faith Archives - Being Me, Myself.

Moving the Goalposts

By Ife J. Ibitayo

After a year of writing, editing, (attempted) fundraising, and polishing, I’ve completed my first comic book. Some of my friends have asked me how it feels to have finished Let My People Ball #1, but I don’t have much to say. I’m hurriedly preparing for Los Angeles Comic Con next month, still trying to figure out this behemoth called “social media marketing”, and already iterating on Let My People Ball #2.

The Goalposts

If I’m honest with myself, one reason I’ve plowed ahead is that reflection can be painful. Looking back on this past year, seeing all the false starts, mistakes, and sacrifices, I have to ask myself, “Has it been worth it?” And I must answer this question with 20-20 hindsight and 0-0 foresight.

I’ve been watching the hit TV show Suits on Netflix recently, and it’s made me acutely aware of some of the logical fallacies I too easily fall into. One of them is called moving the goalposts “in which evidence presented in response to a specific claim is dismissed and some other (often greater) evidence is demanded.”

In this specific case, the goal is achievement. “You wrote a book? Heh, good for you,” mocks the derisory voice in my head. That milestone is worth celebrating when I’ve sold my thousandth book. Scratch that! We can pop champagne once I’m a New York Times Bestseller.

But the truth is that when we make our achievement contingent on outcomes that are largely out of our control, we deprive ourselves of the joy we need to eventually get there.

The True Story

There is another, more nefarious side to this dogged “achieve-ism”. When we neglect to acknowledge our accomplishments, we are also dismissing what God has accomplished through us. The Apostle Paul said to “Rejoice in the Lord always and give thanks to Him in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 17). But we often make our praise contingent on what God has done for us rather than who He is to us. We withhold our gratitude and thanksgiving because deep down, we must see God’s goodness to believe it. We doubt the story He’s writing in the ink of our sweat and tears truly has a happy ending.

Conclusion

So I say to you, fellow author, land that publishing deal. You, striving athlete, win that championship. Or if you’re Gen Z—like my little brother, “get that bag.” But remember that the most important things in life can’t be mounted on your mantle or summed up in your bank account.

If you’ve finished composing the greatest sonnet the world will never hear, celebrate! You graduated from college without a job? You still made it! Sometimes we need to validate our hard work first and trust that the glory will follow later. And as we wait, we can rejoice in our God who works together all things for our good and His glory.

“Do no throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”

(Hebrews 10:35)

The Long Journey

By Ife J. Ibitayo

I still remember a conversation I had with a comic book creator I’ll call Leo. The quality of his detailed frescoes, his sharp dialogue, and his imaginative world building drew me to his booth at Los Angeles Comic Con. And as an aspiring comic book creator myself, I asked him what his experience had been like.

With weariness in his voice, described how tough the journey had been. Looking at the swath of popular indie comic book series he and his team had created over the course of a decade, I’d imagined that he of all people would be happy with the empire his hands had built. But he told me, “Sometimes, when I compare my journey to that of the friends I went to college with, I see their success, their families, and their money, and I wonder if I made the right choice.”

He spread his arms out to encompass his fellow comic book creators and said, “There are many people who come into this space, stick around for a year or two, then fizzle out. But those who’ve stuck around for 3, 5, or even 10 years, they’re the veterans. The only metric that matters here is time.” Yeah, that was not the most encouraging welcome I’ve received!

The Road not Taken

In the past year I’ve entered a new artistic community, founded a company, and created my first comic book. But I also quit my job, moved across the country, and took on student loans. In one of my first classes as an MBA student, I learned about a concept known as economic cost. Economic cost doesn’t just include the cost of choosing a particular choice. It also includes the cost of not choosing the alternative. And my alternative was pretty tempting.

I was an engineer working for a good company with a good salary surrounded by a good community living in a good city. The path forward may not have been easy (engineering rarely is), but it was relatively straightforward. The potential for management in my company, leadership in my church, and stability for my family all lay before me. But I sacrificed that to pursue my God-given dream.

And the key question that presents itself to me nearly every day is: Was it worth it?

A Fork in the Road

Jesus Himself told a story about this dilemma: “‘Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it? Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, “This man could not finish what he started to build.”’” This very question has consumed my thoughts in recent days: “Will we be able to finish what we started?”

