I have often affirmed that there is nothing more soothing to the injured soul than for one to remind oneself of the gospel, of the Love of God that saves sinners perfectly. This week I felt in my soul a misery that is not uncommon for me, my soul is usually injured because of my sins and like a puritan I have a piercing conscience and my disposition is naturally to that of withdrawal and sadness. But time and again this is never my final state for the Lord comes with effectual grace and revives my soul to that vibrant joy and peace it is accustomed with. And I am never moved to such heights unless God moves in me for I cannot pretend of my joy when there is none for that sad countenance would avail me. Unless God moves in my soul I am left in my pity and God has moved in a thousand ways to restore my joy and this week He restored my soul through an encounter with the barber.
On my way back to bristol from london, I went at random to cut my hair. I was hoping to see the regular barber there but I learnt that he has left his post and gone to another sea. I waited for the new barber to finish his first duty and then it was my turn. He began to cut my hair and I made it my aim to begin a conversation so I asked him about the pictures on the wall and he took the time to tell me about them. Time moved on and he changed it to BET which is a channel mainly for black entertainment and on the channel there was a show like the xfactor but instead of being secular it was gospel based. I was touched by the grace the judges showed to the contestant and how they rightly critiqued and praised their work. I asked him if he was a Christian and I thought he would answer in the affirmative but He told me that he had one foot in and one foot out. I asked him why he felt like that and he rightly acknowledged his own attachments to the things of this world. Also he mentioned about not knowing God's will for his life and that he is waiting for his specific calling. To be truthful I pondered where I could take this and to my own astonishment I was left in a rubble not having a clear direction of how to encourage him.
God was so gracious to me that Romans 12 came to my mind and once again to my astonishment I forgot almost entirely what the passage said so I paraphrased it in such a way that I only touched upon the skin of the passage and then affirmed him of the Love of God and the grace of Christ. In doing so I was affirming myself and at the end I offered to pray for Him and he willingly accepted. In doing so my disposition was changed and I felt his was also changed for he thanked me with happiness and then he asked to exchange mobile numbers. God, through this encounter revived my soul through my testimony to another of his love for them and through praying for them; I sincerely believe that in the same way God will revive your souls if you are found with guilt upon your heart. Remember that the cross of Christ is the only effectual remedy that declares the guilty free and His ressurection speaks of His sacrifice being accepted and his righteousness being wholly ours. May the Love of God be with you all.
K.Oni
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