A Strange Encounter

I was checking into a hotel somewhere in Lagos in January 2023 at about 2 pm.

I use this hotel a lot whenever I am in Nigeria, and all the staff know me by name

As they were processing my bags through their scanning machine, I stood with one of their concierges, and we had some small talk

He asked how I was and also asked how my wife and children, who often stayed with me at the hotel, were

I replied to him that they were all fine

Suddenly, a man was standing by my right side, it was as if he appeared from nowhere, he touched my elbow and said, "Good afternoon, Brother Gbenga."

I looked at him and was a bit startled, but I recovered quickly.

I greeted the man.

He was wearing a navy-blue T-shirt, combat trousers, and a pair of trainers

He asked if he could see me for a minute

I was tempted to ask him to wait until I had checked in properly before giving him audience, but I didn't want to offend him, so I excused myself from the concierge and walked with him to the seats at the reception.

As soon as I sat down, the man said, I was asked to come to this hotel and wait for you by the Lord Jesus Christ.

He sent me a message for you

He said you are about to get into one of the stormiest seasons of your life, but you should not fret because every experience he has taken you through before now was deliberately curated to build you up so that you can go through this storm without many scars.

I saw you swimming, you were making steady progress, and once every other minute, you would lift up your head to take in some air before diving right back into the pool. This was how the Lord says the issues shall be spaced.

He said you should "Be strong and trust Him much more than you have ever done before in your life."

I said, "Thank you, sir."

He said, "Starting from the month of March this year, you will begin to experience some drastic changes.

They could have all happened at once, but when I was praying, I intervened and asked the Lord to space them out because it felt to me like too much, too soon.

He said, "The foundations of trust around you will be shaken, and some will crack. Some will find their way back, and some will never look back once they part ways with you. Take this as part of the grand design for the new beginnings ahead of you."

He said, "The Lord said to tell you that you will outgrow your clothes quickly, and you will have to sew another one that is much bigger to accommodate your excess weight.

Do not fret when it is time to do this; rather, rejoice, for the Lord has predetermined in his heart to enlarge your coast and make you great. Where you are now, your eyes cannot see much because it is in another man's vision.

For you, it is as far as your eyes can see, so the Lord will take you to the place where you can have unobscured lines of sight and possess without any hindrance."

I nodded

Then he said, "You will court scandal, but I will shield you from them all, says the Lord, I will protect your inheritance and subvert the intentions of those who might want to act venomously against you. I saw many snakes spewing their venom at you, but it was as if you were wearing a hamza suit; the venom could not touch you. The Lord really loves you."

At this point, I felt a deep stirring within me.

The man was speaking to me with his eyes closed, as if he were reliving the visions he saw and the words he heard from the Lord.

I started feeling the warmth of the Holy Spirit bubbling from within my spirit, and at the same time, I felt this warm embrace all over my shoulder and my head as if I was being hugged from behind and from the front simultaneously.

I naturally do not accept prophecy from anyone outside of my fellowship as a rule, because the Bible said there are so many strange spirits that have gone forth into the world.

This was not just some random prophet, i was very much convinced he was an angel of the Lord at this point.

The man then said, "You have been praying for one of your brothers who is battling for his accommodation abroad. His wife reached out to you for prayers and support. Tell her that I have taken care of it and brought back the days of dancing and rejoicing.

He gave some other prophecies pertaining to those very close to me and shared with me intimate details that no one else could have known.

I listened with my spirit

Then he said, "By the Year of Jubilee of your ministry, the Lord said the storm would have been completely taken care of, and you would have come out of it unscathed.

The secret is to go through this trying season with thanksgiving and a heart full of joy, so that the days will not be prolonged. The more joyful you are, the weaker the strength of the storm shall be."

The Lord said you must trust Him with all your heart.

He said you must be deliberate with your trust and you must be deliberate in the decisions you make, especially regarding leaning on the Lord for guidance and leaning on people or your own understanding.

The Lord said you believe you are very smart, but you should put your smartness aside and follow him like a sheep through this season.

The Lord says to assure you of His love!

Then the man stood up and made to leave

I followed him and asked him for his name and phone number

He smiled and said, "If the Lord wanted you to have it, He would reveal it to you the same way he revealed yours to me."

And he left.

I checked into my room with a heart full of information and revelation.

One thing I was sure of at the time was that this man was an angel.

The things he said to me began to happen in the month of March 2023

Like he said, it was as if it were deliberately timed and spaced out so that I was able to cope and adjust with every development as they came.

I give glory to God for every victory won on every side

He has the victory.

The prophecy about me gaining excess weight has also come to pass, but it was not physical weight.

I outgrew my current accommodation, and I had to move

I am moving with songs of praise and gratitude in my mouth

Rehoboth was my first house, and it held a lot of sentimental value and feelings deep in my heart.

It was a miracle house that God built for me right in the middle of Covid, and since I moved there, I have prospered beyond my wildest dreams as a minister of the gospel.

I got a message from the authorities who owned the land I built the house on to vacate the building before seventy-two hours at 3 pm on Friday.

They gave me the land to build on when I was a pastor in the denomination, and I had since then left the denomination in the pursuit of my destiny in Christ.

I am grateful to the denomination and the Lord for keeping me in this location through the most beautiful season of my life so far.

The storm came, and it was ferocious, but I landed in a wealthy place.

God is faithful unto me on every side.

I bless His Holy name.

Now, the man who gave me that message turned out not to be an angel after all.

He was a servant of God, like I am.

I got a call from a man in 2024.

The man needed my urgent intervention in a matter, and I told the man I would pray about it and get back to him.

As soon as I got off the call from the man, my phone buzzed, and it was a WhatsApp message

This man, the one who gave me the prophecy in 2023, was the one who sent me the message

He greeted me and wrote, "Tell the man who just reached out to you that the Lord said the matter before the tribunal has been sorted and he has the victory".

I checked Truecaller and discovered his identity.

I bless the Lord for sending help ahead of me to prepare me for the seasons ahead of my life.

The Lord be praised forever. Amen.

PS: The GSWMI prophetic service is every Wednesday, and we do it online. You can join from anywhere in the world at your convenience.

I am inviting you to be a part of it. 

How prophecy has guided and shaped my life, I cannot explain in full, but it is evident to all that without it, I would not be awake this morning, writing one of the most beautiful thanksgiving letters to the Lord as I am doing now.

It is time to complete phase one of His City of refuge!

Glory be to God