Independent

She woke up that morning feeling iffy
She could sense something wasn't right
It was one of those days when it seemed
the Holy Spirit was screaming but the
scream was impacting directly on her
senses
She had her bath and dressed up for
work
She said a quick prayer
She was sure whatever it was would either 
pass or reveal itself in due time
She got to the office five minutes late
It was due to her hesitation because
of that eerie feeling
She had contemplated sitting at home
and waiting on the Lord in prayer
But she overruled the feeling after a while
She was going to be bored eventually
She needed the activity
She had never taken a day off
work before then for any reason
She was sure her boss would have
given her the day off if she asked
But she couldn't see any clear and
present danger
There was no reason to sit at home just
because she felt out of sorts
Her boss arrived by 12 noon
He had a meeting with the Deputy 
Governor earlier that morning
She was aware of the meeting
It was one of the reasons she convinced
herself she had to go to work that day
There might be fresh instructions
and policy directives that needed to
be implemented immediately
She wouldn't want to be caught napping
at her duty post
As soon as her boss settled down in 
his office
He called for her
He told her the governor loved their work
and their parastatal was highly commended
during the meeting
Then he handed her a briefcase
It had in it a lump sum of money
He told her it was a donation one of the
politicians handed to him during the
meeting
The money was to be used to procure some
children books which would be tagged
"Donated by Senator So and So of such
and such constituency"
She was instructed to deposit the 
money in the bank immediately
She said "Yes sir"
When she got to her office, she 
checked the time
It was just about 11:33 AM
She decided to wait till 3 pm
She would go to the bank and from
the bank she would head home
She felt it was better than going to 
the bank, returning to the office and 
then going home
The weather was quite hot
She had some documents to work on
and there was always plenty of
office gossip to while the time away
with
When it was 1 pm, her phone rang
It was her younger sister, the one based
in the United Kingdom
They had lost contact with each other
for over twenty years until the previous
weekend
The plan was for her younger sister
to get a job and save towards her 
education just like she did
They were from a poor family and 
their parents couldn't afford to sponsor 
them
She got a job with an automobile 
company as a receptionist and used 
her salary to sponsor herself through 
a secretarial school where she learned to 
be a secretary, typist
and shorthand expert
Her younger sister got a job at a travel 
agency and somehow found her way 
out of the country without giving 
anybody much notice
Since she settled down in the 
United Kingdom her younger sister had 
only called once to greet everybody 
during the Christmas season
Since then nobody heard from her
They tried to contact her several 
times to no avail
The whole family began praying for her
It was the only option they had
Until that fateful Saturday when she got
that phone call out of the blue
Her younger sister had decided to 
reach out
It was a sweet reunion
They spoke for over two hours on the 
phone
They tried to catch up with family 
events
Those who had gotten married and 
had children
Those who died and those who had 
other issues that needed some 
catching up on
Towards the end of their conversation,
her sister told her she wanted to return
home
She had laboured as a nurse and had 
been able to put a nest egg together
Her younger sister wanted to buy a 
house of her own
Her younger sister wanted to bring 
her children home from abroad 
(She said she had divorced
her husband after ten years of marriage)
There was nobody happier in the world
Her younger sister had been considered
lost forever
Their mother had cried and lamented 
and mourned the loss of her younger 
sister
Their mother was a non-literate and 
had seen some of her siblings travel 
abroad without returning home
It was something she dreaded and
constantly prayed against
This was why her younger sister did 
not inform anybody of her intention 
before processing her papers and 
traveling abroad
Their mother would never have 
approved!
She knew it would mean the world to 
their mother
To set her eyes on her lost daughter 
again!
Wow!
