© Ayo Omolayo
I sat down with Silas seated beside me on the sofa. We were here to see my mentor. This was not the first time we were meeting her together. When the relationship started, we had seen her together 3 times now.
Today, Silas was taking me home to meet his parents. It was time to meet the family of the man I intended to marry. We were here to receive her motherly blessings before embarking on the journey.
I had sat down with my mentor to learn the rules about Christian courtship. Alot were discussed on the subject.
Courtship is a period of planning and preparation for marriage. It was a time were the intending couples spend time with each other to learn more about themselves.
The pray together, plan their future together, study together and get to know each other better.
One of the rules she gave was never to allow our relationship affect our personal relationship with God and our quiet time.
Mummy could sometimes go the extra mile. She would call me to ask if I missed my quiet time for a single day. At times she would ask me for the days I missed it and punish me by giving one or 3 days of no phone calls or talking with Silas.
And she would warn me if I dared pick his calls or talk with him when I was serving my punishment, she would double the punishment and sentence me to marathon fasting.
There were times she would ensure he wasn’t aware I was serving punishment and allow him tempt me to disobey her. It was hard to have Silas calling and not pick up his call.
There were times she called Silas and told him I was under punishment and he shouldn’t call me. But sometimes, she allowed me to be tempted by his incessant calls. When the punishment was unbearable for me, I had to sit up and take my spiritual life serious.
Since skipping my quiet time was the reason for the tormenting punishment. I made sure I didn’t miss it. Mummy really tried for me ooo. I noticed a lot of sisters were on fire for Jesus during their single days. But the moment they got into a relationship, everything about their spiritual life was buried.
I was so carried away by love, that for one week, I kept missing my quiet time. My mentor told me that a car is not a bad thing. That you got involved in a car accident doesn’t mean a car is a bad thing. It was God who gave you a car. But the question is how do you drive the car he gave you?
“Do you drive it with care? Or do you drive it carelessly? So tomorrow when you have an accident you start complaining it was God who gave you the car. Was it God’s fault or that of man?
There’s a course I took some years back in the realm of the spirit called, ‘PROPER MANAGEMENT OF GOD’S BLESSINGS’.
Sometimes what God gives to us looks as if it is evil. It looks as if it’s a distraction. God gives you that thing you’ve always wanted and the next thing that happens is you run off. You forget about God immediately. All you do is to enjoy your new gift. Forgetting the giver.
That’s exactly what alot of Christian ladies do. God gives them a man and the next thing that happens is they vanish with the man. God doesn’t see them again. They’re so carried away with the gift and neglect the giver”.
My mentor punished me with one week of no communication with Silas. And it looked as if Silas was enjoying it. Whenever we saw each other at the gate, he would smile and wave at me.
My mentor called me to her house and warned me seriously. She told me that the next time I miss my quiet time for any reason at all, I would go on a 3 days marathon fasting. And for those 3 days, no communication with Silas.
I thought it was a joke. I knew Mrs Juliet Thompson to be a soft hearted lady. Unlike Susan, who beat me out of bed that day. If it were to be my mentor, she would tap me gently and tell me to wake up. Not the way Susan almost wanted to break my head for me. Thank God I ran out of the bed and escaped.
My mentor was a gentle woman jare. I expected her to go easy on her baby girl. That was how she called me the morning I spoke with Silas so long on the phone and overslept.
“Did you skip your appointment with God?” She asked.
“Mummy! I’m sorry! Actually I came back tired from work and….”,
“Did you speak with your fiancee last night?”
“Yes! But, I was also”,
“What did I tell you would be your punishment when next you missed your quiet time?”
“Mummy I’m sorry. It won’t happen again”.
“That was the same thing you told me the last time it happened. Well, I’m not going to be merciful today. Hope you have not eaten anything yet?”
“Mummy please na! I’m sorry!”
“Your fasting begins today”, she announced and ended the call.
She sent me prayer points and scriptures to study. I called her several times and pleaded with her, but she refused to listen to me.
“Mummy I will die oooo!”
“Die! We will bring you back to life”, she replied.
Brethren, I almost died. Nobody told me to sit up spiritually. The truth is I had done fasting program personally before. But ever since I fell and was restored, I had lost the ability to fast for more than a day.
So I had asked my mentor a few questions. Recently, I asked her if it was okay to visit my fiancee. She told me it was fine as long as I don’t go alone.
“We are humans and the day we pride ourselves that nothing will happen is enough for something to happen. The bible says, do not give place for the Devil. Don’t throw caution to the wind. Someone must accompany you to your fiance’s house. This is the careless act of a lot of believers that led to intending couples defiling themselves.
If you cannot schedule a meeting with your fiancee at a place that is not secluded, then don’t go to his house”.
I remembered the day I tried breaking up with Chris and how we both ended the conversation that day. I knew if it were to be an open place, such a thing wouldn’t have happened. Secluded places gives the flesh we carry an advantage.
You don’t need to be strong. You only need the perfect spot. Once your flesh is in a position where there is perfect access to sin. It will shock you when it manifests. You won’t remember that you were a born again child of God.
