‘But the Lord says, ‘Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. Watch for the new I am going to do. It is happening already- you can see it now! I will make a way through the wilderness and give you streams of water there’. Isaiah 43:19; Isaiah 12:2
‘This day… I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. No choose life, so that you and your children may live’. Love the Lord your God, obey Him and be faithful to Him, and then you and your descendants will live long in the land that He promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Deuteronomy 30:19-20
There is intense invisible spiritual battle taking place all around us. Our enemy, the devil and his entire demonic host are working against us every day. We must not be caught unawares, but brace up to become spiritually charged and battle - ready through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. The Biblical story of how the brave shepherd boy David fought and defeated a Philistine giant named Goliath should inspire us this new year. He achieved this victory not with any sophisticated weapon of warfare, but with a simple homemade sling and five stones. His answer to Goliath ‘Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God’ (1 Samuel 17:26), implies that he saw the battle in spiritual terms from the very start. David responded in faith, and reaffirmed that the battle is not his but God’s. He faced the challenge with godly perspective. Rather than focusing on the problem that lay before him, he placed the Lord at the centre of his circumstances.
David made a strong profession of faith: ‘I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel
Yes, we are at war and it is a fight for our lives – not our physical lives but our spiritual lives. For the Apostle Paul says: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”(Ephesians 6:2). Dr. Charles Stanley, president/publisher of the In Touch Ministries opines that one of the primary reasons believers are defeated in battle is because the enemy catches us completely unawares; and to win a war, we must know that we are in one. St. Paul
The issues of life and death are fundamental issues set before us. Let us vote for life and choose life with God as our Creator and Designer. Today we are thankful to God because He alone has the answers that really resolve matters and do not let us down. So we must depend on the Creator and not upon the creature anymore. In an age when the world has to consider the possibility of running out of many of its mineral resources, Christians need to fix our gaze upon God, who created and design the universe – the God who is enough and the air, sun, and rain He gives never runs dry. God alone has the resources and power to meet our every needs. God is sufficient and enough. He makes the impossible possible (Genesis 30:22-23; 17:1-8; 35:9-15). There are many things in this world of which men think they do not have enough – some nations claim they do not have enough money, oil, mineral resources and power. But even in this God is enough. The one kingdom that is unshakable is the Kingdom of God. God is unchanging and dwells in an unshakable Kingdom. We must choose to declare for his Kingdom.
We live in a period of great restlessness and fear. All around us at the moment is a great shaking of earthly values – the kingdom of finances, oil, stock market, health is shakable. The medical doctor suddenly announces you’ve got an incurable illness. This is shocking and shakable. The government suddenly announces the removal of subsidy on petrol. This is a shocking coup which is also annoying and shakable. Today our faces too carry stories of anguish and hope, and we’re all crying out desperately for peace, security and justice in the world. These are times of unprecedented pains, troubles, temptations, terrorism, calamities, tragedies and catastrophes of earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, hurricanes, erosions, floods and typhoons literarily affecting every one across the globe. Lives are vanishing and perishing indiscriminately and the human suffering is incredibly great.
As a nation, we are experiencing a man-made scourging poverty compounded by violence, injustice, insecurity, corruption and greed. We are experiencing political leadership that seek to foster divisions based on ethnic and religious differences. We are experiencing socio-economic and political circumstances that feels tough and unbearable; our questions and prayers appear to go unanswered, our faith is faltering and God seems distant. Humanly speaking, we cannot digest and make a sense out of all these horrors and tragedies. These stories of the terrible violence and horrendous disasters around the world broke our hearts and challenge our faith. These horrific tragedies leaves us confused and bewildered, as we’re finding it hard to believe in a God whose Sovereignty controls the Universe, and yet allows these tragedies to happen. Yet, even when we do not see immediate change and response to our prayers, we must still believe and trust God’s faithfulness.
As we journey though the desert of life, we are daily confronted with serious dangers and difficulties; but discover however that God is in each crisis. Therefore, we should keep our gaze continually fixed on God; for if we gaze too long at our problems, we will become obsessed by them; they will dominate us, and it will not be long before we become a problem to ourselves and to others. Let us choose life and blessing always. God is enough even in our despondency and utter helplessness and hopelessness. He will make all things new. Today, look the right way, focus continually on Him and see His glory instead of the gloom around us. God alone has the answers.
Rev. Fr. Michael Adefemi Adegbola, Director, Media Service Centre Kaduna Nigeria, 2012
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