The Evangelist 5
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Immediately I heard what the pastor said, I knew he was not a true man of God. I knew he was one of the people who deceive people with the name of God. I left his church more helpless and hopeless. While I drove away, my mind was in turmoil. I had no plans. I didn’t know who to run to. I thought of making a public confession. Hopefully, if I expose the works of the elders, they would lose their grip on my life.
But I didn’t do that. Somehow, I knew it was only the power of the Supreme Being that could save me at that point. But where to find who will lead me to him became my challenge. Time was ticking and the forty eight hours were diminishing. My fear increased and so was my restlessness. I continued driving with no destination in mind.
Then I remembered the blessed sacrament. I remembered the stories I heard about the power it possesses. I remembered the testimony of my mother in-law about how God miraculously answered her prayers through the blessed sacrament. I was desperate, so I was ready to try out any possible solution. I decided to go to the blessed sacrament.
But immediately I resolved to go to the blessed sacrament, something started happening within me. It was as if my body was fighting with itself. It was as if there was a disagreement between my body and my mind. I lost control of what my body was doing but I was in control of my mind. The disarray within me convinced me that the blessed sacrament was the right call.
I summoned all the will power I could and went. I went to St Charles Lwanga parish. Immediately I stepped into the room which housed the blessed sacrament, I felt a kind of relief. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my heart. In there, I met two people; an old woman and a boy of about twenty three. They were praying individually.
Without wasting time, I knelt and started pouring out my heart to God. Truly brethren, if there is a man to pray, there is surely God to answer. I poured my heart to God, confessing all my sins and begging him to make me his possession. While I prayed, I started crying bitterly. As I continued, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was the boy.
He bent towards me and said “if you seek him in truth and in spirit, he will be for you”. He left the room after saying that. The woman had left as well. I went back to God in prayers. I continued praying to a point I wasn’t saying the words by myself. They came out of my mouth on their own.
I spent over six hours with the blessed sacrament and the results were hope, courage, strength and peace. I left there a different person. My fear wasn’t completely gone but I got the courage to face it. I went to check on my wife. She had regained some strength but the doctors said she would spend more time in the hospital so they’d monitor her health.
I went home afterwards. Right at home, Komi was waiting for me with an angry face. Then I discovered that I wasn’t afraid of facing him like I used to be. No wonder 1 John 4 : 4 says that he that is in me is greater than he that is in the world. Komi said that the elders warned that if I try what did that day again, they would destroy everyone I cared about. He also said that if I didn’t choose my sacrifice before the end of the forty eight hours, they’d take both my wife and my son. He was very angry while he issued these warnings.
But the courage and boldness I acquired didn’t let me fret like I used to. I boldly maintained my stand. I told him to tell the elders that I no longer want there wealth. I told them to take their wealth and leave my family alone. Komi became angrier. His eyes turned blood red and his face became black. He growled like an animal and made towards me.
I became scared. I clutched my hands over my head, closed my eyes and waited for the worse to happen. But when I opened my eyes moments later, Komi was gone. That night, I prayed. I read the Bible while I prayed. That was something I hadn’t done in years. But that night, I prayed and read the scripture like my life depended on it. Of course, it did.
When I woke the next morning, I found the book at the entrance of my room. It was not open neither was it glowing. It was just there. I ignored it and left the house. I first went to check on my wife at the hospital. That was the day the forty eight hours would elapse and I needed to secure my salvation or my wife and son would be taken.
At mid-morning, I left for the blessed sacrament. Getting there was not easy. At a point, I couldn’t remember the road to the church. It took the grace of God for me to get to there. When I got there, there were few people but most of them left later. Among them was the boy I met the previous day. He was reading a prayer book. I went to the fore front and knelt down. I knelt for almost an hour without saying anything. I didn’t know what to say. My mind was fighting itself. Then the boy came to me again and said “pray, make a covenant with him”. He left immediately.
I started praying. I started slowly but in a flash, the tempo became so high. I told God that my family would be no more if he doesn’t intervene. I begged him to punish me instead and spare my innocent wife and son. I cried while I prayed. I reminded Him that he is the almighty God and nothing happens without his approval. I begged that it may not please him that my family would die.
Then, the words of the boy came to my mind and I started making offers to God. Like Jephthah in the book of Judges, I promised God that his praises will never depart from my lips if he delivers me from the hands of the evil one. Like Hannah in the book of 1 Samuel, I promised God that I would live for him for the rest of my life. Ultimately, I made a covenant with the Ancient of days.
In my fear, distress, despair, helplessness and hopelessness, I made my life a living sacrifice to God. I swore to God to be the vessel of his Evangelism for the rest of my life if he delivers my family. I swore that if I ever stop evangelising for him, may he take my life instantly. I dedicated my entire being to God and sealed the covenant with drops of my blood on the floor before the blessed sacrament. There and then, I became God’s possession. I felt it in my spirit.
To be continued……
TOCHUKWU ANOZIE
