What’s your excuse?

(Inspiration from some of the challenges Benson Idahosa faced in his growing up years and in the beginning of his ministry. Culled from the book “Fire in His Bones”).

* As a little child, his father ordered his mother to throw him away because of his sickly health.

* He worked on his uncle’s farm while his uncle’s children went to school.

* He didn’t have shoes to wear nor get Christmas clothes like his uncle’s children did.

* He dropped out of his correspondence course in business and accounting because he couldn’t continue to pay his fees

* He worked as an assistant store clerk in Bata shoe company Benin

* He once tried to attack/ disturb a church service by playing a football into their hall.

* He was once the only Bini person in an all Igbo Church.

* His father was the juju priest of his family and didn’t accept Christ when Benson tried preaching to him.

* He began his ministry in a rented store.

* As a young preacher many did not take him seriously.

* His wife initially didn’t want to marry him because she was afraid of being a pastor’s wife.

* His ministry faced great opposition and challenges.

* In his absence an elder of the church once took over the leadership of the church from him.

* Some elders in the church once went to remove the foundation stones of a new building because they felt his desire to build a 500 capacity hall was outrageous. They wanted him to build a 50 person capacity hall.

* Pastors blamed him for stealing their members.

* Journalists wrote negative stories about him in the news in an attempt to destroy his ministry.

* He was initially rejected from airing his programe - Redemption Hour on National Television.

* The head of a military hospital once instructed him not to build his church – Miracle Centre near his hospital so that the noise from his church won’t disturb his patients.

* The government once threatened to demolish his church.

Conclusion: Despite all these and more he still believed in God and did the great things that he did. What is your excuse? No matter what you have faced or are facing, you too can be greatly used by God to impact your world positively’