Hope becomes essential in a time like this. It is this hope we hold on to when we clapped for health workers. It is the same hope that brings smiles to our faces after having spent our nights in peace. The same faith keeps us going, especially now that the level of uncertainty is skyrocketing beyond the unexpected.
This hope is Jesus Christ, the Giver of Life. We are confident that we are safe in His arms if we trust Him to see us through. When our faith in Jehovah remains unwavering, we are expressing the hope of Christ.
Hope for today, hope for tomorrow; all means Hope in Christ Jesus.
As the lockdown is coming to an end or already did in your country, is God still your ultimate priority? Or did you just need Him then to help you wade through the confinement?
1. O God, who declares me innocent. (Psalms 35). His name is Yahweh. He decides who is faithful or not to Him because He alone knows the heart of men and women.
2. Free me from my troubles. (Psalms 27 & 116). Jehovah, the deliverer. Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Jehovah Elohim. The King of kings, and the Lord of lords. The Lion of Judah. He restores, and no one can destroy, and what He annihilates, no one can restores.
3. Have mercy on me. (Psalms 51). Jehovah is the God of many chances and NOT a God of the second chance. Seventy times seven equals four hundred and ninety times of forgiveness — Matthew 18:21-22— a lifetime of opportunities to let go. It means Jehovah is more than these calculated numbers of times.
4. Hear my prayer. (Psalms 40 & 69). He is not asleep that He is unaware of what is going on. He heard baby Ishmael’s cry for survival. He listened to the Israelites despite their many rebelliousness. Today, He hears because He is still the Same. He is I Am That I Am –Ehiyeh she Ehiyeh.
You go beyond our feelings, our thoughts, and our prayers. We love you, Lord, for who you are and not because of what you will do for us.
Your name is higher. You are powerful. You are the ultimate incomparable. You are God alone. Before we exist, you are. You are unshakable, unchangeable, irreplaceable. You are who you are, and no one else can take your place.
Be exalted, dear Jesus. We adore you and worship at your feet.
We love you, Jesus Christ
Nous t’aimons beaucoup Jésus-Christ.
Wir lieben dich sehr, Jesus Christus
te amamos mucho Jesucristo
a nifẹ rẹ, Jesu ọwọn
tá grá againn duit, a Íosa
In you alone, we find our worth, value, dignity, and above all our Peace. In good and bad moments you have proved you apart is our Giver of life. Therefore, Lord Jesus Christ, please teach us how to love you more. It is when we genuinely love you that we can master the true essence of Peace. We need you because we need your Peace that outweighs all human imitation.
We cannot celebrate a day of multilateralist and Diplomacy for Peace without recognising this pandemic has taught us how man is capable of destroying his fellow humans.
Father, there can never be any peace if you don’t bless us with yours. The social injunction for symmetry is worthless and temporal. Please, Lord, give us peace in our homes, our communities, our regions, and our nations. Come and bless us and mesmerise us with your Peace so we can testify to the world of your goodness upon our lives.
You go beyond our feelings, our thoughts, and our prayers. We love you, Lord, for who you are and not because of what you will do for us.
Your name is higher. You are powerful. You are the ultimate incomparable. You are God alone. Before we exist, you are. You are unshakable, unchangeable, irreplaceable. You are who you are, and no one else can take your place.
Be exalted, dear Jesus. We adore you and worship at your feet.
We love you, Jesus Christ
Nous t’aimons beaucoup Jésus-Christ.
Wir lieben dich sehr, Jesus Christus
te amamos mucho Jesucristo
a nifẹ rẹ, Jesu ọwọn
tá grá againn duit, a Íosa
In you alone, we find our worth, value, dignity, and above all our Peace. In good and bad moments you have proved you apart is our Giver of life. Therefore, Lord Jesus Christ, please teach us how to love you more. It is when we genuinely love you that we can master the true essence of Peace. We need you because we need your Peace that outweighs all human imitation.
We cannot celebrate a day of multilateralist and Diplomacy for Peace without recognising this pandemic has taught us how man is capable of destroying his fellow humans.
