I attended our church vigil that Friday night at Mokola, Ibadan, with my wife. That was around 2008/2009. It was a wonderful session with a lot of worship and prayers—an absolutely beautiful night.

When we finished in the wee hours of the morning, I walked out to my car’s parking spot. I was shocked at what I saw. My car had been vandalized—with one of the side windows smashed. There was broken glass all over the back seat.

The burglar had ransacked my car and got into my glove compartment. Back then, I had a habit of leaving my phone in the car during church services because I hardly switched it off, and I would want to return missed calls. (I don’t do that anymore.) 

Now, my phone was gone—with all the contacts. I was angry and bitter at the same time. How can I come to commune with God and suffer this kind of loss? That was the kind of thought that passed through my mind that morning.

Have you ever experienced a loss that left you feeling frustrated and confused? I did, too. But in just 24 hours, I witnessed a supernatural turnaround! Share on X

I took my car for repairs that morning and got the broken side window replaced. But I couldn’t afford to buy a phone immediately. At that time, my wife was a class teacher at a private school in Ibadan.

That particular school organized a funfair that Saturday evening (the following day after our vigil and burglary incident), which my wife and I attended.

At the entrance to the venue of the funfair, we saw tickets being sold for a raffle draw. I wasn’t really keen, but we bought two tickets to support the event.

I didn’t enjoy the funfair at all. I was smarting from my losses earlier that day. While everyone moved round and tried to catch their fun, I sat at the same spot. All efforts to cheer me up failed.

I couldn’t wait for the event to be over. Then came the raffle draw. There were lots of gifts. The raffle draw went on and winners were announced until it was down to just two items. A Samsung dual SIM slide phone, which was advertised by Didier Drogba at that period, was next.

The drum was rolled, and the winning ticket number was announced the first time. Nobody came out. The number was called the second time. I looked at the ticket in my hand, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was my ticket. I had just won a phone.

The way I screamed with excitement and rushed forward to claim my prize elicited laughter and applause from the audience. They didn’t understand that I just regained a much better version of what I lost less than 24 hours earlier. Only my wife could understand my ecstasy.

Sometimes, what feels like a misfortune is actually a miracle in the making. I lost my phone, but what I gained in return was even better! Share on X

As I returned to my seat with the pack of the brand new phone, the final draw of the event was done, and the last winning ticket was announced. This time, the prize was some kilograms of frozen chicken. As the winning ticket was called the second time, I checked my second ticket.

It was unbelievable. I had won again. I rushed out to pick up a voucher to redeem the chicken at a popular outlet in Ibadan. In less than 24 hours, I got back a much better phone—the latest model at that time—and also got some chicken to celebrate the restoration.

Have you lost anything—time, opportunities, money, health, possessions, etc.? Keep hope alive. God is a restorer. You can get it back again.

Joel 2:25-26: “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm….”