Conclusion

I’ve had to ask myself whether or not we would let this Kickstarter mark the end of our journey or its beginning. We are nearly finished with the first issue in our three-part series. But years lay ahead to finish the other two. The path to completion is muddled and many questions lie ahead. But I’ve counted the cost, and Lord-willing, I want to see this through to the end.

Let My People Ball Kickstarter September 7th — Let My People Ball Kickstarter Progress as of September 7th, 2023.

Our Kickstarter for the first issue of Let My People Ball is live from August 15th, 2023 to September 14th, 2023. If you’re as captured by the vision as we are, you can support us here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/let-my-people-ball-1/the-biballical-chronicles-let-my-people-ball-issue-1

Come Fund Me

By Ife J. Ibitayo

As a child, I never went door-to-door to “Save the Whales”. And for slightly more obvious reasons, you’d never find me selling Girl Scout cookies. Charity was something I gave (out of my $10 a month allowance), not something I received. But then I grew up, started a company, and realized that fundraising is probably my most important job of all. And the wellspring for any successful fundraiser begins with friends and family.

Let My People Ball Kickstarter Launch — Let My People Ball Kickstarter Page on Launch

Hey Friend!

In the weeks leading up to our first Kickstarter, I made a comprehensive list of all the friends I’ve accumulated over the years. As the list ballooned into the hundreds, I realized that there was one profound benefit that had arisen from having moved every few years since childhood: I had come to know and be known by a lot of people. A few of these friends I’ve remained in contact with throughout the years. But most of my conversations began a bit like this:

Hello Mrs. Jackson! I was a student in your English class in middle school! I know it’s been a decade since we last spoke, but…

Hey Chris! I heard about the new job! It’s awesome to see that you’re finally pursuing your dream! You know I also recently made a career change…

Hi Marisol! Congrats on the new baby! Do you want to know what I’ve been working on for the past 9 months…

Alright, my words might not have been so tongue-in-cheek, but it felt pretty darn close sometimes.

Will You Fund Me?

I was reaching out to people who I used to have a meaningful connection to long ago. But the sands of time had eroded our friendship over the years. Before each text, Facebook message, or email I wondered if many of these people would even remember me, or worse still I worried if my outreach would destroy any vestige of goodwill that might have lasted between us.

But instead of my deep-seated fears, the overwhelming response was deeply encouraging. From grad school, college, high school, and even touching back to elementary, friends of mine acknowledged my plea. They hadn’t forgotten me and further, they were happy to contribute to my vision.

Conclusion

One of the greatest highlights of this Kickstarter campaign has simply been the opportunity to reconnect. Some of my friends have changed drastically over the years. They’re living in new states with new careers and young families. But still much has remained the same. I had the opportunity to commiserate with a number of my rekindled compadres over our shared memories and made up a tiny bit for the lost time between us. And if nothing else arises from this venture, I’m eternally grateful for that.

Our Kickstarter for the first issue of Let My People Ball is live from August 15^th, 2023 to September 14^th, 2023 and can be accessed here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/let-my-people-ball-1/the-biballical-chronicles-let-my-people-ball-issue-1

Let My People Ball Kickstarter Just Launched!

Kickstarting a Dream

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Having found the illustrator I’d been so desperately searching for, I was back in action! I was setting milestones, approving drawings, and spending money—lots of it. As my bank account plunged toward zero, I knew my next order of business was finding a way to pay for this massive project I was undertaking. But few appealing options presented themselves.

The Road Not Taken

I could try to find a traditional publisher like Simon & Schuster. But the thought of trying to convince a literary agent to try to persuade a traditional publisher to potentially pay me a reasonable advance seemed both daunting and time consuming. Months would pass before I even had the opportunity to begin The Biballical Chronicles in earnest, and that’s assuming one of the few gatekeepers was willing to take a chance on a green comic book creator like me.

Or I could try to find a comic book publisher like Image. But that felt like a nightmare wrapped in a fool’s errand trapped inside a moonshot. Not only was it incredibly difficult, the number of horror stories I’d heard about comic book deals made my skin crawl. Somehow, I had to launch out on my own and find a way to convince people to pay me money to do so.

Kickstarter’s Well Known Logo.
Source: Kickstarter; Credit: Kickstarter

Convincing a Skeptic

The premise of Kickstarter is brilliant in its simplicity. You create a project, set a time-bound monetary goal, and anyone with a credit card can fund you in exchange for cool rewards.

