THE WORD. WHEN A SITUATION IN THE LIFE OF A BELIEVER APPEARS TOUGH AND CLUELESS; A MIRACLE IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN! In the concluding phase of His ministry, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour exhorts, ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33) KJV A period of tribulation is a period of sufferings, difficulties and upheavals; it is a time when the horizon is bleak, when hopelessness stares one in the face and it appears that one’s world would collapse the next moment! When one is at such crossroads of life, apostle Paul encourages affected believers to seek refuge in, ‘Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer’ (Romans 12:12) KJV.The above, according to apostle Paul is the antidote a believer should embrace and the psalmist confirms the efficacy of the antidote as he exhorts, ‘For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning’. (Psalm 30:5) That means, no matter, how dark the tunnel may be, there will be light at the end and no matter how ravaging the storm may be; Jesus Christ – the ‘Master of storm’ is always on hand for the believer to do what is impossible for man. Halleluiah! Ordinarily, when tribulations become daunting, the spirit, soul and body of a believer will become tasked for a purpose and once the focus is on Jesus Christ, the impossible will become possible, hopelessness will give way to a manifested hope, the cloudy horizon of disillusionment will become clear and the unexpected miracle will break forth. Halleluiah! The prelude to a historic famine in Samaria was the decision of Ben-hadad, the king of Syria to over-run Israel. He besieged the city of Samaria and there was a great famine, ‘until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver’. (II Kings 6:25b). As if that was not enough, women were partnering to eat their sons in rotation(Vs. 28 – 29). That was the extent of the famine and the tribulation that befell the inhabitants of Samaria at that time. However, there was a man of God in the land who understood the workings of the Lord, that, when people think they had come to the end of the road, (as in the case of the widow of Zarephath), the ever-listening and compassionate Father opens up other routes and creates a way where there was none before. His word says,’ And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me’ (Psalm 50:15) Prophet Elisha understood the way of God very well and he decreed the word of God accordingly in is questto change the situation for the better; ‘Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria’ (II Kings 7:1). Beloved, the word of God had been decreed and authority followed immediately from heaven. As people awaited the glory of God; the heavens worked out their own arithmetic; caused the ravaging army of the Syrians ‘to hear a noise of chariots and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host and they said one to another, Lo, the King of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the king of the Egyptians to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight and left their tents and their horses and their asses even the camp as it was and fled for their life’’ (II Kings 7 : 6-7) The Israelites were overwhelmed with the spoils of war (without raising a finger) in a miraculous way thereby turning their adversity into prosperity even in a scenario that a top ranking officer in Samaria had described as impossible. For the Israelites on their way from Goshen to Canaan, the Red Sea encounter almost resulted into a disaster but for the grace of God. The Israelites looked ahead, they saw the Red Sea; at their back, it was the hostile army of the Egyptians in choice chariots moving at top speed with a mission to re-arrest the Israelites and send them back into captivity in Egypt. At the bank of the Red Sea, the Israelites went into altercations with Moses and queried him on the rational for bringing them out of bondage only to die in the wilderness. ‘’And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israelites lifted up their eyes and behold, the Egyptians marched after them and they were sore afraid; and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord, And they said unto Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore has thou dealt thus with us to carry us forth out of Egypt? ….. (Exodus 14: 10 -12) When the awesomeness of God is to be manifested, Satan will also bring a doubting spirit, confusion and will raise the bar of impossibility and hopelessness. However, for the faithful who have absolute trust in God; they will anchor on His word that, ‘Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27) Certainly the Red Sea encounter was a precarious situation and they needed a prophet in the house to calm their nerves; ‘’And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which he will show to you today; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever’ The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace’’ (Exodus 14: 13-14). The Lord that answers the prayers of His elects hearkened to the cry of His people and responded with a three-prong attack on the Egyptians; viz: ‘And the angel of God which went before the camp of Israelites removed and went behind them and the pillar of the cloud went from their face and stood behind them. ……..it was a cloud and darkness to them (Egyptians) but it gave light by night to these (Israelites) so that the one came not near the other all night (Vs. 19-20) By stretching the rod of Moses over the sea as directed by God; the sea parted and the Israelites passed on dry land (Vs. 23) While in the Sea pursuing the Israelites; the Lord took off the wheels of the chariots of the Egyptians and thereafter Moses stretched his rod over the Red Sea and closed up the Sea on the Egyptians while they were still troubled in the midst of the sea. (Vs. 25-26) All the Egyptians that went into the Sea perished while the house of Jacob rejoiced tremendously after the agonizing but victorious encounter. The Red Sea experience of the Israelites culminated into the song initiated by Mariam; ‘Who is like unto thee O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful inpraises, Doing wonders? (Exodus 15 :11) and re-affirms the word of the psalmist, ‘’They that trustin the Lordshallbe as Mount Zion which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever’’ (Psalm 