Gbemisola Joel-Osoba

NIGERIA, It is no coincidence that one of the fiercest battles over this nation is the battle to make her people lose faith in what she can become. After years of disappointment, corruption and broken promises, hope itself begins to look like foolishness. A man speaks about the future of Nigeria, and people laugh because they have heard too much and suffered too long. Recently, there was a backlash against a prophetic word concerning our nation, and it was painful to watch. Beyond the disagreement with that particular utterance, some of the responses revealed how many Christians have lost confidence in the prophetic destiny of Nigeria. The very suggestion that GOD still has an intention for this land was treated as something worthy of ridicule. This is why the Church must be careful of what prolonged disappointment is doing to her heart concerning Nigeria. We have seen corruption, suffered injustice and watched hope betrayed repeatedly. But we must not allow these experiences to become the lens by which we interpret the future of our land. We Must refuse to accept corruption as the definition of our nation. We acknowledge its presence. We have suffered its consequences. We have watched it steal opportunities, impoverish families and reward wickedness. Yet we will not surrender our children to the belief that dishonesty is the only way to survive here. A generation must arise that can confront what Nigeria has become without losing sight of what she ought to become. As we celebrate Independence Day, the Church must recover her sense of responsibility before GOD concerning this land. If we believe that GOD has purposes to accomplish through Nigeria, that conviction must be seen in our prayers, our conduct and our service to the nation. Prophetic expectation places a demand upon the people who Believe it. We cannot keep announcing a glorious future while participating in the practices that resist it. The man who prays for a righteous nation and demands a bribe at work is contradicting his own intercession. The businessman who declares that Nigeria will rise but cheats everyone who trusts him is working against the future he prophesies. The minister who speaks of national transformation while using his spiritual authority to exploit people has brought the same corruption we condemn in government into the sanctuary. Our partnership with GOD must reach the places where our obedience becomes costly. Jeremiah instructed the exiles to seek the peace of the city where they had been carried away and to pray unto the LORD for it. They were living in a land that was not their home, yet GOD required them to take responsibility for its welfare. How much more should we labour for the land in which our children will grow, our families will live and our ministries will serve? Prayer must continue upon our altars, but righteousness must also be visible in our offices, businesses, schools and public institutions. We must raise people whose consciences cannot be purchased; people who can handle public resources without converting them into private possessions; people who will speak the truth even when the offender belongs to their tribe, their party or their church. This is part of the Church’s work in a nation. We preach CHRIST, make disciples and form men whose allegiance to HIM governs how they live among their neighbours. The gospel must produce a people who will refuse dishonest gain, protect the vulnerable and remain faithful when nobody is watching. We must also be careful that our language of prophetic destiny does not become an excuse for presumption. GOD’S purposes are never permission for a people to continue in wickedness. The prophets who announced HIS promises also confronted the sins of the people. They called for repentance, justice and obedience because a nation cannot despise righteousness and expect prophecy to make rebellion harmless.