Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, on Sunday urged Nigerians not to despair due to challenges in the country, saying God would restore the glory to the people if they turned to him.
He made the call while delivering a sermon at the 2019 Harvest Thanksgiving of St. Philip’s Anglican Church, Asaba.
The governor, who preached on the theme, “Harvest of Restoration,” said that challenges might come not as a punishment but to draw the people closer to God.
“We are a peculiar people and peculiar people are not to suffer any loss; our God is a restorer. He knows our needs and we should know that the promise of divine restoration is tied to our repentance.
“Prophet Joel urged Israel to repent to enable them get divine restoration; a lot of things are going wrong and all that we do is complain and complain but our restoration lies in the power of God, only when we pray fervently and with repentance.
“We should ensure that our repentance is real because the Lord is able to recreate, sanctify us if our intentions are genuine.
“The Lord is able to provide answers to our questions; He is a covenant keeper and He cannot lie.
“Our Lord is ever faithful; many of us are looking for help elsewhere, it is better to trust in God than in man because, setbacks are only challenges in disguise.
“See your challenges as stepping stones to move on; there is no limitations to whatever God does, there is nothing that He cannot do,” he said.
The governor added that restoration was dependent on repentance, insisting that people must learn to trust God always, no matter the situation.
According to him, divine restoration talks about a whole lot of things, your finances, your health, spiritual life, family and several others; whatever your challenge is, know that God is on the throne.
“Seek Him and note that obedience is very keen if you are to have restoration because the Lord said He will give you beauty for ashes, He cannot be limited.
“We should learn to glorify the name of the Lord always bearing in mind that if we fail to glorify His name, He is capable of raising up dry bones to praise Him,” he said.
The service featured special prayers for the nation, the state, Christians, and special thanksgiving by the governor and his family, among others.
