It is with great delight, that I welcome you to the month of May our month of Divine Turnaround. It is my prayer that God will give you a turn around in all the facets of your life where you desire and need to have a turn around. As a retired employee of a refinery, the word turnaround means a lot to me. When the various units of the refinery like the heater, the reforming unit, the Fluid Catalytic Unit and various other units break down, management has no choice than to carry out a major turnaround maintenance.

Turnaround maintenance happens when there is a total shut down of the plant units so that major repairs can be carried out to enable the plant run productively, effectively and efficiently again.  Many times, the manufacturers of specific equipment and seasoned experts are involved, it costs a lot of money too.  The main goal is to ensure the turnaround maintenance is properly done and the plant can run again to enable it produce various products: diesel, petrol, kerosene and LPG which the nation needs to run different parts of the economy.

This month the Holy Spirit like a GPS will like to guide you to look at different parts of your life, marriage, business, character, ministry, relationships, finances and see where it has broken down or never functioned and you can carry out a turnaround maintenance.  Maybe what you need is just a U-turn, like the classical case of Paul of Tarsus who was persecuting the church but Jesus helped him to make a U-turn for the better.

If you are wallowing in sin, wickedness, drug addiction, involved in kidnapping, banditry, insurgency, persecuting your nation, destroying your company it is time for your turn around. Also, if you have been downtrodden, frustrated, shattered, impoverished, sick, rejected, jilted, cheated, abused, persecuted, God is ready this month to give you a lift and turn around for a better life! Jesus said “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt 11:28. Jesus is not a mechanic that repairs, He is a manufacturer that replaces malfunctioning components, this month come to him for your turn around!

What is turn around?

The process of changing a plan, business, or system that is unsuccessful and making it successful. As mentioned above it could be to repair something that has broken down and make it to function better. Turn around is about realizing the futility of going in a wrong direction and making a U-turn.  In spiritual parlance it is recognizing that you are a sinner working against God and returning to your maker. It is about you returning from your backslidden state to the warm embrace of your heavenly father like that of the prodigal son: “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee” Lk 15:18. In the financial circle it is coming from a place of lack to a place of prosperity.

In terms of health, it is from a place of deteriorated health, physically or mentally to a place of regaining your mental faculty and total health. Turn around for a student is from a state of No Future Ambition (NFA), truancy, unseriousness, failure to do assignments, pass exams or even attend classes to a new orientation that makes such a person the best in their class. An example is that of Ben Carlson who used to be the last in his class to become one of the best neurosurgeons of his generation.

A desirable turn around is that a notorious gangster, tout, insurgent, armed or pen robber, kidnapper, rapist, serial killer, terrorist, drug addict, gun toting herdsman turns around and becomes a person of nobility in the society. A marital turnaround is when couples who are always fighting, arguing, abusing one another, maybe even separated or divorced reconcile, renew their vows and build their marriage to the envy of their detractors and mockers. What does turn around mean to you?

What is divine turnaround?

Divine means supernatural, in the realm of the miraculous. Divine turnaround means God will move or cause us to change on all sides. God will reverse the irreversible, for example a woman without womb gets pregnant and bears children.  A paralyzed man without medication or any therapy, but at the mention of the name of Jesus stands up to walk. Or like Jesus did, calling the dead body of Lazarus after four days to life. That which you have lost and you think is gone, God will bring it back. When God changes your story from good to better, from better to best. Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: ‘Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’” – 2 Kings 7:1 And it was so. Hard to believe but I see a divine turn around for Nigeria! I see God with his wrath avenging the blood of the righteous that are being killed.

Facts about Divine Turnaround.

1.  With God there is no impossibility. “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Lk1:37   God can turn dead situations back to life.  In Ezekiel 37:11, out of the disorder, God brought divine order. Out of scattered dry bones he raised a living army!

2.  God can turn bad news to good news (2 kings 20:1-5).The ammonites and Moabites gathered against Jehoshaphat. They destroyed themselves just by Jehoshaphat’s choir praising God! All the enemies of your life, spouse, children family should either repent or perish!

3. God can turn around your, captivity, bondage and `weeping to joy. “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.” Psalm 126:1-2. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5

4.      God can create a world, destroy it and remake it. God can change darkness to light. “And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them “Gen 6: 7. God does not only turn things around on a positive note but even on a negative note don’t be on the wrong side of God. Very dangerous!

5.     That challenge has expiry date. That you are righteous and upright as a Christian doesn’t give you immunity against the trouble of life. However, bear in mind every problem has an expiry date like your VISA card! “For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.” Prov 23:18. God has set a time for going through the test and also a time for bringing you out. Give God time to work on your file.

6. Don’t go about looking for trouble because you know God can turn situations around. “And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Matt 4:12 A Yoruba adage says “F’olorunso ko kin fi okun ogede gun ope.” (Don’t tempt God) If you are told to wear a mask, keep social distancing, wash your hands to avoid contacting coronavirus do so. Don’t sleep around and think you are a Christian therefore immune to HIV/AIDS, Syphilis, STI/STD, apart from the fact that you are sinning against God you are mortgaging your future.

