Not too long ago, I hit a season that almost broke me.
You know those times when it feels like life is throwing everything at you, bills, responsibilities, wahala from every angle?
That was me. Everything seemed urgent. Everything felt heavy. Even my phone alarm started sounding like insult.
I remember one particular night clearly. I was sitting at the edge of my bed, lights off, just staring at the wall like it owed me money. My Bible was on the table beside me, unopened because it felt like I have had enough. My phone kept buzzing, but honestly, I had no strength for “how are you?” conversations. My heart was tired, my mind was noisy, and I whispered under my breath, “Lord, I don’t know if I can keep this up.”
Right there, the phone rang again. I almost hissed and ignored it, but I picked up. It was a close friend, and from the first sound of her voice, I knew she was breaking down. She poured out her struggles—family issues, pressure at work, battles with her own faith. And in my head, I was thinking, “God, abeg oh, how am I supposed to encourage somebody else when I’m this empty?”
But somehow, words started to flow. I reminded her that God hadn’t left her. I prayed with her. I even dropped one small joke, nothing deep o, just “don’t let devil use you as free Wi-Fi.” She laughed, and the laughter carried something healing. By the time the call ended, she was lighter. And to my surprise, so was I.
That night, I realized something important: even when we’re drowning in our own storms, God can still use us to throw someone else a lifeline. Sometimes helping others doesn’t drain us, it fills us. Sometimes the smile you think is “fake it till you make it” becomes the very smile that keeps someone else going.
That’s when I began to understand what I call the principle of exchange. Choosing to shine my 32 is not because life is easy. It’s because I’m learning to give what I have—hope, encouragement, joy—so God can give me what I need. Think of it like Nigeria’s bureau de change: you can’t hold on to naira and expect dollars. You have to exchange it. In the same way, Jesus offers us the greatest exchange ever. He gave His life so that we could walk in His peace, His joy, and His strength.
That’s why I remind myself daily: don’t bleed on people while you’re still healing. Don’t scatter people’s joy while you’re trying to fix yourself. Instead, bring your weakness and let Him trade it for strength. Bring your pain and let Him give you peace. Bring your fears and let Him replace them with rest.
This is the heartbeat of the gospel. The cross was the ultimate exchange—our sin for His righteousness, our shame for His glory, our death for His life. As Paul writes, “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). And Jesus Himself stretches out the invitation: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… for My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).
Is it easy to let go? No o. Sometimes it feels like carrying last week’s load into this week’s Monday morning traffic—completely unnecessary but somehow we still do it. Destiny, however, demands that we drop it. If we don’t release yesterday’s weight, we’ll never step fully into tomorrow’s blessings.
When we trade our burdens for His grace, we don’t just survive the storm, we shine right in the middle of it. And that, my friends, is the kind of shine that no NEPA can take light from.
So keep showing up. Keep growing. Keep leaning on Him. Because this exchange is real, and it changes everything.
Na so we dey roll.
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5 thoughts on “Bureau de Change”
very encouraging and inspiring
Bliss and light. Found this very useful.
“Sometimes helping others doesn’t drain us, it fills us.”
Michael, this is profound and really timely. 🙌🏾
So many gems here.
Well-done sir.
A masterpiece writing. Brilliant, encouraging, funny and inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing sir.