Jones Onigbinde

Jones Onigbinde – Great Mother Heart …

Whatever your personal belief about COVID-19, the people of the world are all dealing with an extraordinary amount of stress and uncertainty brought about by this pandemic. Some have lost their loved ones, some have lost their job, some are facing not only financial crisis but emotional from being isolated. You might be worried that businesses are opening too soon, or lamenting the fact that they’ve been closed for too long. Regardless of what you are worried or upset about, the fact remains that COVID-19 is at the root of it and millions, if not billions, of people are suffering a great deal of additional stress in their lives.

I can see and hear my mother now, what she would say and do if she were still physically with me. Hers would be a message of hope and faith and perseverance – just as it was throughout her entire life.

On page 33 of my book, Great Mother Heart, I write:

My mother was in her late 50’s, with her level of passion and hard work still being the same. She never refused anything difficult in her life, rather, she celebrated every moment by cherishing it whole-heartedly. Nobody could ever imagine the pain behind her every smile and the tears behind her every struggle. I will always be grateful to her throughout my life for this. Her trust and faith in God was a bulwark against adversity. She believed in the Supremacy of God, even throughout the most daunting challenges of her life and always asked for His ultimate help.

Faced with the world circumstances today, and brought up under her love and guidance and faith, I say to you … “For those that are in Christ, we are better anchored during adversity, the promises in the scriptures should serve as a source of peace to us. Isaiah 43:2 says when you pass through the waters, I will be with you and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you, when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze.

At the moment, as COVID-19 ravages the nations; anxiety, fear, and total despondency pervade the global landscape, we should set our eyes on the horizon because a better day will dawn. The just shall live by faith (Roman’s 1:17). We should not give in to fear, because fear has torment, rather we must rely on the Lord by faith knowing that he cares for us even in the midst of the pandemic. We should cast our burdens on the Lord because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55: 22)

Casting our burden on the Lord will include:

  1. Prayer, we let go of our worries by laying them down at the altar of prayer, communing with Lord brings peace to our heart. When we pray, who should we pray for? Let’s remember the vulnerable, our healthcare front-line workers, our brothers and sisters in the household of faith. We should remember our spiritual leaders in hopes that God will grant them wisdom to direct the affairs of the church and we should also commit our political leaders to Lord in prayer that the Lord grant them wisdom and clarity of mind to make the right decision for the nation at this time.
  2. Meditating on the word (Philippians 4:8). We find comfort and grace when we meditate on the word of God. We are often quick to check the headlines and the trending tweets and Facebook updates while we neglect the true source of our strength for the day, communing with God in his words. As we give higher priority to meditating on the words of God, we will receive clarity for the day, faith to navigate the treacherous time we are in and, ultimately, the peace of knowing that eternal God has our back and will lead us home safely.
  3. Singing melody and praise to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19); in the midst of the challenging situation, we will do well to remember to praise the Lord. Spiritual songs elevate us to his divine presence and God often reciprocates by intervening in our situation. Paul and Silas experienced God’s intervention in the jail when they sang to the Lord, both of these men literally sang themselves to freedom from bondage (Act 16:25). In our culture today, it seems counter intuitive to ask someone to sing and praise God when they are in despair, but it is still true today that we move God’s hand to intervene in our situations when we don’t just ask for it but also sing to that end. Let us all come together as individuals, families, and congregations to sing and praise the Lord for his majesty and sovereign will over all. The Psalmist understands this concept and that’s why he enjoined us over and over to sing praises to the Lord (Psalm 68:6; Psalm 89:1; Psalm 104:33
  4. Reaching out to our neighbors in love. Sometimes when we are passing through a difficult moment in our life, we can easily forget the plights of other people, our neighbors, co-workers, and even total strangers we meet every day. We are always tempted to wallow in our own self-pity. It is in such a time that we must rise up to help other people. In Psalm 37:3a, we are encouraged to trust in the Lord and do good. Let us arise in faith to do good to other people today. Let’s make that call to a friend we haven’t seen in a while. Let us volunteer our time and give our resources to charities and more importantly let us share the love of God and the gospel of Christ with other people. Let the world know that Jesus Christ is the savior.
    Please share this message of hope and faith with others in need. Together in faith we will emerge stronger from this ordeal.