Checkmate Episode 10 (By Adeyoola Ojemola)

After rounding off the prayer session, both Pastor Dave and Joshua felt their hearts strengthened. While they prayed, they felt God’s presence in their midst and He did give them a word. Pastor Dave heard Psalm 78:72 in his heart while they were praying but he was not sure what it was in it.

Just as he was about to close the current prayer point so he could look it up and then they pray about it, Josh asked that they pray this prayer before they do that. He said ‘Lead us with Your skillful hands into Your will, guide us with Your ease as our Shepherd’.

Then they prayed.

After that, Dave mentioned that a Scripture had dropped within him and he wanted them to pray it out. Lo and behold, it was exactly as Joshua had raised in the last prayer, ‘So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands’.

There and then, there was a knowing in their heart, God has responded to their prayers. He was assuring them of His guidance and that He was their Shepherd. They could trust God to direct every course of their lives.

And they praised God for His Word and for renewing their faith, calming their tumultuous hearts. They ended it with a hymn of commitment to trust in God more.

After all of these, Joshua saw that his wife had left him a message. He called her number but it was not reachable so he ended the meeting with Dave and saw himself out of the office to meet with Daniella. He wondered what could be so urgent.

Or is it about their discussion from earlier in the day? ‘God, please keep working on Daniella’s heart and mine too. So we can trust and love you more even in this’, he prayed as he walked towards where he had seen her earlier.

As he entered the Church, he saw her still seated with the woman from earlier. He wondered if their meeting was about her and what might be so urgent that it would require his presence. As he approached them, she noticed him too.

Daniella motioned for him to wait so she could come to him instead. excusing herself from Theresa, she hurried to her husband. She saw that his t-shirt seemed wet. She guessed he was praying while in Pastor Dave’s office.

She grabbed his hands gently as she led them both towards another side of the church. ‘How was your day?’ She asked gently. She felt somewhat sorry that she left home unannounced without telling him where she was headed. That was unlike her.

She apologised after asking her earlier question.

He gently squeezed her hand too and said ‘I understand. Have you eaten? and I am fine’.

‘Funny thing is I am not hungry. That is weird!’ She said while smiling ‘but I had a soda drink. I know, Mr. pharmacist! But I believe this one time won’t do me any harm. I promise to finish a cucumber when we get home’.

Seeing that their relationship seemed restored, Joshua felt like his shoulders were lighter. ‘I hear you, madam. So what’s up with that sister? I don’t think I know her. Does she attend our church?’

Taking a deep breath, ‘Yes, she attends our church and I did not know her until sometime before noon but she works in the sanctuary cleaners unit that’s why we might not have really noticed her.

She is in the sub-unit that handles toilet cleaning and such. It is actually because of her that I wanted us to meet urgently. I hope I did not interrupt the meeting with Pastor?’. ‘No. I didn’t get your message until we were done. We will talk about all that later. So what is it?’

‘She needs our help and my help specifically too’, Daniella said. ‘In what way?’ Joshua asked. Then Daniella told him everything Theresa had said about herself, her late parents, how she came to work in their town, where she worked, how she met Christ, up until her current case of alleged theft.

Joshua listened up with rapt attention. His heart moved with compassion for Theresa. Life surely can be hard but thank God for Jesus in their boat. When he noticed that Daniella had stopped talking and was looking at him with some puppy-eyes, he helped her speak the words she felt reluctant to say, ‘you want to take up her case?’

Daniella nodded affirmatively and she added ‘and can we bring her home with us to stay for a while as we sort out her case. Her discipler is not in the country. She has gone to some mission field so she is unreachable at the moment’.

Joshua did not really like the sound of that, especially because they did not know her prior to now and they don’t even know her family or sort.

He is among those who strongly believe that the world is a dangerous place. Then suddenly he heard in his spirit ‘Even in the body of Christ?’. He knew that Voice and he repented immediately.

‘Let’s pray first. Thank You Jesus for all that you do. Thank you for sister Theresa. We pray for her right now, please guide her and let all that is dark in this matter have your light shine through it.

Fill her with your peace and comfort her as you lead her out of this storm of her life.

Help us to also do what is your will in this matter. Use us as You please. Thank you Lord, Amen!’

‘Let’s go see her’, Joshua said after the prayer.

Theresa saw the man walking towards her and Daniella and she guessed that was her husband. Daniella had told her that her husband was around and she would like that he met Theresa.

So she was not surprised when Daniella told her that was her husband and she was going to speak with him first before he met her.

As they walked hand in hand away from her, Theresa thought that was lovely. She was quite sure she had noticed him before in Church during the church’s worker’s retreat but she was not sure of the unit he served in.

As they walked farther away from her, Theresa began to pray.

She was yet to receive the baptism of fire with the evidence of speaking in tongues but even when praying with words she understood, she never got tired or short of what to say to the Lord.

She wished she had access to her bible as she was running away yesterday from the home she shared with Bimbo. That really made her sad. Having her Bible close by usually helped her tarry longer in prayer. She would usually read the Scripture, meditate on it and use that to pray and the more she prayed, the more the Holy Spirit filled her with more prayers to pray according to her understanding.

She has longed asked for the gift of speaking in tongues.

She loved it when Mrs Ojo spoke in tongues. They gave her goosebumps sometimes because the fire she spewed from her mouth was often undeniable.

However, the Lord told her that it was not yet time. So she stopped asking until she felt led to ask again or when the fire would come on its own without her asking.

But she began to pray with Psalm 23, one of her favourite passages of the Scripture that she knew by heart. Then she moved to Psalm 27 which always drove her to tears when she got to verse 4. After that she went to Psalm 125 which has been a comfort to her since Bimbo started changing her attitude towards her. She was about to start praying with Psalm 126, she noticed Daniella and her husband coming towards her.

She stood up from where she sat so she could properly greet Joshua. ‘Good evening Sir! Please help me thank Sister Daniella, she bought me lunch today’. ‘Not a problem, SIster Theresa. My name is Joshua. It is nice meeting you. Please have your seat ma’.

As they all sat down, Joshua continued speaking ‘My wife has shared with me briefly what you have shared with her. I am sincerely sorry that you have had to go through these situations. I am also thankful that you know the Lord Jesus.

I believe He will never leave you stranded and will always take care of you.

On that note, my wife and I have decided that we will accommodate you in our home while this alleged theft case is settled and you can get back to your job.

Also, Daniella has decided to be your attorney. Did she tell you she is a lawyer?’

Theresa, lifting up her head in disbelief to all that Joshua had said, looked at the both of them, wide-eyed and speechless.

Absolutely speechless!!!

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