“Guess how much she said each of the bags cost?” Dara looked at me, squinted her eyes, and said, “$200?”
I shook my head.
She said, “Uhm... $150?”
I shook my head again and told her the price.
She gasped, held my palms, and began to jump, shouting as she did, “I already ordered over 50 pieces! Girl... that deal is still too good to be true! God answers prayers, you know! Check it Dara, all this time we've been praying for a business idea, we got the idea of selling bags, and now we would be getting these bags at a mind-blowing wholesale price! Is God not good, Dara? Is He not? If this is not God, who else could it be?”
Dara was still looking at me when her smile began to falter. I wondered what the problem was.
She sat down slowly on the bed and said, “Eva, just like you said, the deal looks too good to be true. I think we should still talk to God about this and confirm that His hand is truly in it.”
“Are you serious, Dara? Confirm?! You know how long we've been trusting God for this, right? And step by step, we've seen Him move, and finally, this! You still doubt this is God? Well, I don't, Dara, not even one bit. How else would you explain this? It's happening really fast and at a God-moving rate.”
Dara looked at me, stood up from the chair she sat on, walked towards me, and held both of my palms.
“We've been praying about this for some time now, Eva. We've waited, hard as it has been and I believe we can still pray one more prayer point and wait a little more. It won't kill us. We've waited till this time; a little more praying and waiting really won't cause any harm. Let's just consult with God and be sure this is Him. We started with God, His leading and all; let's not conclude with our sight, feelings, assumptions, and ultimately, with our flesh. We started this process/project with Him; let's complete this project with Him.”
I looked at Dara. She was actually right, but waiting wasn't easy. I sighed, grateful for her being more than a friend, but being a sister. I agreed, and we prayed some more about it and waited on the Lord, trusting Him to guide us aright.
Five days later, I practically ran into the room, almost dropping my phone.
“What is it?” Dara asked.
“Guess what?!”
Dara was still trying to guess, when I showed her the online vendor’s page, the one I had wanted to order the bags from, the vendor whose page was filled with so many positive reviews. It turned out those reviews were not real, and a lot of people had begun to come out, saying they had been scammed by her.
I was shaking, while Dara looked lost.
“Eva, this is how we would have lost more than half a million of our savings to a scammer,” Dara said in whispered tones.
I hugged her tightly. “Thank you so much, Dara, for advising me to wait and holding my hand through this period. We would have been crying premium tears by now, girl.”
She hugged me back even more tightly. “Premium is an understatement! All thanks to God for His mercies. He has begun this project; let's trust Him to complete it.”
“I’ll trust Him girl! I will!” I shouted, and Dara burst into laughter.
#fiction
Joshua 9:14 (MSG) – The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn’t ask GOD about it.
Joshua 9:15 (NLT) – Then Joshua went ahead and signed a peace treaty with them, and the leaders of Israel ratified their agreement with a binding oath.
Joshua 9:16 (NLT) – Three days later, the facts came out: these people of Gibeon lived nearby!
The men of Israel were deceived because they didn’t consult with God. They found out the truth later, but the deal had already been done.
How many times have we made decisions without consulting with God first?
Why should we keep on bearing the consequences of actions we could have avoided if we had just consulted with God first?
Dear Believer in Christ,
There is no decision that is too small to consult with the Lord, none at all. Haven’t you seen minor decisions made by a person that cost him or her their life?
Imagine someone getting a very juicy offer, not consulting with the Lord first, but immediately accepting the offer, only to be accused of a crime later on in the job and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. The truth being found out later, apologies made, compensation given, but it doesn’t change the fact that almost 10 years of that person’s life has been wasted.
There’s a part of the lyrics of a hymn that reads:
“Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.”
Whatever the decision, small or big, let us always consult with the God who sees and knows the end from the beginning, and sees things and people far beyond how we can ever see or perceive them.
Let us allow Him to lead and guide us aright.
