Exceedingly, Abundantly Far More Than You Can Ask Think or Imagine: When God Decides To Spoil You

I needed it for my soul. That's the conclusion I came to on my birthday, but God already knew that way before I realised. That is why I believe he allowed it to happen. I have asked the Holy Spirit to help me write this testimony because I know I can’t even do to it the justice it deserves.

I’ve always travelled for my birthday, but since I switched to help people sleep better and manage stress so they can grow their business or career without sacrificing their health, it hasn’t been the same experience because now I have the setup of an early, entrepreneur where the standard, for now, is 2 fish and 5 loaves.

For my 4th floor birthday, I wanted to go somewhere that would mark this milestone, but couldn’t find something that would fit the budget I wanted. The mistake I made was to keep pre-pandemic prices as my marker. With that mindset it’s no wonder I never ended up travelling.  For what I wanted and what I would have wanted, my 4th floor birthday was a disappointment. From that time, I planned to revenge on the next birthday.

The next birthday, the entrepreneurial journey was still in motion which meant the same story happened when planning the birthday trip. In the end I did not travel anywhere but I decided to make it my own. I had also decided to do it solo. I had a super day not just because I went for the Michael Jackson theatre show, as a big Maiko fan, but because the night before I was in gratitude mode and this set a mood of joy throughout the day. This year I decided to do a one week fast before my birthday purely in thanksgiving for all God has done and all he will do because I am in miracle territory.

Miracle territory is the place where you know it is only God who can help you. No one in my circle or contacts can help me, where I am. In fact, my favourite book, Psalms 108:12 says, “Oh please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless.” Miracle territory is when pharaoh is behind you, and the red sea is ahead of you. This is why no one in my circle can help me. There is no way out unless God stretches his victorious right hand.

Miracle territory is when you have 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread but BT (broadband), E.On (electricity), Thames Water (water) and all other bills and subscriptions ONLY accept GBP aka Great Britain Pound, not Egyptian Pound. Miracle territory is the place where you have laboured in what seems to be in vain, but all God has to do is speak to his creation just like he did in the beginning and the harvest will be bountiful, plentiful and 100-fold with plenty left over! Amen.

Months before my birthday I decided to start the search for the birthday trip and this time I would go for may be 3 or 4 days and hopefully that would fit my entrepreneurial budget and I would still get the elements of what makes a holiday for me: sun, sea, beach not stones. The latter is why I rejected Malta. I can go to Brighton and see stones.

I was very clear on what I wanted for my trip, but the prices were being very disobedient. I also did not want to go to places I’ve already visited. I also had to consider I would be going solo so some places were out of my list and in fact the travel contact I had reached out to said somewhere like Tunisia, would not be safe for me.

Many times, I got google to show me the world map so I could see where I could go. I tried and tried, and it just wasn’t working out. It looked like I would not travel again this year. I wasn’t upset about it but something in me couldn’t give up the search. While working I usually put YouTube in the background and on this occasion, it brought Maldives. This was 3 weeks to my birthday. I had not searched anything Maldives. Yes, it’s in my bucket list but I never looked at it because I knew it would be too much for me. I knew it would be a destination for later in life.

Whenever I see a beautiful place, I tell Jesus he can’t just show me a beautiful place like that and not take me there. But for the video I saw of Maldives, I never said that statement. I wrote the names of the islands I liked in my travel- to-go-list. I wrote them so that when such a time had come for Maldives money, I would know which places to look at.

I continued my work and later in the week I continued my birthday trip search for other places. I don’t know if TripAdvisor is a good idea sometimes, because I would find a deal, go check the reviews and decide against the place, based on the reviews. For me it can make the process harder because if I see one bad review, I don’t want to risk and be that one person that gets the negative experience.

I tried so many times for so many places, got tired and just wanted to give up but I still couldn’t find myself giving up. One day I decided just for fun to see how much Maldives was. Just as I thought. Too much for me. Then one day it came to me to check for a shorter duration to see if that would make a difference. I started looking at the reviews. They were promising! Wait! Wait! WAIT! Am I going to Maldives?

My cousin Irene and I were talking about tithes and offering, and she was saying how we don’t give tithe and offering we RETURN tithe and offering. And it’s very true, ALL we have belongs to God, so you’re returning what HE gave you. Many times, during the valley of entrepreneurship I have had to remind myself, the money/salary I had as a pharmacist was from God so it’s the same God who will supply and bless me and indeed he has sustained me phenomenally. Amen!

I am strongly thinking of having Jehovah Jireh put on my debit card as a reminder God is the provider of everything. The best part is he knows what I need so he provides precisely! The next day I was in my small group and one of my sisters, Lissette, shared a testimony of how their house had an issue that the housing management company hadn’t fixed but when the Landlord came, oh it was fixed!

