2019/20 A Personal Story: Taking a Leap of Faith Works Miracles

by | Dec 31, 2019 | Faith & Logic, Inspire | 0 comments

Let me tell you the little I know about how faith works. I shared this first on my Facebook wall and decided to also share here. In 2017, I arrived South Africa for my masters with just R1, 000.

https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.oladeji/posts/10220668578961534

I had converted the last N30, 000 in my bank account to that amount.

It was cold, I had literally no one but God, and the spectacular student service at the University of Pretoria.

I told the school, my tuition and accommodation fees were still on the way. That they should give me time to transfer funds from Nigeria.

There were no funds as at the time I was asking for this. But I told the payment office “funds are on the way”.

But I was not about to give up after sleeping in some of the horrible hotels in Lagos. Some days I thought I would be robbed, kidnapped or murdered in some of those hotels.

Lagos taught me to trust in God and never rely on humans.

I wrote some stories then that was really heartbreaking. A lot of you read them and were amazed by the hyper-realism of the plots. I was turning some of my situations into stories. Dark times are sometimes the best times to create.

Even published my books

And then I started to grow my business as a writer. I went from one client to two, to three, soon I was doing so many jobs that I lost track of how 2 years have passed since my last 30,000 naira.

The faith I have has helped me work with people from all walks of life, I have had people owe me, I have been mocked by “friends”, people have talked about why I am always online, posting. Those who refuse to support you, will not stop there, some will seek to sabotage you, some will lie about you, some will think you are a fool.

And this is no joke, some would apologize when they see how God continues to keep you. Others will continue in their ways, thinking that one day you will fall. But this is the whole point of faith. We believe that by leaping off the edge, we lose all our guarantees. When you have fallen off the side of the cliff, you no longer have a reason to fear. You are assured that in your falling, there will be a greater hand to hold you up. One that is bigger than any of your fears.

All of these are a test to prove your faith. We were born for these things. It’s in this furnace of life that we are shaped into who we were destined to be.

The long and short of my story is that I went from having just 1000 rands to living in a comfortable apartment, completing my masters, and getting the approval of my department for a PhD.

Well, I am still waiting for my results and admission for next year. People like to hide these things because we believe in unseen forces, we think that the devil or witches and wizards should not know our movements. That our haters shouldn’t hear about our challenges or success.

What then is the point of living when one’s destiny becomes ineffectual like the passing of a snake over a rock that leaves no traces?

We are not there yet. However, it has been a journey of victories.

I am thankful for those who helped along the way. I am also grateful for those who didn’t.

In retrospection, I realize now that if those people I sought help from had helped, my faith would have been just human reliance.

Now I can boldly tell you that no matter what you are planning for 2020, you better make it big. Get your big buckets, because the rain will be plentiful.

If your plans are small, then your faith will be small. If your plans are going to cost you so much, then faith will kick in. With faith comes the capacity to create, innovate, adapt, survive and even thrive.

My master’s dissertation was recognised by the African Real Estate Research body (AFRER), I was 2018, and 2019 scholar. My supervisor recommended me for my PHD, I saved enough to go home in 2018, travelled to Kenya in 2019. Every time I start to think that things would fall apart answers always come.

Today, my student account is all paid up. Even when people who have sponsors are complaining of student debts, I am just chilling, working, paying my rent and enjoying the quiet holidays.

I have never gone hungry, and I have not had to beg for food.

If this is not faith, I don’t know what is.

The truth is that you will never be able to afford anything you have not envisioned. No one is going to come to you and hand your dreams to you or pay for them if you are unwilling to take a leap of faith.

Your leap of faith will definitely not make sense. However, it is probably your only shot at doing better with your life.

I have this belief that everyone gets a chance in life. There’s always a defining moment for all of us. You will have to decide whether you want to risk it or continue to live in comfortable mediocrity.

The new year marks a new phase for every one of us. For a lot of people who will take a leap of faith, it would look like you are taking an impossible risk but take courage from this story. Don’t ever listen to that voice that tells you that you will go hungry, or suffer because you chased your dreams.

If you suffer at all, it’s never because you had faith. Faith without works is dead. Take a leap.

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Thanks for reading. Feel free to share my content with your friends. In case this is your first time of visiting my blog, check out my about page to see my profile. Behind my blog and stories is a writing brand and I offer my services to leaders, brands, coaches, aspiring authors and also consult. Check out my services and get in touch.

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