By Rev. Seth Ampadu- Superintendent Minister Methodist Church in St. Lucia
As we are aware, COVID-19 poses serious challenges to our world and our society is no exception. COVID-19 has caused many to question if God is not happy with us or to be afraid that God won’t help us in this crisis. As we look at the closing of our schools, cancellation of sporting events, the falling of the stock markets, celebrations of events being rescheduled and even churches suspending activities, everything appears to be gloom and doom.
As a people, over the years, we have seen many disasters in our region. We have seen many floods, we have seen earthquakes and adversities. All these did not break us, rather, it strengthened our faith in God. In this time of coronavirus spreading, one could ask, is there hope for us in this panicked atmosphere in which we find ourselves? My answer, YES!
In times of utter fear and anxiety from the general public, we the Christians are not afraid because we have only one solid rock that we stand upon for a sure foundation. That rock is none other than our Jesus, the Christ.
As a people, we have nothing to fear because God’s presence is in us. The same God who has been with us in times of many disasters, is the same God who is with us now. He is not absent from us. In fact, the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God!”
In this critical circumstance, we need to heed to what the Psalmist says, “Be still and know that God is God” and He promises to be with us. All we need to do right now in this critical situation is to follow the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health. There is too much misinformation circulating on the social media platforms which, when reading it, is causing fear and panic. I encourage all of us to discard those sources of information and stick to the updates from the Ministry of Health.
Let us quit from seeking /or block out all the negatives; let us relinquish our fears and focus on God. Let us trust in His promises and remember that every crisis is a call to seek God. Sometimes events happen as a wake-up call. So, in this global crisis, instead of running away from the presence of God, we must, rather, run to God’s presence for shelter and safety. As the Psalmist encourages us in Psalm 27:5: “For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”
Romans 8:31 also affirms that “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Nothing and no one! There’s nothing to fear when we are with God.
As children of the Most High God, we should not be afraid about what we are seeing and experiencing today in our lives! Why? Because God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love, and of a sound mind. We should not be afraid because God is on our side. He is our portion. I want to reaffirm and reassure all of us that the Lord is on our side. We need to know today that God has not left us and He has not given up on us, but He wants to be involved in every area of our lives.
Remember the saying of Jesus in John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” This is a time when we need each other the most. This is a time, when we need to show the most love towards each other. This is a time when we need to seek each other most. Let us avoid stigmatization and having a judgmental attitude. Let bury our differences and seek God more and more.
Remember, God is more powerful than any adversity that confront us. Shalom!
