How COVID-19 has helped me define my 2021 resolutions
After surviving the year 2020 with some bitter experiences due to Covid-19, I counted my ordeals and resolve to surrender my will to the will of God, for many are the plans of man but it is the will of God that prevails. In 2020 I had developed a beautiful action plan at the beginning of the year but could not implement it due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This time around, I made up my mind to take one day at a time while relying on God to lead as I follow.
The year 2020 has been a very difficult year for many people globally. The devastating effect of Covid-19 is calculated by looking at the human cost in terms of life lost and economic impact. The lockdown affected my family adversely: the church was locked down for months and there was no means of livelihood. Support from friends ran out, the brook dried and there was no divine instruction to locate the widow of Zarephath. The situation was hopeless and it seemed as if God had left.
As if the domestic challenge was not enough, we woke up daily to news of deaths around the world that were so devastating that I thought that the world was coming to an end. I thought that the great tribulation had come and there was nothing anyone could do to stop the plague. Prayers and fasting failed as more people died daily. The church, which had been a place of refuge, was locked down and every individual was left alone to paddle his or her own canoe.
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After some period of pain, complaining, and grumbling, it dawned on me that I needed to forget about my challenges, will and wishes and approach God in total submission to His will and purpose. I called my wife and five children and declared to them that we were collapsing all our will to God's will and all our prayer from that day forward should be “Lord! Let your will be done in our lives, family and ministry”.
I noticed emotional healing after a few days of our resolution to not bother God with our needs but to pray that His will be done in our lives. I felt the presence of God in our home and we all became happy irrespective of our economic situation and the devastating effect of news of deaths all over the globe. Even when there was no food, we praised and thank God for counting us worthy to be partakers of His will.
I separated myself from the rest of my family for days and it was then that I had the revelation of the mystery of the cross. In my 19 years of being a Christian, I have not had the kind of intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit the way I had when I collapsed my will to the will of God.
I came to the realization that for me to thrive in the midst of tribulation, hardship, hunger and difficulties, I must collapse my will to the will of God. After all, all things work together for the good of those who love Him.
It has been a tradition for me to make resolutions at the beginning of every year and after careful analysis of what has transpired in my life and ministry during the lockdown, I have decided to collapse all of my ambitions, aspirations, and plans in 2021 to “Let the will of God be done”. Experience has taught me that there is no regret in the will of God. Some situations in His will might not be palatable but I rest assure that at the end, it will definitely work out for something good.
Covid-19 by human calculation was orchestrated for evil but it helped me to understand the best way to have a blissful relationship with God. I no longer quarrel and grumble when things are not working my way because my ways are now collapsed. I am now happy even in the most difficult situations because I believe that God allowed the situations for a purpose. I now understand why Apostle Paul was able to pass through difficulties with a heart full of joy (2 Corinthians 12:9).
The year 2021 is “My year of total collapse to the will of God”. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit should give me the grace to pass through unavoidable difficulties and challenges of 2021. He should also help me to understand what He wants me to do, how He wants me to do it and with whom He wants me to work with. I also covet His leadings; He should compel me to do His will even when I am not willing to obey and forbid me when I am eagerly going astray. I am convinced that at the end of 2021, I will definitely count my blessings in His will.
If you would like to sail together with me in the boat of the will of God, let us remain unshakable no matter the rage of the second wave of Covid-19. If we survived the first wave, we will definitely survive the second wave. Fear not for the purpose of God must be established. He knows His thought towards us, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give us an expected end. Covid-19 will definitely end in His glory.
Oscar Amaechina is the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria. His calling is to take the gospel to where no one has neither preached nor heard about Jesus. He is the author of the book Mystery Of The Cross Revealed.