Father, there can never be any peace if you don’t bless us with yours. The social injunction for symmetry is worthless and temporal. Please, Lord, give us peace in our homes, our communities, our regions, and our nations. Come and bless us and mesmerise us with your Peace so we can testify to the world of your goodness upon our lives.
You go beyond our feelings, our thoughts, and our prayers. We love you, Lord, for who you are and not because of what you will do for us.
Your name is higher. You are powerful. You are the ultimate incomparable. You are God alone. Before we exist, you are. You are unshakable, unchangeable, irreplaceable. You are who you are, and no one else can take your place.
Be exalted, dear Jesus. We adore you and worship at your feet.
We love you, Jesus Christ
Nous t’aimons beaucoup Jésus-Christ.
Wir lieben dich sehr, Jesus Christus
te amamos mucho Jesucristo
a nifẹ rẹ, Jesu ọwọn
tá grá againn duit, a Íosa
In you alone, we find our worth, value, dignity, and above all our Peace. In good and bad moments you have proved you apart is our Giver of life. Therefore, Lord Jesus Christ, please teach us how to love you more. It is when we genuinely love you that we can master the true essence of Peace. We need you because we need your Peace that outweighs all human imitation.
We cannot celebrate a day of multilateralist and Diplomacy for Peace without recognising this pandemic has taught us how man is capable of destroying his fellow humans.
Father, there can never be any peace if you don’t bless us with yours. The social injunction for symmetry is worthless and temporal. Please, Lord, give us peace in our homes, our communities, our regions, and our nations. Come and bless us and mesmerise us with your Peace so we can testify to the world of your goodness upon our lives.
Two weeks ago, a friend of mine said he is going to wait for the government to get him the masks he needs for his employees. The moment he told me, I replied and convinced him to find the means to get these protective pieces himself. In France, there is an ongoing debate that has caused friction between the government and the medical administration about whether we all should wear masks after the confinement on May 11th. The latter wants us all to wear it, while the former feel it is unnecessary. I am not saying it is wrong to listen to the government and just go without any needs for the masks. But we must not forget these are humans like us and are likely to retract if any farther surges occurred. What sets them apart is their place of authority, and often, leaders can be wrong.
I used the above illustration for us to understand that there will come a time in our lives when we must learn to say no for our benefits. A few weeks ago, I wrote about avoiding Netflix because entertainment of such can be detrimental to the vulnerable minds. In a similar context, refusing to accept defeat in the face of this pandemic is crucial.
We are saying no means not giving up on oneself and remembering that everything will be fine. It also means not forgetting that Jehovah is always with us. His name is EMMANUEL. Nothing escapes His knowledge, which means He is aware of everything happening. Hence, are we going to listen to the voice of God through our the Holy Spirit, or are we going to listen to the chaotic view of the world where nothing is comforting but hopelessness?
Man has been auto-destructive for centuries, in particular, in the name of globalisation. While we see the advantages of modernity, we are forced to feel the consequences of it. We know the weather was acting out bizarre as it is being stretched beyond the limit. So, we give it a name: CLIMATE CHANGE.
How many people’s lives are impacted as a result of climate change? Many are suffering from all kinds of diseases. Others did not live longer because their lives are cut short. Many were forced out of their ancestral lands by governments who wants to have those lands at all costs. If only, we can get to see the value of self-destruction we imposed on ourselves, whether consciously or unconsciously. Jehovah owns the earth, whether we like it or not.
The Ecclesiastes (6:12b) sum it up flawlessly when it says, who can tell what happens after we are gone? In other words, we don’t own our lives. If we destroyed the earth, what do we leave behind for our children and their future generations to come?
As someone who has no television in my house, once in a while; I turn to the mini radio in my kitchen. Sometimes, I will switch it on for few minutes while there, and then shut it off once I’m leaving. The same happened that day I overheard the male commentators phoning through to a man who I later heard was utterly blind. They were asking him how he has been managing the confinement as he lives alone. He took his time to narrative his ordeals; in particular, his need to fill out the required derogatory travel form we all have to fill and take with us if we have to go out now. He equally talked about how he would plead his cause to the police if he ran into them during their routine control. In all of this, my conclusion was that this respondent was afraid, isolated, lonely, and abandoned. Later, I heard one of the guests who was a government representative, spoke up, reassuring the man. She then announced measures they set up to help those with disabilities.
