Stories of Faith: A Girl’s Walk With Her Lord (6)

Heb 11: 1 KJV 

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  

Heb 11: 1 AMP 

Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. 

Heb 11: 1 EASY 

This is what it means to trust God: We will be sure about the things that we hope for. We will be sure in our minds about things that we cannot even see.

I would like to start today's blog by expressing my gratitude to everyone who has read and shared this with others. I really appreciate it. I applaud the courage of everyone who drops their feedback in the comments section. I also applaud those who cannot do that but who reach out in the DMs via WhatsApp and Instagram to share feedback and ask questions. It has inspired me, and it now makes sense why the Lord asked me to write this.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for sharing with others. I'm more glad that it's boosting your courage and lighting your fire to go deeper in your walk with God and/or execute the mission on your hands. This is the last episode of my NYU faith journey, except God says I missed something. I might feature other people's stories in the near future. If you have a story of faith that led to marriage, childbirth, work, study abroad, promotion or anything else, feel free to reach out. Your story might help someone else.

Penultimate Semester

By September 2023, I was now a veteran; nobody could shake me because I had successfully navigated two years with God's outstretched hand. I had selected and chosen courses I really wanted. I even did one in El Salvador as part of a study abroad course. I had travelled to several cities and countries. My Google Maps travel history at the end of each year was always a marvel to me. I had enjoyed beautiful experiences. I had an on-campus job doing things I loved with senior colleagues I admired. I had just a few good friends from my class because the detour I experienced put me in between two sets (Special shout out to Kazybek, my friend and study buddy, who made sure I passed Financial Management). I had paid some tuition, almost at the last minute, but paid anyway on God's bill. I now had one and a half semesters left. 

The final $5000 from my $20,000 scholarship was applied in September. I added some money I had saved from working (NYU’s pay for graduate students is not bad at all), but I still had a long way to go. As usual, I asked the Lord a question I asked every semester, “How are WE paying this semester?” He said, “Don't worry, enjoy”. Before, this statement used to give me a headache, but now, I had experienced too much of God's favour on this journey to second-guess that statement. In fact, a statement I had made a lot to friends was “I spend favour as currency” because that was my reality. So,  I went about living my life. In October, I traveled to Canada because my friend, Tolase, offered to host me and any friend I could bring. By November, I went to see family in Nigeria very briefly because I still had to go to Australia for the World Safety Congress. I had been informed that I was not just coming as a Fellow, but I had been selected to participate in a Talking Safety video series with a few selected safety professionals. 

Towards the end of the month, I received a call from the bursar’s office about payment. I let them know that they would get their money before the deadline. By now, those calls had lost their sting on me. So on my flight to Australia in the last week of November, I asked the Lord again, “How are WE paying this semester?” And He said, “You will make a presentation to your Dean of Students.” I had some concerns about God’s choice due to what had happened in the Spring semester, but I wrote it down in my to-do list and focused on enjoying my time in Australia. 

During the interview in Australia

While in Australia, I received another email from the conference organisers stating that I had been selected as one of two attendees from over 3,000 to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This was quite a surpirse because the Sydney Harbour Bridge is an important cultural landmark in Australia. I knew this was God again because here I am at a serious conference, and He's giving me a tourist activity for fun. I didn’t waste the opportunity. When I got to the highest point, I made one of my confessions that is related to territories because it was symbolic for me (IG reel). I enjoyed the rest of my time in Australia and even reconnected with one of my colleagues from YALI RLC. After I prayed with him, I kind of sensed that that was the real reason God sent me to Australia. You know, success metrics with God is a different ball game.

Immediately I returned to New York in the first week of December, I emailed the Dean requesting an audience. He shared his availability and wanted to know what the meeting was about. I was vague in my response because I did not want to be shut down before I had a chance to present my case. I started working on my presentation slides. The goal of the presentation was to show the Dean my accomplishments since my arrival in the US with limited resources. As I prepared the slides, God kept reminding me of details and even pictures from my Google Photos to add. The presentation was in three parts: my accomplishments, my ask, and what I could do for the school on account of granting my ask.

