How was your Valentine’s Day? Did you receive a gift or at least get a gift for someone?
Remember, love isn’t restricted to males, females, or your partners. Your family and friends also deserve to be shown love.
Story Story…
I recently had reasons to look back on my NYSC journey (for those who don’t know what NYSC is, it’s the National Youth Service Corps, a compulsory 1-year service to the nation that we do here in Nigeria), and I took one lesson out of it.
“That it was God who asked you to do something doesn’t guarantee that it would be easy.”
The fact that you asked God for clarity and He gave you the go-ahead for something doesn’t mean that the journey will be smooth. However, one thing is sure: He will see you through whatever difficulty you might go through along the way.
A little bit of context
I did my NYSC from 2017 to 2018 and served in Damaturu, Yobe State, at a time when there was an insurgency in that state. I didn’t want to stay back after the first 3 weeks, and neither did my family want me to; however, the Holy Spirit wanted me to. Aside from the insurgency in the land, the state was very far from home; it was a 23-hour journey by road, and the weather was also extreme, so my family feared for my safety. Well, not like I also didn’t fear for my safety.
I spent my whole year there, and I did learn and grow a lot, especially spiritually. However, towards the end of my service year, I started to have health challenges. I was going in and out of the hospital back-to-back. It was really a tough one. The cold weather had affected me, and my bones were doing terribly. I was struggling to stand, sleep, and, at some point, even breathe. As a matter of fact, one of the doctors almost took my life. He prescribed a painkiller that wasn’t palatable for an ulcer patient or someone who had suffered from ulcers before, and that one singular mistake almost took my life. I still remember the traumatic experience and how my friends were so scared that I wasn’t going to survive that night. Well, I survived that night, and the hospital still made me go to the pharmacy in pain to buy the injection they were going to give me to relieve the pain. Interestingly, I still didn’t get better after all of that.
Well, because of this experience, I had to leave immediately after my service year was over, even though I still wanted to stay back with my friends. I couldn’t. I had to come back to Lagos to get proper medical attention.
So why have I told you this story?
I didn’t want to stay
I heard God asking me to stay
I stayed in the state
The journey wasn’t easy.
The health challenge was just one of the challenges I suffered. At some point, the insurgency in the state got heated, and we did experience one or two minor things.
But God saw me through.
So when you seek the face of God concerning a thing and He gives you the go-ahead, it is not a promise that the journey will be smooth. It is an assurance that He will be with you on the journey.
It is an assurance that He will hold your hand through it all, and you’ll both get to experience it together as long as you stick to Him.
Matthew 28:20b “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
PS: This is also not to say that you will always have bad experiences when God gives you instructions. I’ve also had experiences where I obeyed God, and it was a beautiful, smooth, and joyful ride.