The question is, how do we connect with those with disabilities by providing platforms of safety for them ahead of time so that we do not forget them before we set up lockdowns like this? It takes something to happen, such as the uncomfortable story of this visually impaired gentleman, before those in places of authorities will react. It ought to be the other way round.
As families, we must not neglect our members with disabilities because of our preset mentality that they are the wounded. The truth is, we all are injured right now. Whether we are affected directly or indirectly, we are part of the society, and therefore, we are not swimming against the tide. As a matter of fact, as Christians, we share the messianic suffering of Jesus. The Lord will not abandon those in need, and so we must emulate Him in our actions.
The Israelites saw Pharaoh and his army approaching them, and they panicked, blaming Moses for bringing them out of slavery (Exodus 14:10). It was not only at the threshold of the Red Sea that they did express their fear; there were records of many occasions they exhibited their worst characters. Irrespective of these, Jehovah remained faithful to them.
Now in the 21st century where globalisation is the order of the day, our world is going through some shifting. Part of these has been the migration issues, terror attacks, political instabilities, discrimination, modern-day slavery, et cetera. Amid this broken world comes the Covid-19, which has succeeded in bringing the world to a standstill. Its sudden emergence is like adding fire to a burning bush. The fact that it has proven not to be a respecter of anyone no matter their status or age, is gradually developing what I call COLLECTIVE FEAR.
This does not come without any dangers, and some of these are the frenzies emanating from our leaders, friends, families, neighbours, colleagues or even from strangers. Collective fear brings no positive messages of hope except the negatives, as shown in the word cloud picture above.
That the Bible has lots of messages of reassurance and hope is the reason for such a time like this. There is nowhere else to turn to right now to find solace than to the word of God because that’s the powerful weapon to counterattacks the unforeseen circumstances of this collective fear.
Do you agree with me God is aware that this pandemic is going to take place? How many of you will accept that Jehovah tried to speak to you about it last year or even the year before?
Last year, I decided to pay up a huge junk of our mortgage. Why I made up my mind to do so is still a puzzle to me. Everyone in my world, including my bank, was against it. They did everything they could to dissuade me. Yet. I stood my ground, giving them so many excuses such as “I don’t know what tomorrow will bring.” Fast forward to 2020, I was discussing with a friend who lives in the UK and part of our conversation was their predicted recession announced by the French government. When I told him about the last year mortgage payment, he said it was as if I knew the Covid-19 was coming to cause economic havoc.
I am not a prophetess to see the future. But I know someone who is. His name is Jehovah EMMANUEL: our God who is ever-present in times of troubles.
What this pandemic began took many by surprise because they were unprepared. It shows how the rapture will take place without unbelievers not even aware it has happened.
Like myself, you now understand that if it were not for the Lord, you probably would have been part of the global chaos.
A woman just bought a baby playmat from me, and she chipped in she needed the mat because her baby girl has started crawling. I told her time passes quickly, especially now that, we have been under lockdown for the past four weeks. Then, she said, “Phew! We are fortunate to have a large garden.”
I replied, “Ah, you’re lucky then. Trust me; you are fortunate.” After that, I went on to tell her how some people are confined in tiny spaces they called homes.
The fact that she and I are blessed to have larger spaces is indeed a blessing. However, do I know whether she is grateful to God for this? I am. I can only speak for myself. Ever since the lockdown began in France, I cannot avoid whispering the words of gratitude to Jehovah. This is not because of having a big home with lots of free spaces and hearing the birds singing in my garden. That’s part of it. What is so striking is to be having His Grace overshadowing me like a shield of protection.
Therefore, anyone reading this and not grateful to be alive does not understand the essence of gratitude. It takes a walk to the emergency rooms, or the mortuaries, or the funeral homes, or even listen to the mediatised chaos caused by this ravaging pandemic to know God has been so loyal to us. He will continue to be. Appreciate Him!
