INTRODUCTION

The post I am about to publish is a booklet I presented on my retirement party. The attendees went home with copies of the booklet. I wrote some parts in reported or indirect speech and some other places in direct speech. I'm afraid it can't contain in one post. Therefore, permit me to divide the post into smaller posts of equal quality. I'm very much convinced within my heart that you will surely like it: It is really my own life story.

PREAMBLE

The will of God is easy to discover but hard to do.The will of God is always contrary to humans'nature. Sometimes God likes you to go contrary to nature or reasons. Sometimes God's will seems as foolishness to human wisdom. The way God does things is always His own way. That is faith. "Faith is following God's will. Sometimes people will call it "foolishness". One can say that faith is foolishness because faith sometimes does not correspond with reasons. Following the will of God is faith "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous (Ps 16 NKJV)" ".…He leads me in the paths of righteousness, For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil … Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life … (Psa. 23:3-6 NKJV)." All the experiences of Rev. John 0.Odum "God's will". They are profitable for doctrine, instruction and admonition". "If l tell you the story of my life you will feel it" - an ancient popular song.
That is the main reason, Rev. Odum always cover his past. He believes with Paul when he said, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are a head (Phil 3:13 NKJV)".

Paul forgot the past as to push forward for greater achievement, for the future is greater than the past. "GOD'S WILL" is a narrative write-up of a minister of God in Nigeria whose life is full of education. There are a lot of moral lessons which this life story portrays.

The very minister of God we interviewed, worked fulltime with one of the great denominations in Nigeria called "Assemblies of God Nigeria from 1985 to 2020 (i.e.35 solid years) in Nine different local churches, within nine sections, and in four district administrative units.
He passed through "good and bad experiences" before his retirement at the age of sixty, after thirty-five years of unbroken services. He retired at a very young age voluntarily as the organization permits.
The minister was born on the sixth day of March 196o into the family of Late Mr. and Mrs. Onwubiko Odum of Umuobasi Amankalu lgbere in Bende L.G.A. of Abia State of Nigeria. The story started from the death of his father at seven years when he assumed leadership position as the sole administrator of his mother's kitchen.
There are some good lessons to help everyone who goes through this story. The youths will see what can help them from his wide range of experiences within teenage-hood.

Every thing in my life is always the will of God. Sometimes I do not understand it until it comes out fully. Let us define the topic "GOD'S WILL" very well. The will of God means what the Almighty God deserves, needs, demands in my life. In other words, what pleases God in my life. People think that suffering is always as a result of sin or mistake. Sometimes, it is the perfect will of God for one to go through such trials and temptation or persecutions in order to benefit someone else.

Take for example, Joseph, the son of Jacob. God showed him in dreams how great he would be. God did not show him the suffering that would lead to that greatness. He started to suffer greatly from his brothers first. He was humiliated and was sold as a slave in the Egyptian slave market. He suffered humiliation from the wife of Captain Potipher. Put in prison without fair hearing as a rapist. It was not easy for Joseph in the prison. He turned his situation into prison ministries with all joy, instead of complaining and murmurings. He became the prison pastor. But at the fullness of the training God, at the completion of the training, he graduated with an honor as the second in command in the nation of Egypt. The Bible records “And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you.
And they came near. And he said, l am Joseph your brother whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life (Gen.45:4-5).

"For these two years hath the famine was in the land: and yet there are five years, in which there will neither bearing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God; and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt" (Gen. 45:6-8).

NOTE:

If you are interested in the post and will like to get in touch of such-like daily, please consider following me @revjohno upvote and reblog the post - Thanks.

Disclaimer:

This article is fully composed and written by me @revjohno. I wrote most of the contents in reported speech (indirect speech), and few other places in a direct speech.

It is nothing but style of writing.