She told her younger sister she was 
willing to support her in any way she 
desired
Her younger said she wanted to buy a 
house
Something within the range of 10-15 
million Naira
Her younger sister said she had tried 
browsing through the internet and 
getting a genuine real estate broker
but she was afraid of being defrauded
that was why she wanted her big 
sister to help out with the task
She told her younger sister she would
get right on it
The following day, she made many calls
Eventually, she was taken around to see
some properties
She took a lot of pictures and sent them
to her sister through the internet
Her sister called and promised to check
the pictures out and get back to her
That was the last conversation they had
until that afternoon
As soon as she picked the phone, her
younger sister said "I don't have much 
time, I had to sneak out of the office to
call you because we are not allowed to
be on the phone when we are working.
I have sent you some money
I found someone coming home
The money is in Pound Sterling
The person left here yesterday and 
should arrive this morning
He will call you as soon as he gets to
Ibadan
I have given him your phone number
He is going to Ilorin
His flight landed in Lagos
He promised he would hand over the
package to you on his way to Ilorin
All you have to do is discuss how and 
where to meet each other
The money should be around fourteen 
million Naira when converted
Let us pray that foreign exchange
will remain stable
I want you to buy the house for me
immediately
I have sent you the picture of the
house my children picked
I will resign this month and make 
all the necessary arrangements to
be home next month!
Thank you ma!"
Wow!
Some minutes later, her phone rang
It was a masculine voice
A gentle voice
The man introduced himself and told
her he had a parcel for her from a 
certain Mrs. So and So
She told the man she had been expecting
his call
The man told her he was going to Ilorin
and would like to know where they
can meet
She gave him a location close to her
office
He told her to wait at the location
by 2:30 pm
Then he said "I ran into some problem
clearing customs! I had to pay a fine of
three hundred thousand Naira at the
airport
I have called your sister and explained to
her
She said you will take care of it
I will like you to come with the money, 
please or I will have to come back and 
do the delivery when you have the money"
She said okay
She called her sister several times before
she remembered her sister had said they
were not allowed to pick calls while at 
work
Where was she supposed to get 
three hundred thousand Naira?
She had less than two hours to come up
with the money
She called her husband
Her husband told her he didn't have 
the money and he also didn't have
anywhere to borrow it from
She called two other friends
They also didn't have the fund
Then she remembered the money her
boss gave to her that morning
She had placed it in a safe in her office
She took it out and counted it
It was five hundred thousand Naira
It dawned on her that it was not a 
coincidence
God knew she would need the money
and put it in her care
God is awesome!
She took three hundred thousand Naira
out of the money
Her plan was very simple
Give the man the three hundred thousand
naira
Collect the parcel containing fourteen
Million Naira in Pounds Sterling
Go to the bureau de change and convert
the equivalent of three hundred thousand
Naira
Return the money she borrowed, deposit
the money her boss gave her into the bank
as instructed
Take the day off the next day to close the
deal on her sister's house!"
It was a perfect plan!
The time was 2:00 pm by the time she
left her office
She walked briskly
She wanted to make it to the rendezvous 
point on time
As soon as she stepped out of the 
office
She felt that eerie feeling
It was strange and almost knocked
her off balance
She felt disoriented as if there was
something she ought to do that she
didn't do 
When she was in school, especially 
when she was writing examinations, 
she would get that feeling when she 
was about to submit her script
It was usually a "Caution"
She would stop and examine her script
again
Cross-checking her answers
She would discover she had made a mistake
either misunderstanding the instructions
and answering the questions the wrong
way or forgetting something vital
It always worked for her!
She had the same feeling when she met
her husband
She wanted to dismiss him because there
was somebody else she was dating before
he came on board but that feeling gnawed
at her until she gave him a second look and
changed her mind
It was the same feeling!
That same annoying, gnawing feeling!
She stopped
She wondered why everything seemed
rushed
Why she was not settling down to make
decisions
Why she felt so hung up, harrassed and 
hassled
She turned around
She suddenly didn't feel like going 
through with it
Her phone rang
It was her sister
She picked
Her sister said "He is already waiting for
you, he said he had been trying to call you
but your line is not going through!