How NOT to experience divine turn around

 God can perform a miracle to motivate an unbeliever to accept Jesus. Most believers expect such turn around miracles all the time irrespective of their behavior. No. You cannot experience turn around when you are a child of God and you are walking in disobedience. Behaving as if God doesn’t matter. Ridiculing the word of God. Learn from the man at the gate of Samaria – Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.2 King 7:2. There was a turnaround as Elisha prophesied but the official died during the stampede. Many of us are unbelieving believers that is why we are not experiencing mouthwatering miracles. Your pastor under genuine anointing makes a proclamation, even when you did not verbalize it you despised it in your spirit. You cannot experience a turnaround when you always see yourself as a grasshopper, wretched, unfit, misfit, never do well, jinxed, cursed and incapable. You cannot experience divine turn around when you don’t believe in the miracle working Jesus. The God of turnaround is here today, for you to experience a turnaround. If you are not yet born again, I invite you to accept Jesus today.

How can we experience turnaround?

1. Renounce all known sins, accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. John the Baptist and Jesus simple prescription is “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is here” We are in a generation where people live all kinds of lifestyles and expect God to answer their prayer just because they showed up in church on Sunday or joined a zoom prayer meeting. God deals with people on a relational basis. Always be in good standing with God, then expect the best from God. Can you be in sin and say the grace of should abound? The great book said NO!
2. Identify the area you need a turnaround. Bartimaeus the blind man was asked by Jesus “what do you want me to do for you”? Where do you desire a turnaround? “That I might receive my sight”, he declared.  From that day, he saw his own complexion, clothes, food and relations. I declare by the grace and power of God; you shall experience a turnaround today in Jesus’ name. All the opportunities you have been blinded to shall become clear. Where some people need turn around may not be very obvious, so you may need to listen to God, or people to identify it.
3.  Develop a strategy for the turnaround. Your strategy will depend on the area you desire your turnaround. The strategy for a turnaround in your business will be different from the one to turn around your ministry or marital challenges.  There are many areas but let us focus on these three areas for example.
4. Firstly, business turnaround. The environment you are doing the business matters. If for instance the decline was due to corrupt staff very prevalent in Africa, you have to device a better way to safeguard how you collect your revenue, maybe you avoid cash payment. If for instance it is low patronage due to ineffective marketing strategy then spend on marketing and expect a better return. If it is bad customer relations or bad reviews on the internet or due to poor quality, find a way to enhance your quality and get good reviews. Most people now buy products based on internet reviews.  Do what it takes.
5.  Secondly, ministry. There is so much decline in church attendance in our generation, COVID-19 has even compounded it. Remember, there are three levels of change or development in a church: Minor change, major change, and transformational change.  Minor changes are when a new carpet is installed, or the facility is painted. We had a decline in our church some time ago, after we invested money in the building, we witnessed a turn around. In a place like Canada nobody wants to worship in a substandard environment. That could mean a major change for some. It was for us a new heater and A/C. Major changes also occur when people develop new perspectives and act in certain ways. They demonstrate a willingness to try new things or embrace new ways of doing things even though there may be some reluctance at first.  Transformational change is noticed when there is a radical modification in belief and practice. This latter type of change is ultimately what pastors will want the congregation to experience. In order to achieve this change, Pastors will need to: 1). look for teachable moments; 2.) envision a preferable future; 3.) help people gain ownership of the vision; 4.) assess and prioritize the situation to see what it will take to actualize the vision; 5.) mobilize support for the vision; 6.) initiate steps and strategies to fulfil the vision. We are still praying that our church members will take ownership of International Gathering of Eagles. It will happen!
6. Thirdly, marriage. Three things usually cause marital issues:  management of money, sex and communication (respect, love etc).If you are the stingy person in the home, change. If you are the one that makes conjugal issues complex, for instance asking for tollgate or always acting tired, or making yourself unromantic or unavailable, change. If you are the one that frustrates the relationship either through your acidic and corrosive words or tone or body language, please change. It takes a lot for turnaround to happen in marriages but it is not impossible. Just know that bad situations can turn around with a good strategy. Many years ago God used me to make a turnaround in a marriage  that they have divorced themselves and separated for over ten years. That God will turn the bitterness in your marriage to bliss in Jesus’ name.
7.       Prayer. Prayer is a major key in experiencing a turnaround in your life.  The lyrics of a popular songs says – Prayer is the key/ Prayer is the key/ Prayer is the master key/ Jesus started with prayer and ended with prayer /Prayer is the master key. It Is not just prayer but prayer through the name of Jesus. Money is good but there are many things that money cannot buy, for instance good health, otherwise many rich people will still be alive. God is still in the business of answering prayer. There are ingredients or rules guiding an effective prayer, every prayer is not effective. For Prayer to be effective, James said: “Is any of you is afflicted let him pray … let him be anointed, in the name of the Lord… the prayer of faith…if he has committed sin, confession and forgiveness of sin…Elijah was a man of like passion” Unfortunately, people depend on prayer contractors and pastors for a turnaround instead of dedicating themselves to fasting, praying earnestly and getting desired results.

Conclusion

It is never too late for you to have a turnaround in your career, finance, relationship, or any situation that looks hopeless. Your mind might not be able to fathom how God will do it but He will. You also may think it is all over for you because of your inadequacies and the odds stacked against you, but God specializes in giving life to the dead and calling things to be, that did not exist. Our God is an expert in upgrading the unqualified and showing favor to the forgotten. So, rest assured, even in what seems like the worst-case scenario, God’s power can break through like the rays of the sun to give you a divine turnaround and wipe away former devastations, frustrations and desolations. Comrade hold the forte Jesus is coming. Expect a turnaround and expect the coming of the Lord.

Dr Amos Dada, a Chemical Engineer turned preacher is the Superintendent, Christ Apostolic Church Canada and Convener, International Gathering of Eagles Conference, that happens third week of September every year. You can follow him on @dada_amos. FB amos.dada.5. YouTube/dramosdada.