MY STOPPING INTERVAL

A touching tale penned by TB Joshua recounting experiences in his early life that served to prepare him for the task ahead.

In our spiritual walk with the Lord, we have good times and hard times. When the going is good, we say we are in good times. When the going is tough, we say we are experiencing hard times. Remember, life itself is a mission. While we are on the go, we need to stop between steps, to re-focus on the Word and the Will of God.

While we are on the go, I mean, while we are on the mission, we need to sometimes stop at intervals to assess our progress and prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead.

Certain challenges on our way usually make us stop awhile – I mean, for a moment. When you stop awhile, you are not down. What are these challenges? They could come in the form of sickness, failure, setback, imprisonment, poverty. For instance, if I receive a sack letter from my very lucrative job, there is a natural tendency for me to cry and lament, if I do not view the situation from the maturity that comes from faith. It takes faith to realise that the situation is a mere stopping interval – a short break between two events.

I do not need to go very far to cite or give an example of what I am saying because my experience in life is enough to illustrate this philosophy or principle of life. As we said earlier, many things could cause one to stop between steps. I could still remember vividly when I sat for and passed the entrance examination into the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.

"I was invited for the interview and I had to board the train from Lagos to Kaduna."

I was invited for the interview and I had to board the train from Lagos to Kaduna. Behold, on our journey the train developed some serious faults that kept us in the bush in Jebba for six horrible days with little or no provision. Remember, I was going for an interview that was billed to hold the following day. I was on the railway line in Jebba while the interview was going on in Kaduna and there was nothing I could do to help the situation as I lacked the means to arrange for an alternative way of transporting myself to the venue of the interview, so I missed the whole thing.

This was how the ambition to enlist into the military was aborted by what was obviously an act of fate. Who knows what would have happened if I had successfully attended that interview. I actually felt very bitter I had missed another chance of making it in life.

With a very heavy heart I went to the village to complain to my mother of how so many opportunities had slipped by. Little would I have reasoned that it was one of those stops between steps in my spiritual walk with God until my mother did her best to calm me down, saying: “My son, do not mind the seeming appearance of things as of today. If I am ever confident of any child, you are that child. Do not be afraid of what the future holds for you, because I know if anyone is destined to fail, you are not the one. So, be patient and you would see what God would do in your life. I am so sure of your future breakthrough, considering the strength of the predictions and prophecies about you even before you were born. I cannot forget so easily what I experienced when I was pregnant with you, and I know God cannot lie. My son, whatever you may be going through today, just take it as a temporary setback, meant to prepare you for the challenges ahead. Don’t forget your name is “Temitope” and, by the grace of God, the whole world shall have the cause to thank God for your sake.”

After this encounter with my mother, I began to look at whatever came my way with a more mature mind whose focus was on God alone. I mean, the maturity that comes from faith in the finished works of our Lord Jesus Christ. My case was already settled in Heaven. Here I am today in your midst; I can boast of what God is doing for us. Hallelujah! You are all witnesses.

In my spiritual walk with God I have experienced both good and hard times.

Who knows what would have happened if those temporary stops did not come at intervals. Consider how my education suffered epileptic fits; today I am in school, the next day I am out. Remember, when God is executing His plan in our lives, He also designs and arranges events which continue to unfold until His purpose is revealed. The ups and downs in my education were part of the events that revealed the purpose of God in my life. Remember, the man who is poor is not the man that has no money, but one without a dream. They are suffering that have no dream. They are poor that have no dream.

Before I knew it, I had gone around six different colleges in less than one year. I enrolled for the examinations of JAMB (Joint Admission and Matriculation Board) four times and on each occasion it was either I forgot my acknowledgement card and other necessary documents or there was an accident on the way to the exam venues. People who saw what was happening to me simply attributed my predicament to either sin or non-seriousness on my part. But those with the maturity that comes from faith, like my mother, saw it as mere stopping intervals or natural stops in my spiritual walk with God.