My friends are never worried about me making a presentation, but I was a bit concerned because I mean, what's the correlation between making a presentation and the tuition I needed? However, I was emboldened to do this because during the Kingdom Leadership Convention (KLC), which was a few days before my meeting with the Dean, Pastor Chingtok had said, "The degree of your confidence determines the results you will have." So I decided to go ahead, I mean, what's the worst that could happen? The Dean would listen and say there's nothing He could do. Or maybe they will approve something small. Then I will go back to God and say I did what He asked me to do.

On D-Day, I made the presentation. First, the Dean was shocked that I had a presentation deck. Second, he said, "Close that laptop, you will not need to present to any other person. We will sort this out today". He took me to the person in charge of scholarships, and on our way, he advised me. When I met the lady, she asked a few questions to understand the situation and then said, "I've heard you're a great student and we will do our best to help you graduate. Looking at your balance, if you can pay xxxx (about 20%), we will cover xxxx (about 80%) for you." I said, "what?" She repeated herself and the tears flowed because I knew this was God. All these happened in less than an hour. I sent the 20% that day because I had it, and the scholarship was applied. The name of that scholarship is the “Hammad Scholarship”. Hammad is of Arabic origin, and it means the one who praises God. Can you beat that? That day, 6th December, 2023, was when I knew with certainty that I was graduating in May 2024. On my way home, I wrote the caption for my social media graduation post. 

This was the cover of my slide. Maybe one day I'd run the presentation.

Wins and More Wins 

In my final semester, I had two major projects to tie up. The first was my capstone project, where my team, led by me, consulted for one of the top family foundations in New York. The second was the NYU Impact Investment Fund (NIIF), where my team had a chance to represent NYU at the global Turner MIINT competition for business schools around the world. I wanted my team at NYU to be the one to represent NYU. We did the work, but I also prayed, and the Lord asked me, “Why do you want it?” Honestly, I was surprised because this course was one of the reasons I came to this school, and He was there from the beginning. So I started explaining myself on the importance and linked it to the work He had earmarked for me. Among the two teams that competed within NYU, my team won. God made us have favour with our audience. I was so excited that we would be going to the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, to compete against 32 schools.

However, I was just excited to go; I wasn’t thinking of winning, and it showed in how I packed my luggage. I had packed a suit for the semi-finals, and I just packed a nice dress that I’d wear for the finals as I watched other finalists. And the Lord said to me, “How are you preparing to go for a competition and you are not planning to win?” I stuttered. In order not to be disobedient, I packed one pants suit, but I did not remove the dress. I kept it as backup because I did not have much faith. Even so, I thank God that sometimes, our little faith is just enough for what He wants to do. During the semi-finals, I thought my team did great, but amongst the team, there was cautious optimism. It was too cautious that when our name was called out to proceed to finals, we couldn’t even cheer because we were not sure we heard well, lol.

That night, we rehearsed like our lives depended on it and incorporated all the feedback from the judges. We made our pitch and answered all the hot questions from the investment committee. I think I did a great job with that, which led to an Impact Alpha interview. Thanks to my amazing team, we broke a record for NYU. For the first time in its history of participating in that competition, we made the top 3, and we were the only US school in the mix. We placed third (see pictures and reel). We were not even in first place, but when an article was written on the competition, our picture was on the cover. Somebody say, FAVOUR!

