“… yes, verse 10, quickly. “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.” Hmmmm! I don’t usually say this, but… what a  shock for him! Major, major shock!”

Another Sunday had arrived. Which meant another Sunday service, and members of Reverence Ministries were back to hear their head pastor deliver the word of God to them. The series on pride continued, and for this Sunday, David was focusing on the person of Haman in the book of Esther.

As usual, many were paying rapt attention and keeping their eyes on their pastor as he spoke, while some busily took notes.

“And so see, people of God, this is what happens when you let pride lead you: a fool is made out of you! Look at Haman’s suggestions to the king, it is so clear the man felt on top of the world and decided to get more glory for himself. Look at it… he said the man the king wants to honour should be given attire the king himself has worn and a horse the king has ridden, and he should be paraded around town with praises. All for him. All for his glory. But what happened? He ended up being the one parading the one around town. And it was nobody else but the man he hated with a passion!

“People of God, when it comes to the matter of pride, please, be very careful. The Bible says that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. And I don’t know about you, but I need grace. Every single second that I live and move about, I need His grace. The last thing I need is for God to oppose me, because if He does, who else do I turn to? The One who sustains me is the One that is opposing me due to my pride. Who is going to help me out? Who?”

Walking around the pulpit, David nodded as the congregation agreed with him. “When you walk in pride and God steps in to resist you, trust me, you are finished! Nobody can save you. But thank God, sometimes when we’re walking in pride, He gives us warnings to step out of that path before we’re destroyed. I dunno about you, but I’ve been there before, and all I can say is that I’m grateful that He saved me from myself. Because I could have destroyed myself with my pride, but the Lord showed me mercy. May the Lord show us all mercy in our moments of folly and lead us back on the straight and narrow, in the name of Jesus!”

“AMEN!” the congregation eagerly replied, clapping afterward.

As he looked around, his eyes met with Sika’s, as she sat in her chair as always. His heart brimmed with a joyful warmth as he noted the approval and delight in her eyes. Of course, only she knew what he was truly talking about, and without uttering a word, she was affirming her joy in seeing him do what he was called by God to do.

Deliver the mind of God to His people and the nation as a whole.

Speaking of which, for this Sunday, he had been instructed by the Lord not to speak on the current hot debate in town concerning the cabinet member’s brouhaha. So if anyone was waiting to hear what David had to say, they’d have to wait a little longer.

But boy, was he glad to have been shown the mercy which he spoke of! Now that he stood before the people he had been given to shepherd, he now realized how much of a negative impact accepting that offer would have had on his psyche. Would he have been able to stand before them and teach and exhort them with a clean heart and a clear conscience if he had gone ahead to say yes to Roger’s offer?

Certainly not.

It was only a week ago that he reminded them to choose to please God and not man. Yet he had nearly gone off in the opposite direction. There was no way his conscience and the Holy Spirit would give him any peace of mind if he had gone ahead with that decision that fateful Thursday evening.

So much had nearly gone awry within the past seven days, but… the Lord showed him mercy.

For a moment or two, David just stood silently before the congregation, his eyes closed. Thank You, Holy One of Israel. Indeed, as the songwriter said, I’m the one You have shown mercy, and I will forever give You glory for that. Thank You, he whispered within his heart.

Opening his eyes, he walked back to the pulpit where his notes where, he continued. “So, as we have seen with Haman, he got all haughty and angry because Mordecai refused to bow to him… pride can blind us and make us feel like we are entitled to respect, honor, and recognition. When we become consumed by our own self-importance, we neglect to see the needs of others and disregard the wisdom and guidance of God…”

***

“Yes… yes, Mr. President, no need to worry about that. You know your boys are always on the ground, and we’re paying them well, so yeah, we’re doing fine.”

Holding a glass filled with Johnnie Walker Red Label, Roger walked around the living room of his house, his AirPods plugged in as he spoke with the president of the nation, giving him updates on how the incorporation of a company was coming along. This, of course, was just a ruse to pump more money into the pockets of all of them that surrounded the leader. Being in charge of the operations, he was hard at work, making sure they could get things off the ground as quickly as possible.

“Yes, sir… yes, yes, no problem, sir, by Wednesday, everything should be sorted out. I’ll certainly keep you in the know… alright, yes, sir. Alright, alright, very well, thank you. Bye-bye.”

Once the call ended, Roger walked out onto the balcony and stood there, admiring the gardens before him. He nodded and smiled. “Not bad for a journalist who couldn’t even afford to buy two whole meals a day,” he murmured to himself.

Indeed, it was only a decade ago that Roger Wakefield was just like many other Ghanaians: living from hand to mouth and wishing for a breakthrough. Having graduated from journalism school many years before, the best job he could get was with a TV station that was virtually unknown. His pay was pitiful, and sometimes he was lucky if he got it at all. It truly was a tough time for him.

But it all changed when a good friend of the president who was then a member of parliament met him, decided to befriend him and give him a position in the political party. His fortunes improved somewhat, but it was when the party won the presidential elections that things really took off for Roger. Now here he was, living in one of the most lavish houses in Accra, owning a whole newspaper press, and serving as a financier of the party. Life had become very good for him.

As he continued to admire the scenery, his phone buzzed.

He looked at it. The young man who kept tabs on David’s sermons had sent him a video of the day’s sermon.