Please sister, the money with him was my
ten years savings plus settlement from
my divorce
He said you are to pay him some money,
kindly take it out of the money I sent
to you in that parcel.
Thank you ma
I have to go now, we will talk later in the
evening after i have closed from work"
She turned around
It must have been some innate fear
or some devilish voice trying to spoil
her name
What would her sister say?
She needed help and was let down by
her blood sister
No!
God is with her
The path of the righteous shines
brighter and brighter
She cannot give in to fear
God can see her heart
She was doing this for her sister
God will never allow the righteous to
fall into the snare of the fowler
She walked briskly
She got to the rendezvous point in 
twenty minutes
He was waiting
She saw a red Mercedes Benz convertible
There were two guys in it
The driver and the courier
The courier greeted her
The driver started the car
The courier handed over the parcel to her
She held and felt it
Although it was wrapped and all, it felt
like money
She handed over the brown paper bag
containing the three hundred, thousand 
naira
They exchanged thank yous
The red Benz drove off
She walked away
When she got to the office, she opened
the parcel
It was full of newspaper cuttings
She had been duped!
She called her sister's number immediately
The number was switched off
She suddenly felt cold all over
It was a con and she had fallen 
for it
She cried and cried
Why didn't the Holy Spirit say something
Why did God allow her fall into a snare
Was it her sins
Was it her unrighteousness
Has God deserted her
Was God not mindful of her again?
She went home broken and in tears
She couldn't even sleep all night
It was as if she was in a terrible 
nightmare
Her boss heard about it the next day
She had to apply for a load to make
up the money and deposit it as 
instructed
The loan was approved by her boss
Her husband tried to speak kindly
to her
But she had lost her faith entirely
She stopped praying
She stopped going to church
She was just angry at God and the
Holy Spirit
How could she be a believer and still
fall victim of the wiles of the evil one
Why did God permit it to happen?
She was brimming with questions!
Her husband got tired of her behaviour
after eight months
The anger had turned her into a critic
of the church and pastors
She would scream at them on the television
and write all sorts of posts on the social
media
She was lashing at God 
Angry at the Holy Spirit
Snapping at everybody
One Saturday, her husband drove her to
the office of the Brother in Jeans and T-shirt
He was tired and wanted a divorce
if she does not stop acting like a 
rabid dog
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt had a
discussion about that day with her
As they were talking about what happened
she suddenly started crying
It dawned on her, that the Holy Spirit
was with her every step of the way
But instead of allowing the Holy Spirit
to lead her, she took the reins and
led the Holy Spirit through her 
sentimental feelings for her sister!

PS: The person that called her was not 
her sister
She was led through a hoop and filled in
the gaps in the conversation by herself
Fraudsters use these tactics a lot and
many people have fallen for it
Many of us are guilty of this every day
Praying and leading by our wits instead
of praying and allowing the Holy Spirit
to lead us at every minute
I have heard believers say "God gave me 
a brain, I cannot wait for the Holy Spirit
to lead me when i can reason for myself"
This is an error of Independent proportion
There is a step between life and death
and most times, our eyes cannot see
beyond our noses!
Be filled and led by the Holy Ghost 
always!

You cannot be a believer and be Independent

GSW's notes: When you have that feeling
that makes it feel as if you were walking
against the wind or swimming against the
tide!
That feeling of restraint and caution
Listen to it!
The devil is the rushy and hasty one
He doesn't want you to consider your
next step and he always comes praying
on your immediate desires or needs
Pause!
Chill out!
Rest!
It doesn't matter if somebody is dying
or heaven is falling
As long as you feel a restraint, it is better
to wait and set the agenda yourself
than being hurried to act in an agenda
set by another!
Waiting is not inaction
Rushing is the disaster
As long as you can hear his voice
Please let His voice lead you
isaiah 28:16
therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 
“Behold, I am the one who has laid 
as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a 
tested stone, a precious cornerstone, 
of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes 
will not be in haste