FEAR NOT FOR I AM WITH YOU

Rev. Fr. Solomon Zaku

FEAR NOT FOR I AM WITH YOU
                                                                                         
(Sunday message presented on Kanem FM University of Maiduguri on 26-04-2020 by 5:10PM)

Do not be afraid for I am with you. I am your God – let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you (Isaiah 41:10)
It is no longer news that corona virus has entered Maiduguri. It has not only entered but we are now directly feeling the heat of it as we are now on the fifth day of Total Lockdown in our state. Few months ago when corona started in china we never thought it will come to Africa, Nigeria or even Maiduguri. When it started, many of us did not believe it until it affected us directly. Since the Corona was declared as pandemic and when it first entered Nigeria, many of us prayed and fasted that it should not spread in Nigeria. Despite our fasting and prayer it is now in over twenty states in Nigeria. The first case in Maiduguri was report last week. Since that report, many  people are  worried, panicking and living in fear. We are now on total lock down.

 As we are now faced with the reality of COVID19 in the state, I know many are wondering how this year is going to be. Our minds are filled with many questions such has: will this corona end soon ? Will it continue till the end of the year? How will I take care of my family in this lockdown and corona pandemic?  When will I go back to my work? When will school be reopened? Has God Forgotten us?  Is all our prayers in vain?
Dear listener, as Christians and as people of faith, we do not need to worry because we know our God is seated on the throne. We know that our God will not abandon us but he will see us through. All we need to do is to have faith and trust in the lord.
In the text we read, God said “Do not be afraid for I am with you. I am your God – let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you (Isaiah 41:10).
God is telling you and I to fear not for he is with us he will save us. Do not panic and be terrified, God is in charge. Do not despair for God our Hope. Do not grow weak in prayers for God is our helper.
The text we read was a prophecy of Hope Isaiah gave to the Israelites while they were on exile. While on exile, they were suffering. Many thought God has forgotten about them. They thought they will not come back to their land again but God Sent prophet Isaiah to tell them not to fear for God is with them. The situation we live is similar to the time of the prophet Isaiah. That same God that saved the Israelites and took them back to their land is the same God we are serving. He will surely be with us and accompany us throughout this difficult and challenging time that we find ourselves in.  We shall definitely come our strong from the pandemic of COVID 19.
Dear listener, as you stay at Home, do not be afraid; always remember, God is with you. All you need to do is to have faith in the lord. If you have faith, all things will work together for your good. Fear makes us to lose focus; makes us loose balance, faith and Hope.  Faith restores our hope and gives us the strength to continue with our daily struggles.
“Do not be afraid of all the happening around you .Habakkuk 2:4 ..." but the just shall live by his faith. We shall live by faith not fear.

 Fear and faith have something in common. They both ask us to believe something is going to happen that we cannot see.
• Fear says, that pain and suffering you are going through during this period of  COVID19 is going to be the end of you.
• Faith says that Suffering is not permanent, it's only temporary.
Fear says this year will be a difficult one
Faith says all things will work together for your God.
• Fear says you will not recover from this situation.
• Faith says God is supplying all of my needs.
• Fear says Corona will not finish now.
• Faith says corona will soon end and  my best days are still out in front of me.
Fear says this will be your worst year and experience
Faith says this year is the year of progress and prosperity.