“I sure hope he didn’t say a thing about that Baiden issue,” he muttered to himself. “Not that I expect him to, with the way he was speaking on Thursday. But ah well, let’s see.”

He played the video after downloading it.

Fourteen minutes in, and there was no mention of Callis Baiden, or anything government-related.

It certainly looked like the man deliberately chose not to speak about the matter. He only focused on what was in the scriptures, and nothing more than that.

Roger nodded as the video ended, a pleasantly surprised look on his face. “Wow,” he gasped. “Looks like the man ain’t so tough after all. Already going silent. I should’ve done this earlier… well, at least we’re on course to have something fruitful tonight. Can’t wait!”

***

You Looked past my sin, my guilt, my shame and poured Your love

You looked beyond me oh

You looked beyond me oh

Everyone in the BMW 330i was joyfully singing along to Yadah’s ‘Beyond Me’ as the Mensah-Jones family returned home from another busy Sunday at church. While the young ones at the back enjoyed the overall vibe of the song, David and Sika passionately belted out the words with everything in them. Of course, they understood exactly why.

Repeating the words ‘I’m the one You have shown mercy, You have shown me mercy, You have shown me mercy‘ over and over, David couldn’t keep silent. It was while he preached that it really hit him just how much he had been spared from a scary situation. Putting the song on repeat about twice, he was still singing until the car rolled into the parking space of their simple home.

“Alright, everyone! We thank God for bringing us home safely! Amen!” David remarked brightly as he killed the engine, eliciting an enthusiastic response from everyone else. “Matthew, take the keys and open the door. We’ll join you guys in a moment.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Matthew responded obediently, taking the bunch of keys from his mother before rushing to the front door to open it, his younger siblings behind him.

“Daddy, can we have some of the green juice?” Mark asked from the front door.

“Uhh… yeah, sure. But make sure you guys leave one bottle for me ooo!” David called back. “Don’t go and finish everything like last week.”

The children giggled, responding obediently before getting inside the house.

David shook his head and grinned. “I should have told Ludwig to get his mom to prepare a new batch,” he commented aloud before noticing Sika’s loving gaze at him.

Smiling and reaching over to stroke her cheek, he knew there was no need for words.

So for the next minute or two, the couple just remained seated in the car, enjoying each other’s presence and the silence. After a few more smiles at each other, Sika reached over and took his hand in hers. “I thank God for you, David. And I’m so glad He showed you mercy and brought you back on track.”

David gently squeezed her hand. “Me too, sweetheart. I guess… I really didn’t see it that way until I was preaching. At a point, I just realized that… where I am right now is where I need to be. Yes, there are issues arising and all, but… it was so foolish of me to think that Mr. Wakefield’s money would be the relief I needed to get everything in order. I mean, after taking it, even if nobody ever knew, what made me think I’d be able to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ with a clear conscience? I know I’d be pricked with guilt every single second. I wouldn’t even enjoy life.

“And yeah, even though I still think you deserve far more than I give you, you definitely wouldn’t want it in that medium. I know God’s gonna give me the resources for that one day, to just… celebrate you proper proper, you know. And that one will come with no sorrow. Put everything into perspective, and I can see that… that nightmare was a blessing. It might have been awfully vivid and all, but it was far better than actually living it, so yeah, I’m thankful. So thankful.”

Sika brushed the back of her fingers against her husband’s cheek. “So am I, Davidi, so am I. And I don’t mind you wanting to celebrate me if you feel you’ve not done enough, but trust me, loving me the way you have this past decade and a half is more than enough. And I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

David, enjoying the sweet feel of her knuckles running across his cheek, smiled and blew a kiss at her, which she returned in equal measure.

They went silent for a few more minutes, soaking in the gloriousness of the moment between them. Just dwelling in the reality that they had each other for life.

“So, what’s gonna happen tonight, since he’s coming back?” Sika then asked.

David shrugged. “Oh, it’s simple. I’ll just go and tell him I’m not taking the offer, then I’ll ask him to leave.”

“Mmmm, yeah. It’s that simple, I guess.”

“Yeah. Nothing dramatic. Just reject the offer and come back in. Anyways, time to go in, I guess?” David asked.

Sika nodded. “Sure. What are you gonna do?”

David put on a thinking face. “Well, how about… some game time with the boys on their PlayStation before I spend about an hour just… enjoying the warmth of my wife’s sweet body?”

Sika giggled. “Sounds like a good idea, my dear. Let’s get moving, then.”

David winked at her, then moved to unbuckle his seat belt. As he did so, however, he stopped, hearing a still, small voice in his spirit. His face took on a solemn expression as he heard what the Spirit was saying to him.

Sika, who had been watching him admiringly, also went on a facial transformation when she noticed his sudden change. “Honey, are you okay?” she asked.

David put up a hand for a moment, nodded, then turned to her. “The Lord is telling me that I need to prepare for Mr. Wakefield properly. It’s not just about saying no. There are directions I need to follow.”

Sika inhaled and exhaled quickly. “Wow. Indeed, we wrestle not against flesh and blood.”

“Yeah. Looks like it’s much bigger than I thought. But… He says He will alert me when the time is due. So I guess I can get that cuddle time for now…”

Hmmm, looks like there’s gonna be quite an encounter! Let’s see how this ends the first season…