Her encouragement for us was to remember God is the Landlord, and “the owner done come!” meaning God has arrived and the house will be fixed! I believe these reminders must have been playing in my mind somehow and I believe they were planted for a reason. Before I take a leap of faith, I always check with the author and finisher of our faith. Lord, are you saying………?

My favourite role on this earth is being a witness for my Father. My testimony is up to now I can’t believe I went to the Maldives. I thought it would be later because it was too much for me. Too much for me is not too much for God! Also in an unusual twist, Gods' timing has been quicker than I thought! Hallelujah! All through my new career I have seen how God is attentive to my needs, the big and the “small” ones.

He knew how I felt about my 4th floor birthday. He knew I was waiting for the perfect conditions to travel with no 2nd thought like I used to. He knew I wanted a mighty revenge for my 4th floor birthday and what mightier revenge than Maldives. Most of all and as he does perfectly well, he taught me, it’s not my money. It’s HIS money! His money cannot run out and I need not operate in fear or as if he is not on his throne. He will supply me according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Can his riches end? Can his sustenance end?

Psalms 120:1 says, “I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.” But look at God, I didn’t cry out to him that I wanted to go to Maldives. I did have trouble in finding where to go with my 2 fish and 5 loaves and here is this Phenomenal God who heard my unspoken cry and answered my unspoken prayer! Won’t He Do It! Merciful God!

During the trip I had so many revelations. One of them was that I must testify of Gods’ goodness and share this at the risk of the negative perceptions that may come out of it.  I don’t think the worldly protocol says I should say my business is very far from where I want it to be but in the name of vulnerability for God’s children to be encouraged to see we have an AWESOME & Favour-full God who knows what he is doing and will spoil you according to his riches and glory, I must tell you this story and I am not ashamed.

The travel was smooth with the occasional descendants of Adam and Eve acting raggedy, but that joyful mood was not spoiled and up to now, I refuse for it to be spoilt. Travelling alone was nothing for me but look at what God did. The day I arrived; a fellow solo traveller saw me and was excited to see one of her skin-kind in the resort. From that day till the end of her trip we hang out and kept each other company. She had also travelled for her birthday. So, on my birthday, she and the kind resort staff were my birthday cake squad and the next day, I was her birthday cake squad.

On my birthday, while at the spa using the complimentary gift from the resort, I overheard a guest say she had also travelled for her birthday. I went up to her and said I couldn’t help overhearing… and we planned to have dinner together with her husband. It then happened we would have dinner when my fellow solo traveller would have left. God had planned for me to have company the whole time. I was never alone. Maybe he saw something I didn’t see. Praise Him!

What also got me was the stories of these individuals. I asked God why he had put these amazing people with amazing stories in my path. Similarly on the plane going to Maldives, my seat buddy had an amazing story, had overcome tremendous health challenge, had a sister in my field, was a speaker with an upcoming book and hers, I could see why God wanted us to connect. We are now LinkedIn buddies. I thought I was just going for my birthday revenge, but God had other plans that I know he will reveal in his perfect time.

What makes this testimony share-worthy is that my business is in Egypt but any day now God IS taking me to the promised land. Not only that, when I’ve been weary from a season of hard effort, He decided to give my soul rest in the place he knows I love, sun, sea, beach. He has also reminded me; the bill is on him! My job is to believe. This is not to be misunderstood as some irresponsible act on my part. I didn’t plant that Maldives seed on my YouTube feed. It is God who has been sustaining me for the last 5 hard years through illness and the valley of entrepreneurship and he will not stop anytime soon.

Before taking the leap of faith to go, just like I have done before, I checked with him before proceeding.  The children of Israel stepped into the water THEN the water parted. Another revelation that came to me during the trip was that sometimes we don’t allow God to do the mighty things we ask him to do. Like me, you may be waiting for the perfect conditions before you do this and that.

This may be your sign to step forward in faith, not luck but Faith. The day after booking the trip I heard a sermon that said sometimes God is waiting for us to move, while we are waiting for him to move Lord have mercy a spiritual cul-de-sac. My testimony is that when I’ve moved, I have had a smooth journey and wonderful birthday.

Most of all since I travelled, I have been in such a good place and I don’t know if I’ve ever in my life felt like this before. It feels like a combination of peace, joy and contentment. Meanwhile the entrepreneurial finances is the complete and total opposite. It hasn’t been in this place since I was a student. And it's made me laugh. A miracle in itself because some weeks ago I was in tears. Tears because the valley of the entrepreneurial journey was not matching my effort and I didn’t know what I was going to do. To be in a good place in a way I’ve never felt before, with all this going on, is a miracle straight from God.

This is how I know, and I’m persuaded that it is God taking care of me. I am not worried about anything. I have a peace that I know only the Prince of Peace is responsible for. The Wonderful Counsellor has been reminding me of all he has done for me e.g., 5 years ago I could not even stand 5 minutes let alone travel and walk all that distance to the gates, lift heavy luggage, lift the hand luggage up the stairs of the plane like I was able to on this trip. Here I am with the strength and healing God has graciously given me. Why won’t he multiply my 2 fish and 5 loaves, when he has done so many other things for me before, and he is the same Sovereign God!

