When the light turns off

Text: Psalm 121: 1 – 8
The shocking truth that many Christians usually fail to admit is that life comes with troubles, regardless of whether or not you follow Jesus! Who would have thought that a time like this would come in our world? The realities of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic are right here before us. It has brought the world to its knees and nothing seems to be working. As a matter of fact, health authorities kept reminding us that, ‘there is no cure yet for this deadly disease,’ and the number of cases is rising on a daily basis. It is as if the light of the whole world has turned off. Things are no longer the same everywhere! The question that keeps coming to our mind is: ‘Where should we go or who do we turn to?’

Faced with all the uncertainties about life, one may be forced to seek for solution where there is none. And the unfortunate side of the whole thing is that our present world is filled with so much negativity to the point that we often forget that God remains who He is, irrespective of whatever may befall us. No matter what life has offered us, the truth is that we have a God Who understands our plight and Who sees what we are going through! As we draw closer and closer to the end of times, we are seeing more negativity than ever. And some of that negative thinking has crept into the lives of believers. Even among those who have been taught the message of faith, we see people complaining about what has gone wrong, about who has done them wrong, and about how unfair life is. Such people focus only on their problems, and rarely on the solution.

As believers, when we go through struggles and suffering in our everyday lives, we may become so engrossed in the pains we feel and get angry with God. We begin to question God as we examine the ‘whys’, ‘how comes’ and ‘what ifs’. We cloud our vision of God and begin to blame Him for our problems.

What we fail to understand is that being Christians does not stop us from facing troubles in life, (John 16: 20). The good news, however, is that in the midst of troubles, our ever-loving Father will not abandon us. Though it may look as if the light has turned off in our personal life, businesses, finances, marriage, health and everything appears gloomy, just like we are experiencing darkness all over the world right now.  The truth is – you are not alone. Isaiah 43: 1, 2.

God is ever ready to help you out in any situation you find yourself, Psalm 121: 1. You may have an idea of the way out, but that may not be what God has in mind for you. If the light is off, the one who calls light out of total darkness has what it takes to change your story for good. Gen. 1: 3. He is the only one who has solution to the problems of the world. He is our ever-ready help in times of need, Psalm 46: 1. It is better to look up to Him than looking up to man or thing. Man can fail you and the powers that be may let you down, but only Him cannot let you down. He knows the end from the beginning and He will surely rise to save our world and save your life from every fiery darts of the evil one in Jesus Name.

God bless you.
His Eminence, Julius O. O. Abbe, The Primate of The African Church