Dear listener here is the key, whatever you meditate on, that will be exactly what is going to take root. If you dwell on that fear all day and you let it play again and again in your mind, then you give it a right to become a reality. That's what Job said, "What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. {Job 3:25}". Fear is using your faith in the wrong direction. Your faith will work in the negative just as well as it will in the positive.
There is no doubt that we are all suffering at the moment and it seems this may last for long time as there is still no vaccine for the Virus. But this seeming failure does not mean that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Scientist, medical personnel and people of good will are working tirelessly around the clock, making sure that a solution is found for his epidemic which has claimed so many lives of our brothers and sisters in these different parts of the world. But as Christians, we believe that these brothers and sisters of ours who slept in the Lord are with the Lord. Jesus himself says to us, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25).
I believe that though brothers and sisters have passed away, in him, they shall live again. We are consoled that, in Christ, they are enjoying eternal bliss and peace.
For those who are alive, we pray for the peace and the consolation of Christ. For he alone can heal the trauma of those watching their loved ones dying of this epidemic. May he alone who is the source of life be their consolation. May the same Jesus who is today, yesterday and forever, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life strengthen, renew and recreate in them a new spirit in him, a new faith in him. May he turn their despair into faith, hope and joy in him. Through Christ our Lord.
As we recognize that after all, this world is not our permanent home. Our eternal home is with his Father in heaven (cf. John 14:3). In Christ, we shall regain everything that has been lost or eaten by the locus of this pandemic. May the almighty God bless all affected by this pandemic and grant them his grace, patience, mercy and healing. Amen
Generally, the epidemic can create room for pessimism and indeed, sarcasm. This attitude can affect many things including our prayer life in particular and faith in general. Cynical minds can begin to ask: Where is God? Does God not see? Is God a sadist to see such magnitude of people perishing every day? What about the cries and prayers of his people?
Since our Christian faith is a faith illumined by reason, it is alright to ask questions, especially in moment of crisis. But these questions should not make us lose faith in God. The Bible tells us that Job also asked God some questions when he was faced with crisis: “If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?” (Job 7:20).
In the midst of these series of questions, one clear attitude that Job maintained was that he trusted in God. He never gave up on God until peace and normalcy was restored. And with definitive finality, he said, “I know my redeemer lives, and in the end he will stand on the earth” (Job 19:25).
Job trusted in the Lord. He believed that the calamity or misfortune he faced would be a thing of the past. He believed that God is able to turn the hands of the clock. He believed that God could restore everything to its former state or even make it better than before. For God is the Maker of all things. He knows all things. And all things are under his feet (Cf. Isaiah 66:1; I Cor. 15: 27; Ephesians 1:22).
Today, like Job, we are facing our moment of trial. Our world is being challenged through the sledgehammer of the Coronavirus pandemic. This has claimed many lives and traumatised millions. I want to encourage you as sons and daughters of God- do not be afraid. Have faith trust in God. I  Always remember the words of St. Paul in Romans 8:28 “…. ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD OF ALL WHO LOVE AND TRUST GOD”
There are three reasons why you don’t have to fear or worry:
1. God loves you personally. God has a specially interest in you. He created you in his image and likeness (Gen 1:28). God has a special plan for you. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, to bring about the future you hope”. It is because he loves you personally that he has this wonderful plan you; therefore do not fear. Have this always at the back of your mind: since he loves you, he will not abandon you. Don’t give up. Fear not
2. God has promised to take care of his people: we do not need to fear because God has promised to take care of all his creatures. God takes care of all that he created.  He has promised to provide all our needs. In Matt.6:26 He said “don’t worry about food and drink you need to say alive or about clothes you need for your body. After all isn’t life worth more than food? And isn’t body worth more than Cloth? Your father knows you need all these things.
3. God will never disappoint you or forget you: God never abandons his own. This is because, “if we are faithless. He remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:13. Also cf. Deuteronomy 31:6). And, in a graphic manner, he assures us: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (Is. 49:15). With these assurances of faith, we are confident that God's abiding presence is ever with us. After all, Jesus himself promised to be with us until the end of time (Mat. 28:20).

What do you need to do?
1. Have faith in God: all things will work for your Good. Jesus said if you have faith you can move mountain Since the earth and all its fullness is the Lord’s (Ps. 24:1), ours is to not panic as the faithless and the fatherless do but to surrender everything to Him, trusting that “though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you” (Is. 54:10).

2. Trust in God: he will help you Succeed. Psalm 125 says those who put their trust in God will not be disappointed. Let us not despair. Instead, we should be courageous in the Lord because he has overcome the world (John 16:33). Let us trust that our Redeemer who lives is still very much in our midst – He is the Emmanuel (cf. Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23) and the Word made flesh who dwelt among us (John 1:14). It is He who “took up our infirmities and bore our diseases” (Is. 53:4-6; Mat 8:18) and “He is close to the broken-hearted and saves those whose spirits are crushed” (Psalm 34:18)
3. Make good use of this lockdown. Improve your prayer life, your relationship with your family. Develop your talents and gifts. Before our lockdown I read so many write up about the lock down-how people are utilizing it. I have also watched so many videos’. As you trust and have faith in God. Plan all that you intend to do during the year after the lock down. God will grant you the grace to accomplish them as he promised in 2Cor 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you”.
As you have faith and trust in God; Do the needful: obey what the Government and medical workers are telling you. Take the necessary precautions: wash your hands regularly, use sanitizesrs, avoid crowded areas, use face mask, observe social distance and avoid unnecessary movement. Stay at home. It shall be well with you.
I pray lord will grant you the grace to continue to trust in God so that you will have a happy stay with your Family during this lock down.. May you cast away all fears from your mind and trust in God. May God bring an end to this pandemic? May he Grant wisdom and knowledge to researchers and scientist to find vaccine for this virus. Through Christ our lord Amen.

By Rev.Fr. Solomon Zaku