125:1) It has been proved severally that even at the point of death, the Lord of hosts will not forsake His elects and will always hearken to their requests. While the Israelites were in bondage for about forty years; Samson - the son of Manoah whose birth, might, special attributes and mission were twice predicted by the angel of the Lord walked on the political theatre of the Israelites as a colossus. He was a Nazarite unto God. He was adored by all and feared by the enemies for his great exploits against them (the Philistines) ‘ Samson committed some errors which impacted negatively on the glorious accomplishment of his mission as a leader in Israel; He continually romanced harlots even from hostile tribes of the un-circumcised nation – Philistines, against the counsel of his parents (Judges 16:1 – 20). Despite the fact that he derived his power from the ‘spirit of the Lord’, he secretly disobeyed the warning about approaching a dead body. (Judges 14 :8-9) Although a Nazarite unto God; he did not live a pious and devoted life expected of someone so endowed with the spirit of the Lord. Sequel to all these; after divulging the source of his power to Delilah, he became powerless when his head was shaven, and he was picked up by his enemies like a snail. He had his two eyes plucked and was turned into an entertainer in the house of the god of the Philistines. The once valiant man of the tribe of Dan became a puppet in hands of his adversaries. What a great tribulation! Apostle Paul exhorts for all believers and would be believers that, ‘Wherefore let him that thinketh he standethtake heed lest he fall’ (I Corinthians 10:12) However, during the period of his tribulations, his hairs grew up again and while he was requested to entertain ‘about three thousand men and women and all the lords of the Philistines, ‘’… Samson called unto the Lord and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, only this once, O God that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.’’ (Judges 16:28) Beloved, the word of God according to the psalmist played out immediately; ‘He suffered no man to do them wrong; yea, he reproved kings for their sake; saying, touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm’ (Psalm 105:14-15) Thereafter, Samson got hold of the two middle pillars of the building and shook them mightily as the Lord granted him his request and he killed more people at his death than when he was alive. He judged Israel for twenty years. (Judges 16:31( c)). At a time when his enemies thought he was hopelessly hopeless and inconsequential, he manifested the mightiness of the Sovereign God that he was still strong in the Lord, even at the point of death. Death was imminent for the arrowhead of the church of God at Jerusalem – Simon Peter at a time when King Herod had just killed his co-pilgrim in the Ministry; James the brother of John. He (Herod) was still poised to deplete the camp of the apostles further. Herod therefore threw Peter into prison hoping to deal with him after Easter. Since the church lacked the political power to counter the wickedness of Herod, it resorted into prayers; the only weapon it had as a church of God to combat and render impotent the powers of the ‘principalities and the rulers of the darkness of this world’ So, while Peter was kept in prison, ‘’……… prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him’’ (Acts 12:5) Cognizant of the word of God which says, ‘Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not’’ (Jeremiah 33:3), the disciples interceded for Peter in prayers and like lightening their prayers were answered and same night an angel of the Lord came upon him and woke him up and his chains fell off from his hands. The angel led him out of the prison until, ‘’they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of its own accord and they went out ….’’ (Acts 12:10).While the divine deliverance was taking place, Peter thought he was seeing a vision (Vs. 9); although he later came to terms with the realities on ground; ‘’And when Peter was come to himself; he said , Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herodand from the expectation of the people of the Jews’’ (Acts 12:11) Thereafter he headed for the house of Mary the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying for Peter who paradoxically had already been released by the mighty hands of God. The potency of effective and fervent prayers by the children of God and God’s awesomeness in the affairs of men was again established in the divine deliverance of apostle Peter during the period of his tribulation. While it is true that all sorts of encounters will surface in the pilgrimage of the elects of God, His comforting word says, ‘’And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee saith the Lord to deliver thee’’ (Jeremiah 1:19) As believers in God through the name that is above every other name – Jesus Christ; it is not uncommon to face challenges in the journey of life, hurdles may surface on our routes of salvation; adversaries may raise their heads (Acts 23:12 & II Tim. 4:14); personal deprivations may be our lot (Acts 16:23 -24); enemies may even rise from our camp (Numbers 16:1-35), the enemy could even be biological (II Samuel 15:1-15); in all these; no matter how tough and clueless, particularly when it appears there is no way; God’s miracle is always on hand for His elects. Beloved, please note that whatever you may be passing through as adversity presently; ensure you continue to persevere and wait on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31); and be assured that God will remember you like Rachael (Genesis 30:22); cause you to laugh like Sarah (Genesis 18:12); make people to celebrate with you like Hannah (I Sam 1:24 – II Sam 2: 1-11) and overwhelm you with the joy of recovery like David at Ziklag (I Samuel 30:18). Now is the appointed time of your miracle in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. As we put our hope in Jesus Christ, the prince of peace, the ever-faithful God will never disappoint us and we shall live to testify the Lord’s goodness in Jesus name. Amen. Stay blessed in the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ and Saviour. AKIN OWOLABI Special Apostle, Secretary General pakinoevang@yahoo.com 0803-300-6735, 0808-463-8873 (All Scriptural quotations are taken from King James Version – KJV- of the Holy Bible.)