HE THAT THINKS HE STANDS: A SHORT STORY

Apostle Williams walked out of the Amphitheatre. It took great effort for the protocol officers to whisk him through the humongous crowd. Outside of the theatre was no less difficult, as a crowd of people clamoured to touch the anointed man of God. Dozens of protocol officers had to form a human shield to pave a pathway for Apostle Williams to walk to his office on the other side of the building.

“You cannot see the Apostle now. He is not ready to meet anyone”, said a protocol officer, trying to ward off a gentleman who was pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair.

“No, I must see the Apostle today. It will only take 5 minutes, I promise. This is the only hope I have for my mother to be healed. I travelled 13 hours to be here”, argued the gentleman.

“I’m sorry, sir, but the Miracle Service is over. We cannot…”

“Bring her here”, the deep voice of the Apostle pierced through the noise in the environment and interrupted the protocol officer.

Everyone stood still and looked in his direction. The gentleman, filled with awe, shock, fear, excitement, and a couple of other emotions, wheeled his crippled mother before the Apostle and fell on his knees in tears.

“She was involved in an accident five years ago. We have flown her to India three times since then…”

“It’s okay, my son”, interrupted the Apostle. “You have come to Mount Zion. There will be deliverance. As surely as the Lord lives, your mother will leave here on her feet”, he continued.

Turning to the elderly woman in the wheelchair, he placed his right hand on her shoulders and said, “Father, I thank You because You anointed me to put an end to oppression…so in the name of Jesus Christ…”

Before he could complete the prayer, there was an eruption of joy from the audience. The elderly woman suddenly jerked from the wheelchair as though a lightning bolt had struck her. She stood on her feet and began to walk.

Her son could not believe his eyes. He had no opportunity to thank the Apostle, who had been quickly conveyed away from sight to protect him from the crowd that had gone wild with excitement. An array of ministers stood in front of the door of the office. Some knelt down while others bowed deeply to shake hands with the Apostle.

“God bless you, sir. That was a wonderful ministration.” “I celebrate the grace of God upon your life, sir.” “You are truly a blessing to this generation, sir.”

Apostle Williams had been used to receiving such comments after each powerful ministration. He smiled briefly as he shook each hand without giving them much eye contact. Then he entered the office and knelt down beside his table to give God thanks. Just then, his phone beeped, and he turned to see a message from Lauriane.

“Daddy… I’m really horny today. I want you to pamper me tonight.”

The Apostle sighed briefly as he replied, “I’m busy.”

“Please nauuuuu. I really miss you, sir. I miss lying on your broad chest, holding your muscular arms, rubbing my palms on your beards, and hearing your deep masculine voice…not to talk of enjoying that ‘tireless machine’ in between your legs 😂”

“I’m going home to meet my wife.”

“Daddyyyy…stop pretending that you don’t miss me. I know how easily you melt once I take off my clothes and how crazy you become when I begin to moan. You can’t resist me. Tell me you’re not starved of sexual satisfaction by that fat, round, and shapeless piece of existence you call a wife. Gosh, I wonder how you even ended up with such a bitch…”

“Don’t you dare talk about my wife that way”

“Lol, daddyyy, I’m sorry. So find something to tell her. I’m waiting for you, okay? I will put on my red lingerie. You will have the night of your life.”

The Apostle read the message but didn’t reply.

“And you must come:)) If I don’t see you, I will send the video of our last night together to your wife. I will ruin your marriage and your ministry. So make your choice.”

The Apostle reread the message but couldn’t reply.

“I guessed as much. See you tonight, baby))”

The Apostle read the message.

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Apostle Williams dropped the call and sank into his chair in frustration.

He wondered how easy it had become for him to tell a lie. He had just deceived his wife into believing he was going for another retreat. Her pointed questions really put him under pressure, but he managed to provide a good answer to each of them.

He had already began to fantasise about an intimate session with Lauriane that night and even plan his movements. As usual, he would insist on driving himself. He would take the major highway as if he was going out of town, then use the third bypass to circle the national stadium before taking inner-city roads to arrive at Lauriane’s apartment.

“My life is such a mess. How do I get out of this? Why can’t I resist the urge to sleep with Lauriane? Where did I get it wrong? Am I under a spell? Who can I open up to about this now? Every servant of God I know looks up to me. If news about my affair gets out, won’t my ministry be destroyed?”

Question upon question flooded his mind until his head ached a little. Then he lay his head on the table before him to take a nap. Instead of falling asleep, he fell into a trance.

“Williams!”

The stern voice startled him. It had been a while since he last heard anyone call him by his first name.

“Williams!”

He lifted his head and saw an elderly man robed in white standing before him. He couldn’t tell if the man was frowning, but he certainly wasn’t smiling.

He gave the Apostle an intense gaze and said, “Why are you taking the mercy of God for granted?”

The Apostle bowed in shame and began to weep.

“I don’t know what to do anymore”, he said tearfully. “This is beyond me. I don’t know where I got it wrong. I don’t know what mistake I made..”

“Mistakes, not mistake”, interrupted the elderly man with his index finger raised upwards for emphasis. “The pit in which you have landed yourself was not the product of one mistake but many of them.”

“What do you mean, sir?” the Apostle asked with a puzzled look.

“Your first mistake was that you underestimated the devil”, the old man responded.

