Only a few months back, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was up and running, declaring how he would lead Britain out of the European Union into “national renewal and change”.
But today, he is down with sickness, courtesy of the corona virus. He has been fighting for his life the last one week. One of the planks of his pre-election campaign was taking Britain out of the European Union by January 31st 2020.
In Kenya, some politicians were confident that Kenya will hold a referendum by June 2020, a referendum which, if it passed, was likely to bring fundamental changes to the current constitution that was passed in 2010.
The Kenyan politicians even adopted the late Lucky Dube's song, 'Nobody Can Stop Reggae' as their signature tune for their rallies. But now, because the rallies cannot be held, the song has stopped. Boris’ timetable for a complete divorce from the European Union has been jolted. All these courtesy of the corona virus!
The COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging the world has brought with it uncertainties of unprecedented levels. Scenarios that no one could foresee early in the year are playing out before our very eyes.
This generation is witnessing history happening. The whole world is on lock-down. Businesses are closing down while jobs are being lost. The financial markets are on standby as economies respond to the pandemic.
What is my point in all this?
My point is that no one knows about the future and no one is in control of his own future. Those who were so sure about what they wanted to achieve – in the UK and in Kenya – are now out of breath, either fighting for their lives or for their personal safety.
The reality we must all appreciate is that man is limited and only God is above day to day circumstances. The apostle James in the Bible speaks of a similar situation:
“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money’. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that’”.
James is reminding his readers that they ought to be measured in their talk because they do not have power and control over their own lives and their futures. Failure to do that leads to disappointment and pain. In our planning for tomorrow, we ought to remember it is God who is in control of our lives and the one we ought to submit our plans to.
Many times we make plans and make promises to people without involving God. We act as if we have everything in place yet we do not have control over the smallest detail of our lives. This way, we end up getting disappointed when our plans and our promises fail to materialize.
This pandemic, bad as it is, it has helped to level the playing ground for everyone. The small and the mighty have all been humbled and made to submit to three simple words: “Stay at Home”.
What is God telling us in all this? It is time to stop and reflect. Psychiatrist Carl Jung once remarked, “Hurry is not of the Devil; it is the Devil”. We have been busy in our ‘muchness’ and ‘manyness’ to the extent that we have no time to be intimate with God.
No wonder we make promises that we cannot fulfill because we do not involve God in such plans. God is reminding us to go back to Him and submit to what His Word says because without Him, life will be full of disappointment, pain and bitterness.
Our lives will not make sense if we do not allow God to shape our plans.
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