For centuries, there has been a divide between the developing and developed nations, the strong and the weak as well as the poor and the rich. Some countries had been seen as safer than the others, and to that effect, they are considered as what fits in for description as “safe havens.” With the reality on ground now in the world, there can only be safe heavens, which by implication suggests that no place or nation is safe.
The situation that the world is confronted with today with regard to safety, with our manifesting in the forms of mass shootings, problems of climate change, terrorism, banditry and the like, are beyond the humanly proffered solutions, and are suggestive of the phrase that the high places are bowing to the heavenly places.
To the Africans who migrated to the advanced countries like America, Britain, and France, and who have reserved and determined to stay put in these countries on the grounds that they are not secure in their countries of origin, are now being proved wrong by what is like an ill wind that blows no one any good and leaves no places of escape to anyone.
I had the feeling in my mind for quite a long time now that one day circumstances and happenings, such as what we’re faced with in the world today, shall force nations and peoples to have a rethink about where they came from, where they are, and where they are headed. This, to me, is the value of decision, where certain hard questions will have to be asked, and certain truth, no matter how hard it may be, will have to be told, prominent among which is looking into the seed of time to see what seeds are likely to germinate when sown and what ingredients are required if available to enhance their germination.
Running the world affairs can no longer be business as usual, for it is believed that doing the same things the same way and expecting different results is in insanity. We have come to terms with the possibility of relocation from one place to another for either greener pastures or for a better life, but what happens now where there is no assurance or a guarantee for safety wherever we turn to and it is extremely difficult if not impossible for us to run away from ourselves?
Politicization of religion and the clergy, commercialization of the gospel, and the exclusion of God from the public life in America and other countries of the world are the bane of our troubled world, and no solutions can be proffered other than a return to the basics. It is either we agree to submit to God’s injunctions or we submit to the dictate of our enemies. There is no running away from the truth of the word of God.
Hypocrisy takes no nation anywhere. The Arab countries are more tolerable and appreciated at this juncture. They are bold enough and proud to make the names of their countries reflect the religion they so much treasure and embrace. Some examples are the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Islamic Republic of Iran, and so on and so forth.
Here we are, in the name of liberality, shying away from the truth that can set the facts right or cancel them where necessary. Those who trust in God, as the scripture has it, shall be like Mount Zion which cannot be moved but abides forever. It is important also to note that God shall keep them in perfect peace whose heart stays on Him, for they trust in Him. The benefits of trusting in God include divine stability and peace—not just peace that is achievable through the instrumentalities of wars, invasion and occupation, but perfect peace that can only come from God through the acceptance and the declaration of the only son of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
The clergy in America have failed the country by allowing themselves to be dragged into politics. The truth is not for sale and the word of God is to no effect. Where do we go from here? There is no gainsaying the fact that America is a country that is loved and favored by God. Bear in mind also that for this to continue, the foundation must be preserved for if the foundation be destroyed, what then can the righteous do?
Psalm 87:1 says,“His foundation is on His holy mountain, for God loved the gate of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.” For God’s love and favor over a country to continue unabatedly, the foundation of that country must be on God. Horses are prepared for the days of battle, but safety belongs to God. It does not matter how strong and powerful a country is by reason of its military strength, for it to remain on top and in charge, the foundation on which it stands must be on God. “The children of Ephraim being armed and carrying bows turned back in the day of battle because they departed from the covenant that their fathers entered into with God and forgot all the mighty works that God had done in their lives” (Psalm 78:9).
There can be no solutions to the problems of the world anywhere outside God and in the name of Jesus Christ. Shying away from the name of Jesus Christ is an invitation for crisis and calamities. May it not be too long for us as a people as well as the nations of the world to realize this truth and to retrace our steps back to our creator, God, the owner of the heavens and the earth. No one can make safe havens here on the earth without getting a permit from the owner of the heavens and the earth.
The problems of the world have no regard for partisan politics. It has regard only for the truth and nothing but the truth. There is no freedom anywhere outside Christ. For whosoever the son of God sets free is free indeed, and the freedom that sets free is not for free.
Rather than spending billions of dollars on purchasing the weapons of war, in the name of looking for peace, wisdom demands that we should buy the truth and sell it not. Where all diplomacies have failed us as a people and nations of the world, the truth of the word of God cannot fail.
The time is coming, and now is the time, when Britain will not be evacuating only the refugees in their country to Rwanda. British citizens themselves will be seeking safety and shelter in the African countries, and the arrogance of the powers that be will be shattered on the platter of humiliation. “However, God is the present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1) This is food for thought.
Samuel ‘Tunji Adeyanju
Storm Damage Photo by John Middelkoop on Unsplash
Gun Violence Protest Photo by Heather Mount on Unsplash
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