Faith or Fear – What’s your response to Covid-19?

During the first quarter of 2020 things started to get serious about Covid-19. On the 5th of March the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in South Africa and from then our lives has never been the same. Something that we thought was an issue that only had to bother Asia, Europe and North America in a blink of an eye was at our door steps.

I commend Government’s prompt response to Covid-19, this includes all the measures that have been put into place to curb Covid-19. 

People have lost time. People have lost their jobs. People have lost profits from the lack sales or low number of sales. People are depressed… They ask, is this the end? Will we ever get through this? Yes is the answer for these question.

Two currencies run the world. One of them is from the Kingdom of God while the other ones from the kingdom of darkness. I am referring to faith from the former Kingdom and fear from the latter kingdom. 

The only way we are going to survive is through faith. We need to believe that a day is coming when we will refer to Covid-19 as something of the past. We had faith that the Apartheid regime was going to come to an end and it came to an end. To attain the extent of the freedom that we are enjoying today we lost a lot of things, the precious ones were souls of the likes of Hani, Sobukwe and many other great people. 

As we a losing a lot of things we must know that something better is on the way. We shall overcome!

It very interesting to notice that when things are good we never ask where is God but when things start to look disastrous we turn unto Him. In the midst of what we are going through just like David, God wants us to say these words “This is the day that the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24. Life has ups and down. We must never ever allow situations to get the better of us. God encourages us to rejoice and be glad everyday regardless of what we are facing. One might argue that I am encouraging us to turn a blind eye on what is happening in the world. No! That is not what I am saying. Have you observed that when we focus too much on any sort of challenge it grow bigger and bigger and this makes us to lose hope. Faith makes us to focus on the problem solver, not on the problem and this us makes us to be optimistic. By the way, nothing is impossible for God. We practice the above quoted verse because we know that all things work together for the good of God’s children. Our God is in charge… All things work for good, even in days like these ones. 

Out of the lock-down here is what we have got or are getting:

• A chance to be with the family: The family is the foundation of a prosperous society. The unfortunate thing is that some of us only get to have a real family time during the Easter holidays and the Festive Season. This year we are given an opportunity to be together to share love, create wonderful memories and help each other which is something that we have been deprived of for many years.

• Business ideas: something that is rigid is bound break. Businesses have been introduced to the new way of doing things and there are people who are benefiting from this. In my house, my aunt is making and selling masks, she is able to sustain her family. 

• Review of plans: in January you might have had plans to achieve something by the end of the year; this situation is enabling you to look at them again. This will help you to make the necessary adjustments towards attaining your goals Our plans fail to be executed when they are not regularly reviewed.

• Wake up call in the finances department: No more will any of us live from hand to mouth anymore. The prevailing situation has made us to realise how important is it to have different sources of income and a saving account for rainy days. We have learnt the hard way though, and as a result; henceforth our finances will cater for the unforeseen situations.

• Nothing is impossible with God: testimony

Complaining and being fearful will not help. It is time to man up and rise above the current situation. Dear people we can do better than complaining. Has it been brought to your attention that no matter how much money you have, you could not buy or purchase life? The very same mouths we use to complain must be used to express our gratitude towards God. We must thank God for our lives, shelters, families, work… the list is endless.  

Fear must not define us in any way. While we ‘rejoice in the days that the LORD has made’ let us allow the will of God to prevail. To the fearful God says “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 

The county might be under a lock-down but our minds are not locked. We need to make the most of the lock-down and this will not be possible with our minds locked. Set you mind free of any fear and anything negative and use it positively.

Although the Almighty God may not explain Himself but there is one thing that we are must be sure of and that is, He will continue to reveal Himself just like he has did with the above shared testimony. He will also continue to reveal Himself as we hear of some recoveries. 

May God’s grace and light shine on you!

Shalom! Khotso! Ukuthula!

Meet your blogger: M.P Thabana