I still don’t know what to do for the business but my Father in heaven has shown me what I need to do. I don’t need my circle/network to do the most. I need God to do the most. When he does, I get to go to Maldives when really, I should not go. The thing is I’ve not been going to places as I wait for the perfect condition when the perfect condition was already present. In Isaiah 66:1 God says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” That is the perfect condition. So long as God is on his throne it is the perfect condition.

And this is why I said at the beginning, I believe all this was set to happen because it has done something special to my soul. God knew what season I would be in and so in his ways which are above our ways, the preparation for this season yes has been hard, frustrating on so many levels including seeing white privilege in action but look at God, he’s brought beauty to the syllabus too!

I want to say he has blessed me because of the birthday trip histories, the disaster of my 4th floor birthday and the rough year I had last year but this would not be fully true. God is just a God and Father who loves to bless his children with no prerequisites. It’s just his nature to bless and to love. If there were terms and conditions to qualify for Gods’ blessings, I know I wouldn’t qualify. Trust me, I know myself and my weaknesses. BUT GOD! When the best month of the year began aka May, I prayed for a phenomenal birthday. God heard my prayer and run with the answer to that prayer. I know he heard my “cry” after my 4th floor birthday,  he has never forgotten and waited for such a time as this.

He knew I would need a special birthday because this time round it would fall during a season of the 7 thin cows. He wanted to time it in a way that reminded me I’m only a steward of everything I have. He owns everything even those cattle on a thousand hills. There is no resource he can run out of, which means as his children, there is no resource we can ever run out of! Hallelujah!

He has all the power and at his word or command, I will be taken care of just like he has done for all these many revolutions around the sun starting from my mother’s womb. Because of his unfailing love, I know and believe he will take me into the land of milk and honey. So, what have I to dread, what have I to fear?

So, in the meantime, I chose not to live in fear or worry because Jesus is not dead, Jesus is not in the tomb, Gods’ riches in glory can never run out, nothing is too hard for the Lord, the entrepreneurial valley may be impossible for me but with God nothing is impossible. Any Bill and any tab are always on my Father.

I have dipped my foot into the Jordan with Faith the size of a mustard seed, believing and trusting the faith I’ve been given will move the mountains of my life and nothing will be impossible to me only because God is with me. He is on my side and is fighting my battles because Lord knows I can’t fight them and I'm not just saying that to sound pious. This is the time to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. I tell you something, it is relaxing contrary to what logic/ contingency plans may say.

My testimony is that all the verses I have read in the Bible are not just words in the Excellent Book. I wish I can say I know the greatness of the Lord Like Psalms 135:5 says, but even with all I have seen in my life, I know I have yet to see his full greatness because I know, believe and trust there is more to come. Why? Because God is the same, same one who says in Psalms 128:2 "You will enjoy the fruit of your labour. How joyful and prosperous you will be!” So, I am persuaded I am going to see even more of his greatness and I trust you will too.

As for forever quoting Psalms, this same marvellous God directed my Bible reading such that in the best month of the year, May, it was time to read my favourite book of the Bible, Psalms. I was excited because Psalms is the book to read when the 7 thin cows have shown up, which is the season I am in. What I am saying is it’s been a wonderful birthday, a wonderful birthday month because I’ve been surrounded and filled with Gods’ love, favour, favour, favour, peace and joy at a time that I needed and need.

Going forward, I have nothing to fear, nothing to dread, nothing to set contingency plans for, nothing to take matters into my own hands to, because as Psalms 121:8 says, “The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever”. In January when the entrepreneurial valley had started wearing me out, I heard a sermon that recited Psalms 23:1 in a way I hadn’t heard, and it has been my motto since then when the enemy wants me to go into panic/worry mode. I chose not to fear because “The Lord is my Shepherd; I Lack NOTHING!” and I say it with an attitude!

I pray you receive this testimony with more justice than I have given it because I still feel I’ve under delivered it (see button below) but that is the Holy Spirits’ department to translate it into your spirit and circumstances in a way that leaves you with no doubt, that in reading this, God is trying to signal you that what he has done for me, Off course! He will do for you. For clarity the testimony is that I went to Maldives, stayed in that water bungalow in the blog pic, with 2 fish and 5 loaves. I heard a preacher say it perfectly, little is much when it is in the Masters' hands.

Why will God do much for you? Because he is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and as Psalms 60:12 says, “With God’s help we will do MIGHTY things, for he will trample down our foes” May God trample down all your foes however they look like. May he show you what he means when he says in Genesis 18:14, “Is anything too hard for the Lord”. May you bask in Gods' Great Love for you, his Joy, Peace, Faithfulness and Goodness all the days of your life.

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