My team and some of the Turner MIINT organisers

Another significant win was the Dr. Patricia M. Carey Changemaker Award. My friend Laiza had said she’d nominate me. I agreed but didn’t think too much of it until she sent me her nomination responses; even I was impressed. I noticed that this award highlighted service, “This award recognizes two individuals who serve as advocates for the betterment of communities across difference and personify what it means to be leaders and changemakers. The recipients of this award demonstrate a commitment to enriching and providing service to their communities, as exemplified by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Patricia M. Carey (Steinhardt ’82).” What I did just to support had earned me school-wide honour. It was a beautiful event (pictures and reel). I kept thanking God for the honour, and one day, He was tired of me and said, “But why are you still surprised and thanking me? I said it would happen. Check your journal.” I had forgotten that the Lord said this in 2021 before I even travelled. He kept His word.

But that wasn’t the end. Before graduation, the School of Public Service nominated me as a contender for Student Commencement Speaker. Usually, all schools send their nominees, and the committee selects four finalists for interviews. I was one of the four finalists out of a 30,000-student body. I was not the commencement speaker, but the fact, I made it to the top four showed me what God needed me to see.  On graduation day, I walked across the stage to receive the Robert Berne Award for Leadership. An award “for significant contribution to the NYU Wagner community, participation in admission activities, and raising the profile of the school.” Graduation was a beautiful experience with my family and friends (pictures and reel). In hindsight, I see that the reason the Lord asked me to make a presentation to the Dean of Students in 2023 was because He wanted the leadership to become aware of the calibre of student they had. I think that’s what got me some of the positive graduation experiences I received. After graduation, through the Female Founders Fellowship of the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, I received the Mark and Debra Leslie Fellowship worth $20,000 to alleviate any outstanding tuition costs. This was how my final semester tuition got cleared, and NYU was paid in full.

My friends and family

There are so many blessings that have occurred in my life as a result of this NYU faith journey. But I will stop here. One thing I will never forget is that God asked me to jump, and when it seemed like I was falling, He caught me, elevated me, and took me to the other side. He made me walk on water. I hope you have the courage to also step out in faith.

Thank you for reading to this point.

The End!

Key Lessons

1. Tiny faith is a great place to start because the faith muscle is built on the way. Not always at the beginning. Not when you’re static. It is developed as you go. This is also the reason God grows us in phases. The first day you go to the gym, it will be unwise to do numerous reps of 20kg. You start small, and as you grow, you have the capacity for more.

2. When God gives an instruction, no matter what it sounds like, do your best to obey. It’s for your own good. Your obedience today is the foundation for tomorrow’s blessings.

3. Examine the motives of your requests. When your request has ulterior motives, it might not get the preferred response. When Hannah adjusted her motives for wanting a child, Samuel was born. Samuel was one of the notable prophets of the Bible. What are you believing God for? Examine your motive.

4. God’s metric of success is different from that of man. Therefore, it is important to know what is important to God so that you are not bothered by metrics that do not matter in the grand scheme of things. 

5. God can be trusted. He keeps His Word and I am living proof. Isaiah 55: 11 AMPC “So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

6. Enjoy your life. Find joy in your days. Many times, people will not be able to figure you out. They think they know you, but do not understand how your case is always different. You are not obligated to keep explaining to everybody.

Do you have a personal relationship with God?

God desires to have a personal relationship with you. A relationship is a daily walk and not just a visit to church on Sunday. My pastor at Times Square Church, Tim Dilena, always says getting into a relationship with God is as simple as ABC.

A - Admit that you are a sinner

B - Believe that God sent His son to die for your sins and raised him from the dead

C - Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour

Say this simple prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God. I believe that on the cross, you took my sin, my shame, and my guilt; and you died for it. I believe that you faced hell for me, so I would not have to go, and you rose from the dead, to give me a place in heaven, a purpose on earth, and a relationship with your Father. Today Lord Jesus, I turn from my sin to be born again. God is my Father, Jesus is my Savior, the Holy Spirit is my Helper, and Heaven is now my home. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Get connected with a Bible believing Church. If you’re in the United States, connect with Times Square Church. If you’re in Nigeria, connect with The Covenant Nation.

UPDATE

A book is coming. All you've read is just section 2 in the book. There will be sections 1, 3, and 4. Pray for me.