SO I HEARD YOU MET GOD

Is it true you met God? I have seen the way your life has turned out. Your clothes haven’t changed; you still haven’t gotten a job five years after graduation nor have you started anything on your own. You are not getting any younger they said and the right man you keep talking about hasn’t showed up yet. I know you are faithful to God; I mean I see you go to church and do church activities Monday to Sunday. I even know you have less to feed on but you give to others more than you spend on yourself. Pardon my sarcasm but am just an ordinary person who sees only the physical so am tempted to ask and question only what I see in the natural. Every man of God that has visited your church knows you because you have served each of them, so I heard. I don’t mean to be mean but from experience I know that when someone has an encounter with the supernatural everything about the person seems to change for the better. So I am tempted to ask again are you sure you met God? because am having serious doubts. All these I heard and witnessed. 

Well I have an answer for your critics; wait a minute your life rings a bell. You are not the first and you certainly won’t be the last. I read about a man who met God and all he had to show for it was a broken limb. Funny right, I mean how he is supposed to explain to the world that he met God and yet he had nothing to show for it. To make matters worse he was limping that’s almost worse off before the encounter. I mean he had been 'chosen' by God right from his mother’s womb and even after he was older in all his flaws, it was obvious he has been 'chosen' but he had nothing to show for it (everything he had then he got out of cheating). Even the ‘unchosen’ one got wealthy after a while, but you see that’s not how the story ended. After a number of years when the appointed time of Jacob had come the difference was clear.  After several years of wondering in strange lands when his time was up, God showed up in a grand style.  And for that reason Christians will forever continue to mention the God of Jacob. When the set time comes your story would be told and the difference would be clear. 

You see my dear because of the difference in missions and assignments. Some people would have to go through longer periods of preparation than others, the bigger your task, the bigger your challenge. There are hurdles you must cross and prove yourself worthy for the task. Don’t give up keep stay on course; study all you can, master your craft, whatever the talent, explore all angles, make the mistakes and when you fall get up, dust yourself and get back in line. Prove your worth anything you have center stage, be at the right place at the right time. It will not make sense in the beginning but several years down the lane like Steve Jobs said “the dots will begin to connect’. I know the most difficult times in life is the patience to wait for the right moment. But just hold on a little bit longer, if your story was over you would have been long dead. It’s a long journey up there to the high table with lessons to learn. While you are on your way up there are lessons you must note;

1.     DON’T WASTE YOUR HURT

One time I was chatting with a friend, and then at a point I decided to share with her some of my hurt and pain in the past. Just when I had said the most sensitive part of my story and expected her to sympathize with me she smiled. I was shocked then she said, 'you have been through nothing, let me tell you my story so you understand' as I listened to her I actually came to a conclusion that I have been through nothing. Normally, when I hear such stories I start asking myself 'is God watching at all; does he see what they are going through? But after I have allowed myself to wonder, I get back on track and remind them. somehow I have looked at the likes of Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs all of blessed memory, Joyce Meyer and some others and have come to a conclusion that most often than not it is pain that produces passion. It is your most painful experiences that God uses the most to prepare you for your life's purpose. He never wastes a hurt: in fact, your greatest ministry will most likely come out of your worst hurt. Who could better comfort someone whose heart has been broken than one who has survived that agony. Who could better feed the hungry than one who has known hunger? The very experiences that you have resented or regretted most in life - the ones you've wanted to hide and forget - are the experiences God wants to use to help others. To be bitter about the people who caused you pain is a choice, it is not a direct outcome. So whatever you do DON'T WASTE YOUR HURT.  In the midst of pain there is unbelievable growth. Perhaps the most encouraging words with regards to the 'benefit of pain' is given by our trainee boxers at James Town in Accra, Ghana with the phrase “no pain no gain”. It means that before you can become that world champion you would need to survive those heavy blows with its injuries. Pain has a way of birthing passion depending on how you look at it. It is in pain that we regain purpose, pain is a miracle.

2.     DON’T OUTGROW THE SMALL TASK

Ms Carson is one woman a lot of people might never have heard of, She was a single mum and had no education, however she determined that her children should have a better life than she did. She trained her children very well, gave them a responsibility of reading at least two books from the local library every week. She gave them an additional task of writing reports on the books they read for her to read and mark them. It was only when the children were old enough that they noticed their mother could not read but by then she had achieved her purpose. (Extract from “GIFTED HANDS” by Ben Carson). One on these children is Doctor Ben Carson a very popular man who became the first surgeon to separate Siamese twins. And this man would forever be remembered. Not all of us will be congratulated on camera or receive an award in our life time. But the truth is someone's destiny may be dependent on the small unseen things you are doing. So if you are given the role of a mother, an Usher, a cleaner or a babysitter do it like nobody's business. Give it your best, because the person you are in contact with right now may be the next big thing the world is waiting on and maybe when their story is told yours might be mentioned, but if that never happens the truth is you achieved your PURPOSE and that is the whole duty of man.

3.     FRIENDSHIP

You will meet thousands of people along the road. Some are meant to stay while others are just passing through. Your journey will put them to test and in the end you will be surprised; the ones who will be willing to stand by you will be the people you least expect. Don’t force anyone to stay, if they like you they will have the patience to stick out their neck for you. Anybody can be happy for you when you have things going on, but only few will be there when you find yourself between the devil and the deep blue sea. Your friends are not those who are with you when you find yourself on the mountain top but those that are with you while you are in the valley.

When you have gone through all of these and passed the test of time. Then the world will answer the question on your behalf. Everything around you would prove that indeed you have encountered the Supernatural and all that was needed to prove it was time. The road is messy but in the end it will all make sense. Be persistent, show consistency in any field of work, and don’t give up because your target is a global record. Don’t let your critics have the last laugh. They have seen your struggle they must see your greatness. The world is waiting to hear your story. But it is only a matter of time and for a true child of God you can always say "my relieve will surely appear ... with Christ in the vessel, I will smile at the storm (MHB 511). No one can ask if you have met your God at all.

By: Bekina Mirekuah Mensah.