There are battles the eyes can see and battles fought in the hidden chambers of the soul. Sometimes darkness becomes so familiar that bondage begins to look like destiny. But deliverance begins when the soul hears a voice louder than darkness, louder than fear, and louder than every power seeking to destroy its purpose.
Deliverance is the awakening of the soul to the louder voice of redemption.
The Bible says:
FOR HE HATH DELIVERED US FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS, AND HATH TRANSLATED US INTO THE KINGDOM OF HIS DEAR SON.
COLOSSIANS 1:13
THE STORY OF OSINA MMIRI AND NNE-ORA
There was a little girl of about four years old whose story was both painful and heartbreaking. Her name was Osina Mmiri, an Igbo expression meaning ARRIVING FROM THE SEA.
She was only four.
At an age when a child should be playing, laughing, being carried in the arms of her parents, and discovering the simple joys of childhood, her family was already facing a mysterious and terrifying reality.
According to the family’s testimony, before her deliverance, the child had already been associated with the deaths of her father and her senior brother. The family believed that a marine spirit was behind the strange events surrounding her life and that there was also a disturbing connection with innocent blood being shed through accidents on the highway.
The family further testified that the child had been initiated into this spiritual bondage by a niece known as NNE-ORA, a name understood to mean MOTHER OF ALL.
Imagine the pain of hearing such a story concerning a child who was barely four years old.
Imagine looking at her innocent face and wondering how such a little child could have become entangled in something she could hardly understand.
Imagine the tears of a family trying to make sense of deaths, strange experiences, fear, and unanswered questions.
She was not old enough to understand what was happening.
She could not sit down and explain the battle.
She could not defend herself.
She could not even comprehend why the people who loved her were becoming frightened by what was happening around her.
She was simply a child.
And perhaps that was the most painful part of the story.
A little girl who should have been protected was, according to the family’s account, caught in a battle she could not understand.
Her name was Osina Mmiri, ARRIVING FROM THE SEA.
But a name does not have to become a prophecy of destruction.
A background does not have to become a prison.
And a terrible beginning does not have to become a terrible ending.
The family eventually sought spiritual intervention and committed the child to prayer, believing that God could break whatever power they believed was responsible for the disturbing pattern.
There must have been tears.
There must have been fear.
There must have been moments when the family wondered whether their little girl could ever become free.
But they prayed.
They sought God.
They refused to surrender the child to darkness.
And according to their testimony, after the deliverance, there was a remarkable change in her condition and behaviour.
What a moment that must have been.
The child who had been surrounded by fear could now be looked at with hope.
The family that had cried could begin to smile again.
The house that had become familiar with anxiety could begin to experience peace.
And suddenly, the story was no longer only about what darkness had attempted to do.
It became a story about what God could redeem.
This is the beauty of deliverance.
God does not look at a broken life and say, THIS IS BEYOND REPAIR.
He does not look at a wounded soul and declare, THERE IS NO FUTURE HERE.
He does not look at a troubled family and say, THE DARKNESS HAS WON.
Jesus remains greater.
FOR THIS PURPOSE THE SON OF GOD WAS MANIFESTED, THAT HE MIGHT DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.
1 JOHN 3:8
The emphasis is not on the darkness.
The emphasis is on Christ.
Osina Mmiri’s story, as told by her family, reminds us of something profound: sometimes the person trapped inside a battle is not the author of the battle.
Sometimes the person who appears frightening is actually someone who desperately needs mercy.
Sometimes behind the strange behaviour is a wounded soul crying for help.
