PREMONITION

So, I was given a car yesterday. I didn’t expect the gift, so it was quite a pleasant surprise. I had told the Lord that I wanted to give some pastors a car each this year. My heart went to one of them and I called him. He arrived a few hours later.

Usually, I would be waiting by the car when the person I wanted to give a car arrives, but he didn’t call me on time so I was in my hotel room when he arrived. I invited him into the lounge to have lunch and we got talking. 

This pastor said, "There is nothing good about Nigeria, I wake up cursing the country every day. Why was I born into such a wretched country...?” He lamented on and on. 

I tried hard to encourage him that there is yet hope for this country.

“As a believer, if you curse the land you live in daily, you cannot prosper in that land. Even if it is America or heaven. What you say determines your reality.”

He nodded as if he got it. He went to get dessert. I put the car key on the side of the table he stood up from (opposite me). He returned a few minutes later with a friend (I have never met the friend before) He introduced the friend to me. We started getting chummy as guys do.

The friend saw the car key first and said, "So and so, Wow, you just bought a car?" He looked at his friend and said, "No, I cannot use a car in this wretched country. I was given one last year November, I sold it immediately. I am determined to leave this country as soon as possible. I will go anywhere as long as I am out of here. There is nothing good in this country. I curse this country every day and I will continue to do so. I hate the fact that I was born here." 

He said so much more with venom but I believe you get the message. I said, "Pastor we had a discussion earlier and I explained to you that your words as a believer matter a lot to the reality you walk in. He looked at me and sneered, "Please don’t preach to me. You are living in denial and trying to pretend something evil is good because you say so. I mean, if I drive a car in this country, I can guarantee that I will die in that car within a month. If a policeman doesn't kill you, armed robbers will kill you or your family members or colleagues at work or even strangers. I have imagined this several times. It is not well with this country, let us admit this and just know God threw us into the other side of his goodness as a nation.”

Just then a governor walked into the lounge. He had with him two of his security aides and they had their AK-47s with them. They didn’t threaten anyone and the hotel management quickly went to whisper to the security guys that they needed to move somewhere else while the “Big man and two of his goons” can stay. 

This pastor became uneasy immediately, I mean, he looked so scared and said he wanted to take his leave. Before either of us could persuade him otherwise, he stood up and left. His friend said he had always been like that; afraid of everything and negative about everything.

I chatted for a while with his friend and then we left the lounge.

A few minutes later, I called another pastor friend and he arrived at about 6pm.

I gave him the car! 

-GSW-