
Even though he was a Christian, he believed
the holy spirit must make allowances for cases
like his own!
He didn't want to be part of any illegality
He was always very honest in his dealings with
the clients that came his way
He made sure the goods were delivered intact
and charges them fairly
But it was like being an honest thief!
What he was doing with his friend was
illegal!
Every time he saw the sign "Do not patronize 
touts"
in front of the wharf, he knew it was 
talking about him
Even though he was always corporately dressed,
he was nothing more than a corporate tout
and another saboteur in the system!
He was feeding fat off the proceeds of 
corruption!
The second time they had a warning
was when his wife was four months pregnant
He was the one that saw a vision in which
his wife, still pregnant, was crying 
profusely  over his coffin as it was 
being lowered into the grave
His custom officer friend was there too
laughing hysterically and even spitting 
on the coffin out of spite
He woke up trembling!
He didn't want to trouble his wife, so 
he kept the vision to himself
But he became very wary of the job!
From what he saw, whatever evil was 
supposed  to happen will happen while 
his wife was still pregnant!
He started fasting and praying
Seeking the face of God for the preservation
of his soul from destruction
A few days later, his custom officer friend
came to his house early in the morning with
the deal of a lifetime
His friend told him the deal was a life
changer
The amount of money involved was more
than enough to set them up for life
As his friend prattled on and on, he kept
remembering the image he was in his vision!
He kept seeing him spitting all over his
coffin!
He told his friend he was no longer interested
in the business
He had made enough money to venture into
another business
Something legal!
His friend was shocked!
His friend said there was no time to put 
someone else in place for the deal
He had already committed them to the deal
and they had to see it through
He told his friend he was no longer 
interested
His friend got agitated
"Do you know the people involved in this
deal? There is no going back on this deal!
I have collected the advance fee and 
the container
will be arriving in two days!
We must do this deal!"
But he wouldn't budge!
He told his friend to return the advance 
fee he had collected
He wasn't prepared to exchange his life for
any amount of money
His friend told him to reconsider his stand 
before the end of the day or face the 
consequences!
He didn't know how walking out of a partnership
could be a matter of life and death
He didn't join a cult and they didn't sweat
an oath!
He went to work grudgingly that day to find
out what was going on!
By the end of the day, he got it!
The clients were arms dealers from Eastern 
Europe
They were bringing in containers of machine
guns and bullets falsely labelled as 
industrial appliances
He had been involved in some hanky-panky
deals before then
But nothing of that magnitude!
When he got home that night he told his wife
the whole story
His wife said they needed to pray and 
seek counsel
She called the Brother in jeans and T-shirt
She told him everything
He asked if he could meet with them 
physically 
They drove to his office that same night
He prayed with them
He told them they will be divinely rescued
from tragedy
"The angels of the Lord will protect you
from harm! 
Sometimes they do this without your knowledge
You will just notice that the danger had been 
averted and the coast is clear
At other times they will bring you into 
their dimension of operation and make you
witness your deliverance so that you will
appreciate what has been done on your
behalf!
Just don't panic!
This case is settled!"
They left his office around 9pm
The next day, he went to the office to pack
his things
Just as he was driving out of the wharf
He noticed a car following him
Ordinarily, he wouldn't have paid attention
but recent events had made him a bit
paranoid!
The car followed him to the junction of his house
Suddenly he felt a strong premonition of evil
It was so strong
The car was behind him
There was no activity whatsoever
They had slowed down to negotiate a bad
patch on the road
Suddenly the car before him stopped
the four doors opened all at once
Four young men with assault rifles jumped out
The doors of the car behind him also
opened
Four other guys carrying assault rifles also
jumped out
He was sure he was a dead man!
But the guys walked right by his car
He could hear them talking
"Where is he? What happened to that car?
Did he reverse? Did he drive past you?
What happened to him?"
What they were saying didn't register
at first
He watched them walking about in confusion
he was looking for a window of opportunity
to jump out of the car and run
He bided his time
When he saw the opportunity, he tried to
open the car door, but the doors refused 
to open!
He started sweating!
"Had they somehow done something to
his car to immobilize it and trap him in
it?"
He was thinking all sorts
His heart was pounding furiously
He felt he needed to do something
He wanted to scream
Just then he felt a hand on his shoulder!
"Shh, don't panic! You're safe"
He calmed down immediately
He didn't see anybody, but he felt calm!
A few minutes later, the gun-totting men
returned to the two cars and drove away
He waited until they were gone
He started his car and drove away
He wondered what had happened
How come no other car drove past for almost
throughout the entire duration of the
incident
And what about the hand he felt and the
voice?
It felt like a scene out of a Stephen King novel!
When he got home his wife had her own
tale to tell
She said she was in the Maryland traffic
when she suddenly heard gunshots
Other road users were parking and fleeing
She did the same
She parked her car and jumped out of the 
vehicle
Only to find herself surrounded by men
carrying guns
She said she couldn't explain what happened
She walked right through them until sh got
to safety
Nobody challenged her
Nobody touched her!
WOW!
Her car was still parked beside the road
She took a taxi home!
They called the Brother in Jeans and T-shirt
that night to share the news of their divine
deliverance
They glorified God together
Two days later, the news of the arrest of
the arms dealers took over the airwaves
His custom officer friend was said to be
on the run and declared wanted by the 
police and the customs!
It was a close shave!

PS: This event happened in Lagos, Nigeria
The couple had a baby boy in April 2017
He now owns a logistics company in
Lagos, Nigeria

Believers sometimes make compromises
because of circumstances
Some become victims of evil minds as a
result
Some get lost in the compromise that
finding a way back becomes difficult
Some find the compromise easy to 
rationalise and justify
Some find the compromise uneasy and 
painful
There are repercussions for compromise
Sooner or later, those who sow the wind
will reap the whirlwind!
A dry morsel with peace...

Don't forget that you carry your atmosphere
everywhere you go
Like the children of Israel in the wilderness
You have the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud
through the Holy Spirit
Don't panic in any situation
Know that you can never be stranded unless
you choose to be
Speak forth your deliverance and help
King David the man of God was almost
killed in battle once
Jesus was in a boat caught up in a storm
Paul faced shipwrecks
They all came out of such times divinely
You will experience the divine too!
It's in you!