How God arrested me
Filed under: Inspire & motivate, Spirituality for such a time
To say the truth, I was completely puzzled when God arrested me.
It had never come to my mind that God was all this time trailing me. You might be in the same situation today. You’ve got to keep in mind that God is trailing you and will not give up on you. But you need to come to a point of being attentive for you to hear and heed the call. If you become too busy about too many things you might miss that which is most important to you. I will walk you through my personal experience just to prove that there are several ways that God could get hold of straying people.
I graduated from the University of Zimbabwe in 1991 after obtaining a Bsc. Honours Degree in Economics. When I was still at college I thought that I would get a job soon after completing my studies. I became even more convinced about this when I passed well in the final examinations; I do not, however, mean that passing well was a new experience for me.
I used to rent a room in Hatcliffe when I was doing my second year because I had failed to secure accommodation on campus. Even though I eventually managed to get accommodation on campus in my third year, I decided to continue renting the room in Hatcliffe to store a few belongings that I had acquired.
After completing my third year I returned to Hatcliffe. I had some money that I had saved from my student allowances. I was looking for a job, but it seemed employment was eluding me. I had initially thought that I would find employment within the first quarter of 1992 but things turned out the other way. I came to a point when I could no longer pay rent or buy food to feed myself. The student allowances had run out and I had no other source of income.
I have got a cousin by the name Clever Makaza. After seeing my plight, he invited me to come and stay at his place. He was by then renting a flat in Eastlea, where he was staying with his family. For some reason, I opted to stay in a semi-complete house that he was building in Kuwadzana 2.
I had no money. I had no food. I was lucky that I had found free accommodation. But even though I was in such bad shape, I could not bring myself to ask for money from anybody, not even my closest relative. I said to myself, “I am not employed. If I ask for money, how would I repay it? What guarantee would I give the lender?” I also felt that it would be improper to ask for cash donations from anybody. So I chose to keep my silence on such issues.
After observing my attitude, Clever would come to my place, look around in the room to see which food items had run out, then go to the supermarket to buy the required provisions, without me asking. That’s what kept me alive, and up to now I feel extremely grateful for the assistance.
My experiences mean a lot to me. I have come to believe that everything that happens in a person’s life has some significance. Even if bad things happen to you, be sure that there is something positive to come out of it. If you fail to make the best of your circumstances, whether good or bad, then you do yourself a disservice. There are good things that can come out of bad experiences, depending on your attitude. Bad experiences can shape one’s character, if one is prepared to derive lessons from the experiences. The purified gold that many admire came through the furnace!
Clever got saved. I thought that it was being naïve of him to do so. I used to wonder why people prayed and what they hoped to achieve by doing so. I really thought that there was no God. So I was a fool, because the Bible says that people who deny their Creator are fools.
One day Clever came to my place and said, “Sekuru, I want you to accompany me to church on Sunday. Do not worry about bus fare; I will pay for you.”
To be honest, Clever had put me in a hard place by requesting this. I could have used the excuse of being broke, but he had already pre-empted this. I could have used the excuse that I was required at work on the day of the church service, but Clever knew that I still had not secured employment. I could have used the excuse that I had other commitments, but Clever knew fully well that I spent my days doing nothing but sitting.
So I was in a fix. The matter was compounded by the fact that I did not believe that God existed. I would have opted to spend the day staring at my shadow than go to church. But I had no choice. I could not let Clever down given all that he had done for me. So I accepted. But I was going to accompany him only as a favour.
The following Sunday I accompanied Clever to church. That was during the third quarter of 1992. The service was held in Hatfield. I did not see or hear anything spectacular in the service. After church we went our separate ways.
I thought I was done with the church business. I was greatly disturbed when the following week Clever returned with the same request. “Again!” I complained silently. I began to wonder what Clever was up to. I thought that he had suddenly developed a passion for disrupting my peace and tranquility.
Again I agreed to accompany him. Did I have a choice? No; not under the circumstances.
What happened to me in the second service was truly remarkable. Like in the previous service, I neither saw nor heard anything extraordinary. But for some reason, I came to a decision that totally transformed my life. I said to myself, “I should have worshipped God a long time ago. Why have I not done this up to now?”
I tell you that God works in wonderful ways. If you read my story carefully, you will see that all that happened to me was a build-up to this climax. It is true that faith comes by hearing the message.
God is talking to you. What you need to do is to give yourself time to listen. Whether you are a Christian or non-Christian, there are words coming from God relevant to your condition.
I sat and listened. As I did, God arrested me. Now I am happy in His jail and this could be the case with you as well. Do I want to get out of the prison? No! I want to remain inside, not doing my own will but His, not having my own kind of freedom but His kind of freedom. My kind of freedom would spell spiritual death to me, but His kind of freedom means life, always.
Watch this space for my next installment.
God bless!
© 2008 by Phanuel Muverengwi
Phanuel specialises in writing Christian motivational books. His first book - SUCCESS LACKS MEANING IF GOD IS NOT IN IT - is currently selling at Innov8 Bookshop, Christian Media Centre, Celebration Centre and Avondale bookshops.
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This is a very moving piece, and well expressed. We expect God to come through flashes, fire and lightning but its in the silent suffering that we awaken to our grand verity through Him that redeems from the clutches of our sin-ridden and strife-filled fleshly existence. May God continue to expand your wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
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