Blessing in disguise...

Just like a gift in a raping paper so is the ways of God to human kind, His ways are unpredictable. His plan we are all sure of because He said “I know the plans I have for you, they are plans of good and not of evil to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11). There are too many approaches to how God can work out his plans in the lives of human being, at times He uses direct means and at times He uses disguise which is His most common way of blessing human being.
I came I saw and I conquer is the story and the testimony of any man God has blessed after been through difficulties in life. There are so many people in this world presently going through different challenges who thinks that is the end but they have forgotten the fact that our God is a God of Mystery, a God of Miracle who brought out the living from the death and abundance out of nothing, He turns story to glory and turns shame to fame.
The first blessing in disguise God did was the birth of Jesus Christ, it was indeed a great disguise that the saviour of the earth was born like a sheep in a manger. It baffles my spirit each time I think about it that God allowed Jesus to be given birth to among the sheep but I remember what He says that “my ways are not your ways”. One thing we must know in life is that everybody has a cross to carry at a point in time in our lives, though nobody wants to experience the negative part of life but it is bound to happen and many times, our challenges are what God uses to take us to our desired place. Many times, our difficulties are specifically designed by nature to take us to His will over our lives.
Looking at the life of Jesus Christ; even though God referred to Him directly as the apple of His eyes, He still went through challenges more than any human being can. He was beaten and battered like a thief, should we talk about the thurns on His head, the vinegar, the carrying of the cross in distance, the 8 inches nails put through His palm to the cross and was even made to die among the thieves, yet He fulfilled His destiny to save human kind.
Just like Gold will never shine until it passes through fire, so also there will never be a winner without a battle. The most important thing is to live a holy life and walk on the path of God and never give up for He has promised that “when you pass through fire, I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:2). No condition or situation can stop God from fulfilling His promises over your life. One of the ways people bring themselves down is to always complain instead of working towards solving their problems and believe in God.
The life of Joseph in the Holy Bible is another great Blessing in disguise when his blood brother team up against him and sold him to slavery to potipher, the assistant to the king Pharaoh of Egypt. The brothers thought they’ve done their worse but never knew they were helping Joseph to fulfill God’s purpose for his life. Because God was with him, Potipher made him his helper and put him in charge of everything he owned. Later another problem came against Joseph from when his maters wife to sleep with her but because Joseph rejected the offer, she lied against him and was put in jail and this ugly situation was what God used to linked Joseph directly to the King (PHARAOH) and the beauty of God’s purpose for his life came up and a leader.
Recently, I heard a true life story of an old time friend (Femi) and that was exactly what prompted me to make this write up “Blessing in disguise”. He was mysteriously delayed to meet up with his destiny. Joseph was pushed to meet up with his destiny while Femi was delayed to meet up with his destiny…It all started when Femi was in 300 level in the University, he lived in Lagos but schooled in Kwara State. There was a particular girl he had a quarrel with at home in Lagos and the Lady took it to school and promised to deal with Femi because she was dating a one of Femi’s lecturer. This Lady took Femi’s case so serious using what she has to bribe the lecturer and at the end of that semester (2nd semester), Femi had a carry-over in the lecturers course. Everybody were surprise that Femi could have a carry-over but there was nothing they could do, Later Femi discovered that it was the Lady that was behind it so he went to report the issue to the faculty officer but the man said he should forget it since he did not have a strong evidence to back his claims. It was not funny at all on Femi but he took to the faculty officer’s advice and decided to shoulder the cross.
Several times Femi cried like a baby because his aim of making second class upper (2:1) has been dashed and not just that but also with an extra year on campus not knowing that the experience marked the beginning of his fulfillment in life. On the day of the last paper in 400 level, Femi cried like a baby in the examination hall knowing that he had extra year already when others were jubilating over their last paper in the school. To worsen the situation, the Lady walked up to him and said to his face that “it’s a pity that I’m living you behind on this campus, just carry your extra year cross very well so you don’t fall again” she said it with all sense of humor. To cut the story short, Femi carried his extra year cross diligently and finished but not with his desired grade of 2:1 but 2:2 and went for youth services (NYSC).
It was at this stage(NYSC) that Femi started realizing the power of the common prayer we all pray that “God if my blessing has moved faster than me please hasten my step to meet it at the front and if I’ve moved faster than my blessing God delay me for my blessing to meet up with me”. Now he knew his delayed was actually planned by God. “He had been delayed but not derailed”. During the orientation camp, Femi met a Lady at the camp who was married to the Managing director of one of the best Agro- allied companies in the country and they became good friends. As favour will shine on him, one day the Lady’s husband came to check on her at the camp and Femi was introduced to him and they got talking and the man was happy to hear that Femi studied Bio-Chemistry in the University. He had interest in Femi and they arranged with the NYSC officials on how Femi would be posted to his company to serve.
Everything went smoothly as planned and Femi became a corps member in a very big agro-allied company and as if that was not enough, they gave him all the benefits of a full staff and he began to enjoy life like “an ant in a box of sugar”. After some months that Femi joined the company as a corps member, the company wanted to send some delegates to Scotland in United Kingdom to inspect some of the agricultural products the partner company wanted to import into the country and lo and behold, Femi was taken to be part of the trip to Scotland as a chemist. It was indeed like a dream to him how God used his problem to lift him up which mark the beginning of the next level in his life.
Femi became an executive corps member living far above all his friend who graduated before him and after the NYSC, he was retained in the company with a pay he never dreamed of and benefits he never expected. Within the last one year he was retained by the company, he has travelled to 3 different countries and today he is enjoying himself.
If you are reading this and you feel all hope is lost probably because you are going through though time and it seems there is no way out, I have a message for you that “all things work together for good for they that love God” Romans 8:28. Whatever you are going through might be a blessing in disguise from God; it might be what God has placed on your path to take you to your desired place in life. God has promised to be with you even when you pass through fire so, all you need do is to be bold and look up to him always just as Joseph never yielded to what people will call opportunity to sleep with his masters wife or what what Femi would have done to harm himself because of frustration. Just be diligent in whatever you are doing and trust that God is with you, never confess negative things about yourself because the power to live and kill oneself is in our mouth…may God almighty be with you and see you through your Journey in life.

Cheers!

gbengacares©2010

14/03/2010