However, in practice, Kickstarter seemed to be a place where many naive creators had their dreams crushed and many gullible consumers had their money stolen. I’d never really viewed Kickstarter as a viable business model until I attended a panel on it at Los Angeles Comic Con. I heard Brittany Chapman-Holman (“Mother of Frankenstein”), Sean Persaud (“Shipwrecked Comedy”), and Anjali Bhimani (“I am Fun Size, and So Are YOU!”) describe their own Kickstarter experiences. They had raised tens of thousands of dollars, delivered rewards to hundreds of paying customers, and somehow lived to tell the tale.

After taking a copious amount of notes from these seasoned veterans, my three main takeaways were: First, there are nearly infinite ways to ruin a Kickstarter. From unreachable goals to unrealistic timelines, you didn’t need to look far to find a graveyard littered with the carcasses of Kickstarters gone awry.

Second, even when executed correctly, a successful Kickstarter requires a tremendous amount of work and forethought. Planning one of these was not for the faint of heart.

Third, despite the risk and toil, it can be a win-win for both the creator who’s raising the money and the community that pays for it.

Conclusion

That last point shattered my preconceived notions like a bat to a fine china collection. The knowledge that a dedicated, passionate creator like me could form an audience of passionate, paying followers renewed my hope that I could transform my dream into a reality. Now all I had to do was convince hundreds of people that I was making something worth buying.

We’ve Never Been This Way Before

By Ife J. Ibitayo

There are rumblings of a new outbreak in China. Trump has just announced his bid for reelection. And the Golden State Warriors are on the verge of missing another playoffs. Nope, the year is not 2020 but 2022.

It’s been two long years since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, yet in some ways, it feels like we’re right back where we started. In C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, the demon Screwtape speaks of humanity in this way: “to be in time means to change. [Humanity’s] nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation-the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks.”

Even in my own life I’ve noticed this pattern. Back in 2020, I’d just started a new job, moved to a new city, and started a new phase of life. And now in 2022, I’m doing the same. Many of us may be experiencing a similar sense of déjà vu as we approach the end of this year. Our 2023 New Year Resolutions might look a lot like 2022’s. Our new job might be starting to feel a lot like our old one. We’ve spent 364 long days trudging around this mountain just to find ourselves back at square one.

Background

The Israelites experienced a similar situation thousands of years ago. After God rescued them from the clutches of Pharaoh, they traveled to the very edge of the Promised Land. The milk and honey of this paradise was practically dripping on their tongues. But in the space of a few short weeks, they suffered their first military defeat and began a forty-year detour through the harrowing wilderness (Numbers 14).

A new generation of Israelites with a new leader named Joshua arose at the end of that era. As the Lord’s people again stood poised on the edge of the Promised Land, they faced one small problem: how to get a million people across the raging Jordan River.

Keep Your Distance

Firstly, Joshua commanded the Israelites, “‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between yourselves and the ark. Do not go near it, so that you can see the way to go, since you have never traveled this way before’” (Joshua 3:3-4). The ark was a special chest representing the presence of the Lord amongst His people. And the Levitical priests were the special people ordained to carry it. So, the priests carrying the ark ahead of the people was a visible representation of the Lord going before them.

However, just like the Israelites back then, we may be tempted to rush ahead of God into this new year. As we shake off the dregs of winter break, we may be horrified by the mountain of work that has quietly accumulated for this coming January. But we must remember that God is our guide. Since He exists outside of time, He knows what lies ahead, and if we are humble enough to follow His lead, He’ll navigate us across our raging rivers safely.

Consecrate Yourself

Secondly, Joshua commanded the Israelites, “‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you’” (Joshua 3:8). Consecration is to make ready for the Lord. In the Old Testament, the Israelites had dozens of rules about consecration from avoiding certain foods to abstaining from sex. But the main thrust of these regulations was not about their external bodies but their inside man. They were meant to prepare their hearts for an encounter with God.

But when we find ourselves facing familiar problems with our health, our loved ones, or our job, we may want to dial down our expectations going into this new year. But as the author of Hebrews says, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). We don’t want to miss God when He passes by; we want to wait expectantly on Him.

