Well, not exactly today. Rather 3 weeks ago.
Earlier this month, my wife and I landed in the UK. It was our second trip to the UK in less than 6 months. But this time, we were not visiting. I had quit my job in Nigeria, we had ended our home lease and given away all our property, packed up 4 checked-in luggage and 2 hand luggage and bought our tickets to the UK. Why? Because God said, go out of your country to the land that i will show you.
Sometime in August last year, God began to speak to me about 2019, that it would be a season of Immeasurable Excess. And one of the things he revealed to me was that 2019 would be a continuation of 2018. In 2018, God had given me this prophecy; a season of overflow, he had said. This prophecy was based on the amazing song, I’m Getting Ready, by Tasha Cobbs and Nicki Minaj. Looking back now, God literally blew my mind and fulfilled every word that Tasha and Nicki prophesied. 2018 was a very good year, and my wife and I truly experienced overflow in our lives.
The crowning of the overflow came towards the end of 2018 when I received multiple job offers. Incidentally, this happened just a few days after we finally decided to acknowledge God’s leading to sow our biggest single seed yet. Transferring that money to our pastor was both exciting and scary for us because that money wasn’t spare cash – it was everything we had then. But God honored our faith and seed.
Between October and December 2018, our dilemma was choosing between multiple job offers from international organizations. One of the jobs was offering me double my salary, another was offering more money and opportunity to work from home, another offer insisted that I must relocate to the UK. When I asked God which job was his will, he said something interesting to me, “I am offering you different flavors of ice cream, whichever one you choose will bring you satisfaction, just in a different flavor, but I will be with you in either choice”.
Finally, we accepted the offer to relocate to the UK. For us this was another step of faith. This job was not the highest salary offered, but it would bring me more exposure and opportunities to deepen my skills and education. It would also require a bigger dependence on God. All the other offers would have been safe and comfortable, but moving to live and work in the UK (especially in the middle of the Brexit dilemma) was both exciting and scary. We would have to depend on God for every step. After I accepted the UK offer, the process began. I started doing due diligence about relocating to the UK, seeing counsel from trusted people who had spent time in the UK. I got both positive and negative feedback, and it was confusing. But God kept telling me i was at liberty to choose and he would back my choice. So the company began processing the paperwork for me and my wife. As a step of faith, I gave a resignation notice to my office, told my landlord i was moving out by the end of January and started giving away all our property ( we had promised God that we would not sell anything, because we began our life in Abuja with nothing, we wanted to rediscover God’s provision again).
But just because God gives you a prophecy does not mean there won’t be resistance. While we waited for our visa application, I was on a work trip when my wife informed me that our visas had been denied. I almost went crazy. I had already turned down the other job offers, resigned from my office and practically promised people to come and pick up our properties, because we expected to travel abroad at the end of January. I panicked. I felt betrayed by God. Had I heard God right? Did i misunderstand God?
Fortunately, the company was very sympathetic. They had spent a lot of money to do the paperwork. They tried to encourage me and promised that since I had already resigned my job they would give me a consultancy contract to start working from home immediately. Then they would reapply for our visas. I remembered when Pastor Sola explained the significance of God repeating a thing (Grace, Grace). I remembered when Joseph in the bible explained that Pharaoh had dreamed the same thing twice because God had determined to fulfill it. Of course I can say all of this now in retrospect, but back then all I felt was panic and fear. So the company reapplied for me. And the wait began. The first 2 months of 2019 (here, here, here, here) were the most stressful period for my wife and I. Waiting for our visas the second time around, not knowing if we would be denied or approved. All the excitement and faith we had before completely evaporated. We were completely broken. How would we face everyone we told about our relocation? My landlord kept calling, asking me when I was moving out. The people we had promised our property kept coming to pick them up, not knowing the uncertainty that we were facing.
But just because our prophecy tarries does not mean it is denied. God always watches over his word to fulfill it. Eventually, we got the email alert to come pick up our passports. We were scared to go to the visa center, and to even open the envelope after we collected it. When we finally opened, we were staring at our Entry Clearance. 2 days later, we departed Nigeria.
Looking back over the experience of the past months, one thing that stands out is that God was giving us a backstory to hold on to. I was not sure if coming to the UK was God’s will, and I think God allowed the delays and uncertainty to happen so that he can point us back to that period to show us that he was the one working all things. Another thing that proved the hand of God in our move – when the company sent my offer letter, they gave me a relocation allowance. When my wife and I were reviewing the expenses we realized that we would barely have enough money to start life in the UK, especially because we were not selling our property. I began to panic and wonder if this was really God. I was even angry with God that he made me choose a lower paying job offer. The next day I got an email from the company saying they had decided to increase my allowance (proof positive that God answers our thoughts). As if that was not enough, while we were waiting for our visa application, I sent an email to the company asking for a second relocation increase because of certain unplanned expenses that had come up. Imagine the boldness! But again the company agreed to increase my allowance. Two visa applications; two allowance increase. I was convinced that God was determined for us to relocate.
During the cross over service into 2019, Pastor Shola had prophesied that 2019 would be a continuation of what God spoke to us as church in 2018. For me, this was a confirmation of God’s personal word to me for 2019. Pastor Shola declared that 2019 was a season to Wait and See the hand of God, the salvation of God. I had signed my offer letter in December, but between December and March, my wife and I faced a lot of uncertainty about what we believed God wanted to do in our lives. We prayed, we held on to what God had spoken to us personally, we remembered what pastor Shola had preached in church, we comforted ourselves with several faith building songs when we were too depressed and afraid to pray. We waited impatiently. We doubted God, we got angry at God, we feared for our future. But in the end, we have seen the salvation of the lord.
Waiting on God is not easy, it can be painful and it can be frustrating. But we have seen the word of God fulfilled. Presently, I am writing this blog post from an empty 2 bedroom apartment that only has one bed and kitchen table when God has promised us Immeasurable Excess in 2019. We may not yet see it, but now we have the confidence to #WaitAndSee because someday soon, this scriptures will be fulfilled again.
Faith is Made of This 