In James 4:7, we are told to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil. If we examine carefully our attitudes toward certain situations, we would see how much we willingly submit ourselves to the devil each time we view things with the maturity that comes from the experience rather than of faith. The maturity that comes from experience is based on what is seen, what is heard and what circumstances look like. When your maturity is derived from circumstantial factors other than faith, your level of maturity would continue to fluctuate rather than being stable. This is why I am enabled to maintain a balance and stable approach to the challenges that come my way every day. I am not moved by what people say or do concerning my relationship with God. I submit myself to His direct will which is good and perfect with no evil in it.

Sometimes, God uses foolish things to strengthen our desire for Him.

In Luke 22:32, Jesus said to Peter, “I pray that your faith would not fail”. This means, all men make mistakes but people of God get back up. Certainly we would fall, but with Jesus supporting our position, we would soon get back up.

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10 Comments

  1. l feel blessed after reading this article as l have been going through a slump in my business but praise be to the almighty for its been a temporary stop, for the best is yet to come in Jesus mighty name. My name is Prosper so am destined to prosper.

    God bless you man of God.

  2. LORD JESUS THANK FOR THE LIFE OF TB JOSHUA.AS YOU DID PROPHET TB JOSHUA,GRANT ME AN OBEDIENT AND HUMBLE SPIRIT AND HEART.OPEN MY EYES OF FAITH THAT I MAY RECEIVE INSTRUCTION,DIRECTION AND REVELATION FOR YOU.HELP ME TO FOLLOW YOUR WAY AND SUBMIT MY LIFE TO YOUR WILL IN JESUS NAME.

  3. I am so much blessed after reading the contents of this article. May God continue to bless and prosper the man of god Prophet TB Joshua. I’ve been seeking for a better job but in vain for some time now. Now I’ve known that God has something better for me and at the right time am going to have it because as the man of God says ‘Gods time is the best time’. I thank God for my status quo. i know it is not permanent. It is just temperal.

  4. reading from your story its just the grace of GOD upon mi to strength my desire mo for his love,they have bin situations in my life that has prove to mi that indid GOD has a good plan 4 everyone&his intentions is not to harm us but to prepare,equip us 4 the struggles ahead,every child of GOD has a story&in every generations GOD is writing new stories in bible times there was joseph&the rest today also there pple whom JESUS is guidin from the dust bin to the palace.there is more to come as you say the best is yet to come

  5. I want to Thank God Almighty for the writing it has helped a lot in cooling me down Iam going through challenges in life that at times I would just cry. I am struggling to educate, feed and clothe my two teenage children. But I have found some peace for I now know that the Red Sea shall part and I will cross with my family. Thank you a lot for helping lifting my spirits higher. Stay Blessed always and may God continue to use you mightily, annoint you more and more

  6. I thank Mighty Jesus for this background of Prophet Joshua.It serves as encouragement to most of us on what Faith can do in our life.We should always persevere and trust Jesus in every situation. God Bless TB Joshua .

  7. Wow, indeed God works in his own ways-God said that His thoughts are not like human thoughts and his plans are not like our plans- If the Man of God did not encounter what encounterd he would not be where he is today, He would not be as compassionate as he is today and he would not be as geneorous as he is today. Everything that happens in life serves a purpose which at the time we might not understand- People around us as well play a very important role and calming us when we are overwhelmed with situations beyond our control, in this case TB Joshua’s mom was there for him to make him realise that God has got bigger plans for him than being a soldier. Almighty God truly works in mysterious way. Thank you Jesus for giving up your own life for the world. We

  8. This article has blessed me very much.
    I have been going through a lot for the past 5 years and at some point, from failed relations to financial problems. I thought I was being punished for my sins. I cried out to God , wondering when I will stop suffering .
    I now see that God has simply been guiding my path and I only pray for his grace to continuosly looking up to him

  9. I am ever pleased to read, listen and view the prophet’s activities, he inspires me, his way of working by the word is very special, special in a way that he is very unique to none. May the Almighty be with him, bless him and strengthen him to finish his raise by taking the word of God to all corners of the earth. God bless you and remain focus, it keeps your distructors wonderring with no hope of getting the answers they are looking for.

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