“Satan does not spare servants of God who have been raised to ravage his kingdom. Even though Satan is a defeated foe, he is full of wiles, tricks, and deceptions that he still can use to trap the strongest of saints. This was your first error”, he added.

The elderly man, who until now had been standing at a distance from the Apostle, now walked slowly towards him and sat on a chair in front of him.

“Your second mistake was that you overestimated yourself. You forgot that you are only a weak man who was clothed by the grace of God. You relied on your ability to pray for long hours and fast for many days, forgetting that it is only by grace that a man can overcome the power of sin.”

By now, the Apostle had his palms on his head as he was gradually brought to a realization of his wrongs.

“Your third mistake was that you tolerated too many little foxes”, continued the elder.

“Little foxes? What does that mean?” asked the Apostle.

The elder sighed and stood up. With two hands behind his waist, he paced the room slowly as he responded.

“When did you fall into sin with Lauriane?” he asked the Apostle.

“It was about a year ago”, the Apostle responded. “I had come to this city for a crusade, and she was one of the protocol officers I chose to accompany me to the hotel. She said she had a personal prayer request to share with me. As I brought her into my lounge…” the Apostle added.

“Spare me the details”, the elder interrupted with a palm raised. He didn’t want to reimagine the incident. He had witnessed it anyway.

“Your fall did not just happen last year. Your fall began four years ago”, the elder added.

“Four years ago?” asked the Apostle, startled.

“Yes, four years ago. You see, Williams, no servant or child of God falls suddenly. Every fall people see is only a cumulative result of several secret slips and falls. Lauriane joined your Church four years ago, and you took a liking to her. You treasured and nourished your soft emotions towards her until they overwhelmed you. I want you to know that every time you scrolled through her Instagram pictures to admire her beautiful body, you fell from grace.

The evening you hugged her tightly in your office just before the vigil occasioned another fall from grace. Each time you took a deliberate look at her cleavage, whenever she came to your office wearing her usual low neckline, you also fell from grace. The day you stylishly put your hand on her chest to pray for her, you also fell from grace…”

“Wait a minute”, the Apostle interrupted. “I put my hand on her chest just as a point of contact to pray for her, and God healed her from asthma. Why do you equate that to a fall from grace?” he questioned.

“Hahaha”, the elder laughed rather sarcastically. “You can deceive men, but you can’t deceive God. And the fact that she was healed of asthma does not mean that God endorsed your craftiness.”

“But why didn’t God tell me all these?” the Apostle interjected. “Why did the anointing continue to flow? Why did I continue to see miracles?”

“And there goes your fourth mistake”, answered the elder.

“You forgot the true definition of ministry. Ministry is essentially your personal walk and intimacy with God. Whenever you find yourself on a pulpit, you are only running little errands for God. Remember Mark 3:13-14? Your ordination is, first of all, to be with Him. You covered your sin because you were afraid of spoiling your ministry; what you didn’t realise was that the ministry already began to spoil when you started living in sin.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that you have lost the presence of God in your life and the sweetness of fellowship you used to enjoy. God will usually confirm His word with signs and perform miracles simply because of His benevolence. Never you assume that God’s provision is proof of His endorsement. Remember that He fed the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years even though He was not pleased with them.”

Now sobbing uncontrollably, the Apostle lamented, “How I wish someone had received a warning from God to give me. Maybe I wouldn’t have sunk so deeply.”

“God sent His servant to your life, but you didn’t receive her ministry”, replied the elder.

“Which servant?” asked the Apostle.

The elder was silent.

Then a realization came to Apostle Williams. His eyes lit up in doubt.

“My wife?” he asked.

“Yes, your wife”, the elder responded.

“You did not just get married to her. God sent her to your life to preserve you from falling into the many pits God knew Satan would dig along your path because of the ministry He committed to you. She may not have all the looks, but she has the heart of an intercessor. If you had received her ministry as a servant sent from God, you would not have fallen this deep into sin.”

“Oh God!!!” screamed the Apostle in tears. “I’m sorry. I need restoration.”

“What has happened has happened”, said the elder. “If you repent genuinely, you will be restored. However, just like your fall into sin, your restoration will be a process rather than an event”

“What should I do now?” the Apostle managed to ask, his face drenched in tears.

“That’s enough! I will say no more. Do what the word of God says”, answered the elder.

“I’ve only been permitted to manifest myself to you as the last warning.”

“I’m grateful that you have told me all these. I was just about to drive to Lauriane’s apartment”, said the Apostle.

“I know”, replied the elder. “And that would have been your last trip to her house.”

“Oh! Last trip? I would have repented and confessed to my wife after that?” asked the Apostle.

The elder slowly approached the door before turning to the Apostle with the same intense look he called his name the first time.

“No”, he replied. “You would have had an accident and died on your way back home.”

The Apostle’s jaw dropped in shock. He awoke from the trance.

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Dear Readers,

We usually love to summarise our writeups/stories for you, but today, we want to give you the privilege of drawing out summaries by yourself.

We would love it if you could write a comment below. What lessons did you learn from the story? What do you think was the Apostle’s greatest error? How do you think the Apostle should respond after his trance? What would you do to Lauriane if you were the Apostle’s wife? Above all, how would you apply the lessons learned to your personal life?

Thanks in advance!