Indeed safety is of the Lord and those who put their trust in the Lord will never be ashamed. This is a testimony of God’s faithfulness to watch over His saints and not allow their feet to slide. God is very true and committed to our lives and the best we must do is to give our all to Him. The wisdom of man will fail but Jesus will never fail those who put their trust in Him.

This particular event took place Sunday 26th March of this year. The past week was extremely stressful for me because I returned from the mission field to join a 3 days crusade. On the second day of the crusade, we were drenched in the rain, and then had a mini vigil again that night. After the crusade, I was only able to rest on Saturday.

On this Sunday, I left the house hurriedly because we were going to a place where a new church will be planted. Someone else ought to go there but I had to go with another brother for some reason. While in the car, I saw a scripture that interested me a lot, it was as though I had not seen it before because of the way it came to me. Below is the scripture:

Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them. Esther 9:1 NKJV

Later I found out that God was speaking about the event that would later happen in the day.

Back To The Mission Field

After laboring on Sunday morning in that town, I went back to the mission field to see the children and also do some work. For some context, I have been teaching the village children because of the poor education system. This area of about 52 villages does not have a higher secondary school except one private school which is not so structured. Many of the village children have to walk kilometers every day to get to High school (Secondary School) education. I was speaking with a young man who talks likely of walking 2 hours to school. That is the condition of the people there as far as education is concerned. Until we can build them a school, their situation will remain the same.

Moments Before The Scam

When I got to the field, I was warmly received by the people I met with in the village where we are planting a church. Afterward, I proceeded to go to the Mission house belonging to another missionary. This young man has been extremely generous and kind, he has been accommodating me and another missionary for a while now. As I came near the house, I saw a young man standing alone in front of the village primary school. I was compelled to go back to talk with him after almost walking away. I thought to just speak with him briefly and go home because I was so tired and hungry.

Things took another turn however, I ended up spending more time than I earlier thought. God worked so graciously that the young man was under conviction for a long time. I could not leave until the work is done. I remembered thinking about spiritual abortion being worse than the typical abortion of a baby. I was determined to stay and see this young man saved, after much time, his distress seem to be gone but the breakthrough has not come. We did another round and then I prayed with him. After this event, I gave him my contact and left to go to the house.

Attack After The Victory

It is true that the devil attacks us immediately after our greatest victory. Up till this time, I was having a good day and this last event was something to be thankful to God for. I went to see the Missionary Pastor who is very close to the house where I was lodging just to let him know I was back. In between his house and the house where I was lodging, I got a call from the scammers. Being tired and at a point distracted, I gave out some sensitive payment app OTP (One Time Password) to them. They locked me out and began their fraudulent activities. When I detected this I changed my password and tried to enter my app but could not. In between I was calm, the Holy Spirit gave me sweet peace and calmness. I knew the money was not mine but “Jesus’ Money” as I often call any money that I have.

The fraudsters withdrew money from my main bank account into my fintech payment app and began to transfer to other accounts. To get the perfect picture, you must understand that the money in my main account was kept for a free book distribution project. We were to print a thousand copies but had just a little above half the money required at the time. That was the money these people desired to steal.

They Were Disappointed

Truly the Lord is our defense even when we are defenseless. They tried 23 transfers out of my account and 22 failed, the successful one was #100 Naira and it was sent to someone I know, so it was not a loss. I found Job 5:12-13 very precious:

He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot carry out their plans. He catches the wise in their own craftiness, And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.
Job 5:12‭-‬13 NKJV

The last transaction was reversed the next day because for some reason they made the transfer to an account that was not registered. The Lord is indeed a mighty man of war who needs not fight with weapons.

Lessons Learned

In every problem, I have learned to look for the lessons that God wants me to learn. I am a firm believer in the fact that God works all things (good and bad) together for my good. I also believe that in every problem there are huge opportunities and this particular incident is no exception because there were many positive lessons that can be drawn from it. Here are some of the lessons learned:

1. Safety is of the Lord.

I have always been a very careful person who puts a priority on making sure everything is well done. This particular event however proved the truth that unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. Psalms 127:1 NKJV

2. God Is Our Ever Present Help

While the fraud was going on and I could do nothing, God was busy working. When everything could have gone wrong, He stopped every attempt to hurt me. Psalms 46 is a beautiful reflection of what God did.

3. He Will Always Deliver His People

Though I entered the snare of the Fowler, the Lord rescue me and delivered me. Blessed be the Lord, Who did not give me as prey to their teeth. My soul escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare was broken, and I escaped. Psalms 124:6‭-‬7 NKJV

4.  Non-spiritual Benefits

Apart from spiritual lessons, I also learned some non-spiritual but technical lessons. These lessons could only come to me through this direct event. So,, in the end it is a huge win for me because my Father who watches over me does not slumber nor sleep.

Conclusion

In the end, I realized that God will give His children peace when going through the storms. It is useless to be anxious, but we should rather pray, give thanks, and tell God what we problem is. Afterward, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 NKJV

Our God can be trusted and He is worthy of our praise. To God alone be the glory for He has triumphed greatly. Amen.