My Two Greatest Testimonies of The Year 2021

But we can minister to others with our skills when we pair our work with gospel hope. We should make much of God with every gift or talent or skill God has given us. Your industry doesn’t have to be a certified ministry to be kingdom work.
Glenna Marshall

I had many testimonies in the year 2021, but two of them stand out like pink roses in a white field.

In that year a close relative of mine [like a sister] was delivered from the fiery claws of death [I will never forget that experience]. It taught me a lot about divine protection & preservation.

I have learned how to count my blessings & be grateful to God.

This essay is my first for the year 2022, and it was supposed to be the last in 2021, but I have been trying to settle a lot of things lately, especially as it relates to my writing engagements & activities.

I am working on new writing projects, trying to end some writing endeavors for good, so that I can fully concentrate on projects that are of more importance to me, my readers & the people around me.

In this year, I have resolved to write a whole lot [I mean a whole lot], and by God’s grace, I should publish my first book this year. Though I have wanted to publish for a long time, those times, my heart was fixed on the wrong things.

This time around, I have settled that within my heart, and now my gaze is fixed on the right stuff – God’s glory.

To some of us, doing things to the glory of God is alien to our philosophy of life. We feel we should just live life as it comes and not get bothered about how The Almighty God feels about what we do with our numbered days.

Apotheosis is not a religious or Christian blog, [I started it to share general thoughts with the wordl] but sometimes I can’t but help it, to let some spiritual thoughts spill into this space.

I know I have readers who are not Christians, and even readers who do not believe in God. I love them all, and my prayer for them is that soon they will encounter the life & light of men – Jesus Christ the Son of The Living God.

And surely by His mercies, I am working on a separate blog that will be dedicated to sharing the word of God. Once I am done building it, I will let you in.

Now…

I Got Back My Spiritual Life

That’s the first & most important testimony of the year 2021.

Though it’s all a culmination of encounters that I had been experiencing the previous year [and years before], the year 2021 looked like the pinnacle of it all.

God had to straighten out my spiritual life before He was going to place the important ministry of marriage into my hands.

I harbored weak & shallow motives within me. I wanted to be rich & famous so that people will look upon me & say “behold a rich & intelligent fellow who is striving to solve some of the world’s problems.” As innocent as that may sound, it’s wicked & carnal, simply because it’s not the righteousness of God.

There’s nothing you can say about it. I felt that stab within me every time I got the opportunity to do something that would resonate with people. Was I serving God, or serving myself & people? That was the big question.

To you who is a Christian, and who God has given the wisdom to build something. Have you forgotten God? All of a sudden His name can no longer be found on your lips.

You no longer want to talk about Him at work or even say anything about Jesus Christ on social media. You have become ashamed of Him because you are now a Professor or a leader of a leading world-class endeavor.

Recently [some weeks ago], I was discussing with a senior friend/colleague of mine, who is doing his Ph.D. A man who I love so much. And we were talking about believers in the cooperate world who no longer talked about Jesus Christ because of their status & influence.

Professionals, Scholars, Leaders, Entrepreneurs, even Politicians & government figures who are Christians but you will not know unless they mention their names. The mark of righteousness upon them is just their name, and maybe they attend Church once in a while, that’s all. They don’t talk about Jesus Christ, it almost looks as if talking about Him means they are foolish or do not know what they are doing.

You know, I had very lofty ideals in life at one point when I lost my fellowship with God [more on this in my coming book]. I just wanted to be known, maybe like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos [I am a big fan of the technological economy & age]. And so, I started some “small small” endeavors. It took me some time to realize that God preserved me for a reason and that what I was doing was not the will of God at all.

I was just trying to force it. And mind you, I got some success, I made headway, and if I had pushed more, I would have made some big waves, it’s all about following the principles & the rules. But deep within me, I was not full of joy.

Instead of sleepless nights with my maker, I was thinking of another product or trying to design another innovative product. Take note, these are not bad things, but the motives behind it [self-glory]. And some of us are not built for things like that, we may perform because of the anointing & wisdom of God, & following the rules & principles but it’s not just His will for us.

I know that God had raised me for His work. But a time came, and I thought “Oh, I could do something more interesting & adventurous.” I had the wisdom & charisma needed, like I said, if you can follow the principles & rules, you will get there. So, I was ready to follow the rules & apply the principles by all means possible. But thank God for His mercy & grace upon my life. He intercepted me and encountered me.

It took Him several encounters before He was able to get my attention [it shouldn’t be like that for you].

There are people reading this essay right now, and within you, you have the witness that what you are doing is not what God wants you to do. He has only allowed you so that you can learn a few things about His purposes for your life.

