At a time you had health challenges, do you want to talk to us about that?
Growing up I had this challenge with my respiration and it was a difficult time because I had to struggle to breathe. It started when my siblings will talk to me that they could hear me breathe abnormally. And it became a very troublesome situation. I remember one particular time when I had a heart attack and I was taken to the hospital by my mum. I didn’t know it was anything serious, but after I was given some form of first aid, the doctor asked me to sit out. And I overheard him tell my mum that ‘look this situation you don’t have any medical solution (but) you can only manage it. So, just resort to prayers.’ But it was a very difficult time. That situation of course is very troubling; you lose energy and you struggle to do the normal things that you do with ease. And over the years I had to trust God, believe God and His word for my healing. I believe in the scripture that says ‘We shall serve the Lord our God, He shall bless your bread and your water, He shall take sicknesses away from the midst of thee.’ So, I committed myself to the service of God. Back in school, I was very much involved in ministry work, ministering in songs, ministering in the words. I led my fellowship then as the music director and as the president of the fellowship. I committed myself to the service of God and in the midst of all of that, even though there were challenges time in, time out, eventually God healed me. And here I am today, full of life.
So you are saying the service of God brought you here. Can you elaborate on that?
Yes. God loves us so much and His purpose for us is to fully maximize the benefit of the Cross. Jesus died, paid the price and by his stripe we were healed. And God expects that everyone who accepts this free gift walks in the supernatural. God loves us so well and He wants to be able to express and fully demonstrate His gift to us physically. So, when we commit ourselves to His service, He ensures that we are healthy so that we can serve more. That is what I see.
In a nutshell… you said something about what we go through deepens our relationship with God. So, how did the sickness, for instance, deepened your relationship with God?
There is a way that your experience deepens your relationship with God in that……. For me when you are in a situation that you know you don’t have any solution, there is no help from man, you can’t help yourself and you know your answer is with God, then it forces into God. When you know that your answer is with God and there is no help elsewhere naturally you want His help. So, I believe that challenges many times help us to see the light. It’s like a man in a room with complete darkness, absolute darkness and you saw a ray of light, naturally that person will run to that light because that light is a sense of hope. That is what challenges do for us. Like the doctors usually say — pain is not a problem, pain is a signal, like a check to enable us to know that something is wrong somewhere. So, I believe that the challenges of life help us to see the light. Light cannot shine except in the midst of darkness. The Bible says “darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people but the Lord shall arise upon thee….” The gross darkness around the world today actually brings advantage too to the of light of God.
‘Glorious God,’ if you like it is your signature tune. That is your most popular, that is the song that made waves within the church in Nigeria. Does that have to do with any of the things you passed through or you are passing through? What’s the story behind that song?
God is a God of relationship and He wants us to himself. Like I just, said challenges should not take us away from God. When you see challenges around your life, you should push it …because that help brings freedom from that challenge.
I think that my challenges introduced me into a place of worship, personal relationship with God. I got to know God better because I went all out to know the word of God and relationship with him. And I believe in doing that I develop a very deep fellowship with God. It’s beyond seeking answers. It became something personal. I develop the attitude of worship such that whether on the street or in the house I do it in the midst of my daily business and my heart is in worship. That song was written when I just finished work. I think I was just doing my youth service at that time in Benue State, Nigeria. I just closed from work and I was walking home and I began to worship in my spirit. As I trekked home I was worshipping in my spirit. And usually, even up till this moment when I worship, I sing new songs, I just expressed myself to Him. I was discussing with somebody recently how difficult it is for me to sing even my own songs in worship. In His presence, in worship, I like to express myself afresh. So, I was singing that song……. That was what happened. Glorious God, beautiful king, excellent God. You know there is no name on earth that can fully describe who God is. Whatever we call him is just an expression of a department of His person. Sometimes you lack words. The completion or the magnificent and the totality of God actually is usually expressed in what becomes the glory of the Lord. The glory of the Lord is a compartment of everything that God is. So, Glorious God is an attempt to just express that beauty and express the revelation of God at that time to me.
It is interesting to talk to you Elijah and to know that you are a civil engineer but now into music. How did that start?
Right from my childhood I have been into ministry of songs. As a child I could remember I usually lead the children in worship in children’s church. Over the years, as I grow up, I discovered the signs…. Yes, I studied civil engineering but even in the midst of that, like I said, I was fully engaged in the ministry of songs. I knew even while in school that I was going to pay more attention to the ministry than the civil engineering. I have practiced civil engineering just briefly but I am fully involved in the work of the ministry.
What I am hearing is that it doesn’t matter what your professional career is. I see that simply as finding your purpose in life. Having said that there are a lot of people out there probably professionally qualified in what they are doing but they are not finding fulfillment, they have not found their purpose in life. How would you advise those kinds of people?
Let me start by saying in Isaiah Chapter 43: 21, God said “This people have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise.” Foundationally God made us to showcase His praise. God wants us to live on earth as a reflection of who He is. He wants us to demonstrate His personality to our world and so it doesn’t matter what profession you engage in or whatever field you find yourself you must understand that that profession is just a tool to express the God alive and at work in you. If a man does not have a relationship with that God, no matter your level of success you are going to feel empty.
So, how do they get that relationship with God?
Very important, very simple. God, by His love for us gave Jesus His beloved son and made it possible for everyone to reconcile with Him through simple faith in Christ. So, if you want a relationship with God, all you need to do is just to believe in the gift of God, which is Jesus Christ. You believe in your heart and you confess with your mouth and then he comes into your life and he lives with you so that that emptiness is completely eliminated, so that you will be able to express your fullness of God and you find fulfilment.