Cris! Why do you think Joseph ran away when Portiphar’s wife grabbed him?”
“Because the flesh was responding to her touch, even when his spirit is not willing to sin”, I answered.
“Exactly! A mistake a lot of Christians do today is expecting God to do everything for you. That’s a very wrong character in believers. Your quiet time alarm would ring, but you will still lie down on that bed telling yourself that you’re too tired to get up.
God has tried enough to come and wake you for your appointment. If you had an appointment with the president of Nigeria, would the president come and be the one to wake you?”
“No”, I answered.
“But God would out of love, come down to wake you. But you would still expect him to hold your hand and drag you out of bed”, she replied.
I shook my head in remorse.
“God would still be merciful and drag you out of bed. How? He’ll touch your bladder and force you out of bed to urinate. But what do we do after that? We climb the bed and cover ourselves with the blanket.
We expect God to also open our mouth and force us to pray. Sometimes, we desire magic powers. You just get up without feeling any tiredness and start praying. We like it that way. No stress, no weakness, just energy. Magic! Sorry to disappoint you. God is not a magician. If you cannot pay the price of discomforting your flesh to build your relationship with him, don’t cry when you discover how temptation eats you up like biscuit bone.
Satan was there when Jesus said that we should pray so that we do not fall into temptation. He knew Jesus had given Christians the key to overcoming temptation. So he would fight tooth and nail to make sure you cannot pray. So that when he brings temptation, you crash immediately.
He knows what he’s doing. Ever wondered why to watch movies in the night is easy? Season one, season two, season three, you’re still watching. You won’t dose at all. You chat and giggle at the funny things your friends say on social media. One hour, two hours, three hours, Satan will not disturb you.
But the moment you drop everything and say you want to pray, trouble! That’s when sleep would become so sweet and delicious. Infact, it would look as if you have never slept in your entire life since you were born.
The bible says in Matthew 11:12. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
You don’t relax and allow your flesh overpower you. You force it to do what your spirit wants to do. The grace is always there, but we don’t always put it to use. We’re expecting God to hold our hands and drag us out of that house. You know your body would react, yet, you sat down there.
That was what Joseph did. Even when his spirit within him is saying no to immorality. His flesh could overpower him and oppress his spirit. He had to force the will of the spirit on the flesh by using his legs to drag flesh out of that temptation zone.
Flesh doesn’t hear abeg ooo. Please I want to pray. Cris, behave yourself and be a strong girl. Stop shaking! You’re strong! You cannot fall into immorality! Oh my body, stop getting aroused! Calm down and behave yourself!
Flesh doesn’t hear that rubbish. The only language flesh hears is discipline. I call it the violent taking the flesh by force. Have you noticed that when you wake up to pray and you’re feeling tired. You stand up and use the walking around position of prayer and pray that day. The next day you repeat the same thing. Whether your body was tired or not you kept doing it. Forcing yourself to pray. Always waking up by 4am everyday.
Did you notice that at a point, flesh will stop struggling with you? Did you notice that?” She asked.
“Yes ma!” I answered.
“That’s exactly the language your flesh needs to hear. Don’t tolerate your body when it cries ‘I’m tired ooo!” Esther said, ‘ If I perish, I perish!’ Cris, did she perish?”
“No!”
“That’s the secret Cris! Stop giving Satan the upper hand. Discipline that body and watch it become your slave”.
Mummy has really done more than a mum can do for a child. She really wants to see me succeed and put her heart into it.
After giving us a few instructions, she asked us to kneel and prayed for us.
“Lord! I pray for journey mercies for your daughter Christiana and her fiancee, Silas Akande. Bring them back safely.
Lord, you said in your word that the heart of the king is in your hands and you turn it to whatsoever place you will. Cause your children to find favour in their sight in Jesus name”.
“Amen!” We both chorused.
“Cris, listen to me! Whatever God establishes must face opposition from hell. It’s one of the signs that God sent you. Hell will not fight something that doesn’t has God’s backing. They are too busy to waste time doing that.
So I want you to see it as a normal thing when his parents reject you. I want you to see it as a normal thing when people start kicking against the marriage. But this is what God says I should tell you.
He said that he will fight your battles for you. He said that you should always remember that the weapons of your warfare are never physical. Stop using your physical hands to fight.
He also said that a great training awaits you in Osun state where you’re both heading. Remember, be submissive. I repeat, be submissive.
He said that you must obey every instruction he will give you when you get there.
That’s the message Cris. Don’t disappoint God. Obey every single instruction”.
To be continued…….
Brethren, the key to building your spiritual life is discipline. Stop allowing flesh to overpower you. God has done enough for you. Waking you up, dragging you out of the bed. Do the rest by discomforting your flesh and pray.
Pray, that ye enter not into temptation.
Hmmm! This one God is warning Cris like this I’m scared ooooo.
Hope she’s not going to start another drama. Brethren, we’re going to Osun state. Pack your things.