Mark the Watershed Moments

Lastly, after Joshua and the rest of the Israelites had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord commanded them to take twelve large rocks out of the river and set them up as a memorial (Joshua 4). Grammarist defines a watershed moment as “a turning point…from which things will never be the same. It is considered momentous, though a watershed moment is often recognized in hindsight.” It’s essential to remember where we’ve been so we don’t end up back where we were. We must live our lives marking our watershed moments so that when we face our next raging river, we can confidently expect God to part it again.

Conclusion

If we follow God’s lead with a heart filled with hope, we may just see Him work wonders for us in 2023. The end of 2022 may look a lot like the beginning of 2020, but I assure you, we’ve never been this way before.

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
(Isaiah 43:19)

The Jesus I Thought I Knew (Father Complex Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

I’m your quintessential African American. I was born with a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other. Church was my home base, the star my weekly schedule orbited around. Sunday was church day. Wednesday was church night. And I think there were some other, less important days in between.

I mastered the gamut of Sunday school stories about Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. I finished reading the Bible through by middle school, and I’ve studied, highlighted, and annotated it from cover to cover several times since. I’ve sometimes found myself wondering, “Is there a Bible Pt. 2? If B.I.B.L.E. stands for ‘Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth’, are there advanced instructions?”

The Nazarenes Who “Knew” Jesus

I recently reread Jesus’ homecoming story:

“Jesus left that part of the country and returned with His disciples to Nazareth, His hometown. The next Sabbath He began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were amazed. They asked, ‘Where did He get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?’ Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And His sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in Him.

“Then Jesus told them, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in His own hometown and among His relatives and His own family.’ And because of their unbelief, He couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their unbelief” (Mark 6:1-6).

Of all the people to reject Jesus, the Nazarenes knew Him the longest. They’d spent three decades in His presence, watching His deeds and hearing His words. Yet they dismissed Him because they thought they already knew Him.

The Unbelief of “Knowing” Jesus

I find this same pattern playing out in my life. My eyes glaze over when I read John 3:16. Many mornings I let God’s living word slip past me like a shower rather than sink in like a bath. To misquote old man Solomon: “There’s nothing new under the Son” (Ecclesiastes 1:3).

But why does this matter? What are the consequences of knowing the stories but missing their Author? You’ll miss the miracles as well.

I’ve grow numb to the power of the simple gospel. I’ve heard that “faith can move mountains” (Mark 11:23). Yet I’ve seen the tension between faith and endurance, abundance and suffering, joy and sorrow. And I forget that even though “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), life is not. And Jesus’ response to my situation yesterday may not—often, will not—be the same as His response today.

Conclusion

I think these truths are why Jesus said, “You must turn and become like children” (Matthew 18:3). Children know they haven’t gotten it all figured out. They readily accept the unexpected. They’re still open to having their minds blown!

I want to see healing, restoration, and resurrection. I want to accept that the patterns and rhythms I expect from God may change in an instant. I thought I knew Jesus, but I’ve only dipped my toes into the surf of His boundless oceans. I want to cast off my water wings of preconceived notions. Only then, will Jesus guide me into the deep end where feet fail and faith floats.

“To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless.”
(Psalm 119:96)

Go Back the Way You Came

By Ife J. Ibitayo

I’ve been receiving a lot of critical feedback recently, both solicited and unsolicited. Concerning my forthcoming book, critics have said: “I think about half of what you have so far is deadweight.” And “Your characters sound like uneducated savages.” Concerning my startup idea, I’ve heard: “You don’t have the necessary industry experience.” “You don’t have the right leadership experience.” And even, “What is your role again?”

I was surprised at how deeply these verbal shards cut even when they were spewed with the best of intentions. I began to ask myself: Why is discouragement such a powerful tool to keep us from our destiny? And why is encouragement so crucial to achieving it?

My contemplation led me to the story of Elijah in the Bible, the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. This man’s prayers caused nationwide droughts (James 5:17). He called down fire from heaven on soldiers (2 Kings 1) and sacrifices alike 1 Kings 18). Elijah was the Biblical equivalent of Aang the Last Airbender. He was set apart in his generation, imbued with enviable divine power, and achieved glorious exploits.Yet even Elijah grew discouraged.

When Jezebel, the evil queen of Israel, threatened his life, Elijah fled into the wilderness. While there, Elijah said two things that reveal the dangers of discouragement.

