GOAT MILK(CONTINUED)

I went to the pharmacy specified to inquire about the medications prescribed by the physician. Only to discover that they were almost prohibitively expensive. However, I bought the first set, since there were four categories of them, and proceeded to take the drug soon after it was dispensed to me. After taking it for five days I was alarmed to observe that the swelling in my legs had worsened. I discontinued the dosage immediately but now it was obvious that the doctor had risen to the highest level of his incompetence, impotence, and downright inability. Where was I to turn? I didn’t have to ponder upon this question for any appreciative period of time. By virtue of my own previous experiences, I went down in prayer and supplicated God’s throne of grace for His merciful intervention. But why would I even think of pursuing such a course? In fact, it is a Judeo-Christian biblical injunction! We are counseled,

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” Psalm 50:12-15 (NKJV).

Praying to God, especially about my problems, had been my practice over the years and it was second nature to me now. The time in my apartment was around 12:30 A.M. After concluding my prayer I left my living room (hall), where I routinely prayed, and returned to bed. I didn’t have to wait long for a response to my plea for divine intervention. Suddenly I heard a goat bleating. I looked into my unlit bathroom since the door was open, and the light was turned off. I saw two horns. The loud bleating continued. I got out of my bed, returned to the living room, and sat down on the couch from where I normally conduct my devotions. My attention was drawn toward the dining room and as I looked, there was a female goat. She was bleating loudly continuously and standing on her hind legs. Her two breasts were engorged with milk. Her nipples were turgid and milk was spewing out of them. I came to the realization that I was experiencing a vision. I understood it to mean that I had to obtain some goat milk as soon as possible and then drink it in order to be healed of my medical condition. I offered thanksgiving and praise to God for this revelation. As soon as the day broke I started calling around to see if some friends in Berekum could help me. Their response was that “The queen’s mother had banned all goats from Berekum and now there were none remaining in the town. Therefore obtaining goat milk was simply out of the question.”

No one should allow himself to be seduced into thinking that visions/dreams are strange and alien phenomena. They have been part of the waft and weft of human history since time immemorial. The patriarch Abraham was warned in a dream of The Hebrew’s subjection to bondage for four hundred years. The prophet Noah was warned in visions and dreams of the destruction of the antediluvian world. By virtue of a vision, Peter was counseled not to be judgemental when he met Cornelius. Such divine revelations will continue until the end of time. We are informed:

“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28 (NKJV).

The very fact that I’m in possession of such a gift is a fulfillment of this prophecy. Although this gift of the presence of God’s Spirit. Is not generally found among impious, immoral, antinomian rejecters of God’s sacred law and grace. The very fact that I have it is an outworking of God’s wonderful love and compassion. An astounding reality for which I will forever be profoundly grateful. I have a friend in Sunyani and I contacted her by phone to present my request. She assured me in the most positive terms possible that she would ensure that I got at least one liter of goat milk. She also gave me a time period within which her promise would be realized. When the appointment came everything was a letdown. Her promise was unfulfilled. Not because she was negligent or had failed to try. It was just that difficult to obtain goat milk in Ghana. I ran into a gentleman from the village of NSoatre. A place where there are several goat shepherds. After I succeeded in communicating my desire to him he assured me that we could go to the said village together to easily obtain some goat milk. The very next day we boarded a taxi at The Berekum Station which regularly traverses that journey. When we arrived at our destination we disembarked and boarded another Okada (local three-wheeled taxi) that dropped us off at the local chief’s mansion.

His four brothers had accompanied us and we all patiently waited for the arrival of the chief. Because according to all of them, he had something that was extremely important to communicate with me. They provided me with a comfortable chair and were considerate enough to show me around the property. The sights that I saw included various imposing thrones that had been used by the chief’s many predecessors and also pics of his forebears hanging on the walls. The chief of NSoatre was a very tall gaunt man in appearance, but also courteous and charming. By the time he finally got there, I was surprised that he had absolutely nothing to say about goat milk. What he was interested in was selling me some gold. However, he wanted me to bring the right instrument so that whatever I bought could be tested on the spot to establish its authenticity. I observed that my new acquaintances periodically pulled weed (marijuana), out of their small leather pouches and smoked it. For the life of me, I just couldn’t fathom what possible benefit any of them derived from this destructive exercise. I communicated to them that although I had lived and worked in Jamaica, and had run into many young men who regularly used weed just as they were doing. At no time did I have the slightest inkling to even experiment with their lifestyle?

Their response surprised me. “Brother James, you are a man of God. His anointing is upon your life. You don’t need this,” they asserted. Furthermore, the word of God states:  

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV).

(TO BE CONTINUED)