You can get back your spiritual life. It doesn’t matter what people will say, what matters is what God says about you. In my place of work, people started calling me ‘Pastor’ well, they might be sincere about it, I don’t care, all I want is that His life & light is expressed through me.

This is my testimony. This is the greatest one in that year. Others are secondary; coming after this particular testimony. I am writing a more elaborate testimony in my book that should be published this year if Christ Jesus tarries in His coming.

My message to you…

Where are you? What are you? You may be succeeding where you are right now but are you where God wants you to be? Friends, beyond philosophy & thoughts; beyond the schemes of men & the intelligence of humanity. There is divine interference in the activities of mortal man.

Two Believer’s Meetings That Changed My Life In 2021

I have always been very conservative when it came to attending other meetings outside of my home denomination [and recently, after my marriage, I officially changed my denomination, a decision powered by the will of God, more on this in my book]. But in 2021, I attended two meetings that changed my life.

The first was “The Outpouring” & the second was “Young Minister’s Retreat.” These two meetings changed my life, and I will not go into details here, I have written a more elaborate testimony in the book I am planning on publishing before the end of the year.

I have a lot to write, but let me stop here. I will continue with this thought somewhere else.

The next testimony…

I Got Married To My Wife

This one is a testimony, a big one that decorated the year 2021. Before that year, I thought I was never going to get it right with my marital life, because of a lot of things that had happened to me. But God’s mercy came through.

I have written an essay on her birthday that will give you some insight into a bit of what I am trying to say. You can read it here.

The resources & the wisdom needed to make it happen came from God Almighty. Before it happened, I was so worried. I was bothered. A lot of thoughts came to my heart. Can I do this? Is it time to settle down with a woman? Am I not still young? Why not wait a little bit more? These were some of the thoughts that came invading my heart.

God saw my heart. He is a Father. And who did I run to? My Pastor? He was there to give counsel, but that’s as far as his ability can go. His counsel can not be deep enough if my heart is not ready.

This is where we get it wrong. We think the marriage ‘counsellings’ are enough. It doesn’t matter how long or bogus the counseling sessions are. It takes more than counsel.

Counsels are good & powerful when received into a heart that is prepared and ready to preserve the wisdom given.

But counsel given to hearts that are not ready & that do not understand what they are about to do is useless.

People who want to get married must know that marriage is first a spiritual ministry. Its content only spills out to the physical. So, if you can understand marriage from a spiritual standpoint, you are at an advantage point.

I had to learn how to work by faith from the onset of my marital life. Did I have enough resources in my wallet to sponsor the whole ceremony? No, I didn’t. Did I have enough wisdom? No, far from it. I was foolish.

Friends, beyond philosophy & thoughts; beyond the schemes of men & the intelligence of humanity. There is divine interference in the activities of mortal man.

Without concrete convictions [spiritual knowledge] as to why you are getting married to a particular fellow, you will not benefit fully from counsel. This is why we are having more believers going the way of divorce today.

And my wife has been wonderful. When I married her, I saw significant changes in my spiritual life. That’s the most important thing. I have placed other things aside, and I have brought these two things before you. So that you can read & learn something from it.

If you have lost your fellowship with God, you can get it back now. He’s standing right beside you waiting for you to welcome Him back. It just takes a simple prayer & an open heart.

I lost mine, and for some time I was just a lost pretender. But the moment I opened my heart to Him, and He saw how desperate I was, He came in and changed many things. He changed my life, He can change yours and He can do it now if you will let Him.

A New Season For Me

And boldly, I have decided to follow His plan for my life. Will I abandon my circular writing engagements? No, I am still an ardent student of innovation, leadership & learning. The only difference will be in my priorities. I am putting God’s word first. All other things can come after.

I see myself giving wisdom & direction to young leaders who are willing to enter the innovative & leadership space riding on the wings of God’s purposes.

God is interested in the industries or markets. He wants to send people there who will not be ashamed to shout His name & declare that it was His Spirit that inspired them to prosper.

I see too many people doing things in the markets without giving God glory, who is the source of all that they do. The devil can not give anything good. What he does is steal, yes, that’s what he does. It is God who gives the good gifts that we see around us today.

God wants people who will publicly announce to the world that He is their source. He wants to get the glory, yes, that’s what He wants. His agenda is His glory, His kingdom. Will you join Him in bringing it to pass? Will you be a part of His agenda that brings His kingdom down on earth?

And now, I say welcome to a new year, to another 365 days of adventures in God.

Ayinla Daniel.

Founder Apotheosis.