Going Out Into the Wilderness

First, he said, “‘I’ve had enough, LORD. Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers’” (1 Kings 19:4). When we’re discouraged, we will be tempted to compare our journey with those who’ve come before us. And prophets did not have a good track record in Israel. Nearly across the board, they were persecuted, betrayed, and murdered (Acts 7:52). So what made Elijah special?

Likewise, if we ever want to achieve anything meaningful in our lives, the stats will never be in our favor. For example, only 1 in 4 authors will find a publisher for their completed manuscript. And of these lucky few, only 1 in 100 will turn a profit. Similarly, 90% of all startups fail. Comparison to others can provide a useful dose of reality, but it can also be the quickest way to kill our ambitions before they leave the ground.

Secondly, Elijah said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected Your covenant, torn down your altars, and put Your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (1 Kings 19:14). When we’re discouraged, we tend to magnify our problems and minimize our progress. In so doing, we transform challenging circumstances into impossible ones.

Going Back the Way You Came

But God spoke the encouraging words this beaten down man desperately needed to hear. First, God said, “Go back the way you came,” then He commissioned him to complete his mission (1 Kings 19:15). We will all get derailed in this life. We’ll make a string of fatal errors like Winston Churchill, or we’ll get hit by a string of unlucky breaks like Klay Thompson. But we need someone to remind us why we were taking the journey in the first place. We need someone to tell us, “Go back the way you came” if we want to end the war or win the championship.

Secondly, God told Elijah, “‘I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him’” (1 Kings 19:18). When the voices of discouragement tell us that we will fail like everyone else did, we must remind ourselves that there are still those who’ve succeeded. And we could very well become one of them.

A number of stories written by people just like us do breakthrough. They win Pulitzer’s and Nobel Prizes. They change culture and inspire young children to dream of a brighter future. And they even inspire spinoffs, fan fiction, and subreddits.

Conclusion

When discouragement comes, we have only two options. We can stay in the wilderness and lament the loss of the naïve dream we once cherished. Or we can “go back the way we came” and keep on fighting.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

(Galatians 6:9)

Doubt (The Terrifying Trio Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Faith is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. It can uproot mountains (Matthew 21:21) and tear down strongholds (Joshua 6:1-27). That is why doubt is one of Satan’s most potent weapons to attack the kingdom of God.

Speaking of the crippling impact of doubt, the apostle James said, “When you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” (James 1:6-8). These verses provide deep insight into the destructive power of doubt.

The Context

First, the Greek word translated “doubt” in this passage is diakrino. According to HELPS Word-studies, “diakrinos means literally to judge ‘back-and-forth’. It can refer either positively to close reasoning or negatively to over judging. Only the context indicates which sense is meant.”

Last week, I fielded over a dozen calls from various moving company representatives. Each of them tried to convince me that their organization was the right company for the job. I cross-examined, analyzed, and dissected every word they told me because I was going to entrust my most valuable possessions to them, yet I did not know or trust them. In that context, my paranoia was a healthy response to uncertainty and ensured that I chose the best company for the job.

On the other hand, I flew down to Florida last month. My mom told me that my dad was going to pick me up at the airport. I didn’t spend half an hour confirming that my dad was a better option than an Uber because I trust my father. And I can rely on him to show up when I need him the most.

Even though I confidently place trust in my earthly father, I struggle to do the same with my heavenly one. I find myself constantly questioning Him at every step along the journey. I’m like Peter who Jesus called out onto the water. I’ve seen God do the miraculous, yet I struggle to silence the whistling doubts that storm through my head, What if I can’t make this deadline? What if my bills are too high this month? What if I scared her away? And I sink into the tumultuous waves of analysis paralysis.

Conclusion

The answer to this double-mindedness is not to try harder. You can’t will a broken heart to trust God any more than you can will a broken clock to tell time. As an ocean of doubt floods my lungs, one verse gives me hope: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

In spite of how powerful doubt is, there is yet a power greater still: our faithful Father. Just as Jesus plucked Peter out of the water and set him on solid ground, our Father will rescue us from our doubts. We just have to remember Peter’s words, “Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:30)!

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
(Hebrews 11:1)

Standing at the Crossroads of Logic and Faith

By Ife J. Ibitayo

When I say Ananias, your eyes might light up as you remember the dishonest landowner from the book of Acts and his wife Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). But there is another, lesser known Ananias.