Psalm 32:8 (KJV):
"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye."
God will help you.
I shook my head.
She said, “Uhm... $150?”
I shook my head again and told her the price.
She gasped, held my palms, and began to jump, shouting as she did, “I already ordered over 50 pieces! Girl... that deal is still too good to be true! God answers prayers, you know! Check it Dara, all this time we've been praying for a business idea, we got the idea of selling bags, and now we would be getting these bags at a mind-blowing wholesale price! Is God not good, Dara? Is He not? If this is not God, who else could it be?”
Dara was still looking at me when her smile began to falter. I wondered what the problem was.
She sat down slowly on the bed and said, “Eva, just like you said, the deal looks too good to be true. I think we should still talk to God about this and confirm that His hand is truly in it.”
“Are you serious, Dara? Confirm?! You know how long we've been trusting God for this, right? And step by step, we've seen Him move, and finally, this! You still doubt this is God? Well, I don't, Dara, not even one bit. How else would you explain this? It's happening really fast and at a God-moving rate.”
Dara looked at me, stood up from the chair she sat on, walked towards me, and held both of my palms.
“We've been praying about this for some time now, Eva. We've waited, hard as it has been and I believe we can still pray one more prayer point and wait a little more. It won't kill us. We've waited till this time; a little more praying and waiting really won't cause any harm. Let's just consult with God and be sure this is Him. We started with God, His leading and all; let's not conclude with our sight, feelings, assumptions, and ultimately, with our flesh. We started this process/project with Him; let's complete this project with Him.”
I looked at Dara. She was actually right, but waiting wasn't easy. I sighed, grateful for her being more than a friend, but being a sister. I agreed, and we prayed some more about it and waited on the Lord, trusting Him to guide us aright.
Five days later, I practically ran into the room, almost dropping my phone.
“What is it?” Dara asked.
“Guess what?!”
Dara was still trying to guess, when I showed her the online vendor’s page, the one I had wanted to order the bags from, the vendor whose page was filled with so many positive reviews. It turned out those reviews were not real, and a lot of people had begun to come out, saying they had been scammed by her.
I was shaking, while Dara looked lost.
“Eva, this is how we would have lost more than half a million of our savings to a scammer,” Dara said in whispered tones.
I hugged her tightly. “Thank you so much, Dara, for advising me to wait and holding my hand through this period. We would have been crying premium tears by now, girl.”
She hugged me back even more tightly. “Premium is an understatement! All thanks to God for His mercies. He has begun this project; let's trust Him to complete it.”
“I’ll trust Him girl! I will!” I shouted, and Dara burst into laughter.
#fiction
Joshua 9:14 (MSG) – The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn’t ask GOD about it.
Joshua 9:15 (NLT) – Then Joshua went ahead and signed a peace treaty with them, and the leaders of Israel ratified their agreement with a binding oath.
Joshua 9:16 (NLT) – Three days later, the facts came out: these people of Gibeon lived nearby!
The men of Israel were deceived because they didn’t consult with God. They found out the truth later, but the deal had already been done.
How many times have we made decisions without consulting with God first?
Why should we keep on bearing the consequences of actions we could have avoided if we had just consulted with God first?
Dear Believer in Christ,
There is no decision that is too small to consult with the Lord, none at all. Haven’t you seen minor decisions made by a person that cost him or her their life?
Imagine someone getting a very juicy offer, not consulting with the Lord first, but immediately accepting the offer, only to be accused of a crime later on in the job and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. The truth being found out later, apologies made, compensation given, but it doesn’t change the fact that almost 10 years of that person’s life has been wasted.
There’s a part of the lyrics of a hymn that reads:
“Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.”
Whatever the decision, small or big, let us always consult with the God who sees and knows the end from the beginning, and sees things and people far beyond how we can ever see or perceive them.
Let us allow Him to lead and guide us aright.
Psalm 32:8 (KJV):
"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye."
God will help you.
