In America today, there is a fellowship of suffering being displayed by the black people. People have risen up to protest the racial discriminations that have gone on for decades. Each person has a story. Not all stories have led to the death of a black person, but all stories certainly have one thing in common – anger and irritation at being made to “feel less than”.
But there is an audience unseen. From the heavens. At the birth of the baby, the hourglass is turned in heaven. The clock starts ticking. The sand is running through to the other side. The countdown has begun.
No one knows how long this baby has to live. At this point, no one really asks. It is assumed that this baby will live long, enjoy life, achieve success, grow and nurture a family and die at a good, ripe old age, leaving children, grandchildren and maybe, greatgrandchildren behind.
COVID-19 is still there. Like an irritant that refuses to go away. And there is still only so much I can do, but I am getting something done. I feel such a relief! I thought my life was over. It’s funny how people around me have been going about their normal business. I just couldn’t get myself together. Mind you, I tried. I avoided listening to the news, I kept my conversations positive. And yet.
Imagine what they must have experienced, not knowing when next they were going to travel, and for how long they were traveling. Can you identify with them in these COVID-19 times? I can. I feel their frustrations. I feel their disappointment and distress. They had many questions. Maybe they expected the promised land to be just around the corner from Egypt. And the journey was taking forever! Their eyes were clouded over by what they were going through. So much that they failed to realise that their clothes were growing on them and their shoes did not fall apart.
The COVID-19 moved fast and before we knew it, it was a pandemic and every country had it. Anyway, we all know the story. And I am sure we don’t need me to rehash it. It is painful enough. It is in our faces. Our lives tell the story. The lockdown, job losses, multiple deaths tell the story. The fear going round tells the story. As we watch the numbers daily, we are all just waiting for it to end; hoping for a drug that works or any solution from whatever source.
At first, it strikes the rich and kin
It strikes the palace chiefs
And then we look and it is here
Among the multitude
You know, in the midst of this pandemic some people are actually smiling to the bank? I’m sure Zoom is having the best boom ever! I can’t count how many meetings I have attended on the Zoom platform in the last month! My daughter’s school actually uses the Zoom platform to deliver some of their lectures. There are others too. Food vendors, delivery and logistics companies, pharmacies, grocery stores, and the list goes on. They are able to rise up to the occasion and serve the people who are locked down and desperate for supplies.
I don’t know how you are coping with this, but I find that every day, I have to remind myself that God is still in charge and I have no cause to worry. Even then, I find it difficult to muster enough courage to step out of my house to take a walk around my estate.
Because God is still God, we know for sure, this is not the end. A new day will dawn where COVID-19 will be a thing of the past. It will happen soon. This is the time to prepare for that day. Keep hope alive. Set your sites on the future to come. Look beyond the now. Look beyond the darkness and see light. The promise of a better tomorrow. That is our hope. We have hope in God and we believe that this season will pass.
In the midst of the lockdown, economic crises, sickness, and death, let us lift up our eyes to the only one who can save us, to the One True God. He hears us when we call. Pray for an end to this invasion. Pray for His light to come to dispel this darkness. Pray for His healing to flow through the nations. Pray that these days will not be unduly prolonged. We have to keep praying, even when we don’t feel like it.