On the road to Damascus, a brilliant white light blinded the religious terrorist known as Saul of Tarsus. Forced to his knees and rocked to his core, Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?”

Out of that light, a voice replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:5-6). The blinded terrorist was led by his friends into the city, where he remained for three days without food or water (Acts 9:9).

In that same city was a believer known as Ananias. In a vision, God commissioned him to go to Saul and heal him. But Ananias replied, “Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name” (Acts 9:13).

But the Lord said, “Go! This man is My chosen instrument to proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 9:14).

Ananias now stood at a crossroads: Would he believe the voice of sound wisdom, reliable logic, and eyewitness accounts, or would he believe the voice of God?

The Logical Route

The strange thing about our expectation of God’s revelation is that we think He will tell us what we want to hear: “If you keep putting in the extra hours at work, you’ll definitely get promoted.” “If you keep swiping left on Tinder, you’ll certainly find your soulmate.” But, by definition, revelation is the impartation of a “surprising and previously unknown fact” that often runs contrary to the convictions we previously held.

Ananias’s trusted friends had told him how much damage Saul had wrought on the church. Logic told him that befriending terrorists is not the best way to live a long, pleasant life. But God had told him that this man was His “chosen instrument”, literally his “divinely selected vessel”, to represent Him before the entire world.

So the question remained, would Ananias trust himself, or would he trust God?

The Faith-Filled Route

This same question lies at the heart of faith today. When God says the “last shall be first and the first last” (Matthew 20:16), the “meek shall inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:11), and “the greatest among you shall be your slave” (Matthew 20:27) we should recognize that these are illogical statements.

When God tells us that the best way to get ahead at work is to spend more time with our family or that the best way to find our spouse is waiting on His timing, our common sense screams foul. But scripture after scripture emphasizes that this is the very nature of divine revelation. 1 Corinthians 1:25 says, “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom.” From our limited vantage point, many of His plans look reckless at best and foolhardy at worst. Yet like a chess grandmaster, His methods are more brilliant than we could ever imagine.

The Path Forward

Ananias’ response to this terrifying commission was obedience. “[He] went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized” (Acts 9:17-18).

Everyone knows Apostle Paul, but the catalyst for his journey, the one who literally opened his eyes, was someone just like us. He risked his life and freedom for a God-given vision, and we’re still reaping the fruit of his courage today.

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’”

(Isaiah 55:8-9)

The Heroine Kokofe

By Ife J. Ibitayo

My short story “The Heroine Kokofe” has been published and narrated in the 833 episode of Escape Pod! This is my first professional publication, and I especially enjoyed writing this story because it sits at the intersection of my two passions–faith and fiction:

Escape Pod 833: The Heroine Kokofe

Story Excerpt

Muhamolu clapped his hands together and said, “We have gathered here today for the Agba of Kokofe Lalarun. If she defeats her demon, she will be a full adult in our community when she returns. If she does not, she will be an outcast forever. It only remains for God’s Ori to provide her target. God’s will be done.

“Ori,” Muhamolu boomed, his voice echoing across the village square, “tell us your will!”

A faint, humanoid emanation appeared in front of the Kwanza’s head. It was the buggy remnants of the spacecraft’s AI, to Kokofe at least. But the villagers bowed as reverently to it as God Himself. Kokofe also sank to her knees. Of all days, today she’d need as many allies as she could get.

“For whom?” Ori said, in a deep, resonant voice. As it flickered in and out, it locked eyes on Muhamolu. The chief fixed his gaze on the dirt in somber respect.

Baba gently pushed Kokofe forward and whispered, “Say your name.”

Kokofe cleared her voice and said with as much confidence as she could muster, “Moyororokokofe Lalarun!”

“Processing,” Ori said, and it vanished for a minute. Kokofe had always wondered what it did when it disappeared. The strange cross-referencing associations it made between the colonists’ names and the colony’s animals was still very much beyond her. It returned and said, “Akata.” A hologram of a humongous hairless canine with savage fangs and the Devil’s eyes glared down at them.

An old woman shrieked, and someone muttered in their native tongue of Yoruhili, “The accursed have no luck.”

“God’s Ori has spoken!” Muhamolu boomed, but there was a quaver in his voice. “His will be done.”

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Yrq3w1BkSmmaGZ9geXfk5?si=9aa812a50d5b4ee6