14 Jun Winning Side

2021 was a year full of constant changes. The COVID scenario eased in the early couple of months only to take a quick, devastating turn of events with the second wave costing us several lives. It marked a year more of COVID and us still struggling to cope up. Even through the struggle of such a year, God’s hand remained always faithful. At the dawn of 2022 the word around is the coming of the third wave in India and Omicron. COVID has made us realise that each day that we wake up to, is full of uncertainties that we never fathomed. But for the lot of us who believe in Christ, something has been constant- a faithful and good God who reveals Himself to us.

We have now come two years closer to the coming of the Kingdom of God. The reality strongly resonates with this- harvest is plenty but the workers are few. So much has changed across the globe in the last two years and the work of the Gospel feels greatly hindered having been forced to stay indoors and work from home. Each of us wonder how the Gospel can get through with merely WhatsApp statuses and/or Instagram stories. Witnessing Christian lifestyle has sure been the key to unlocking evangelism throughout mankind’s history and for two years the world shut the doors on it. But many have found creative and new ways to get the good news through. At every opportunity to connect with others many Christians have jumped right in to the picture and have shared the Gospel. Why! The online reality has led us to connect beyond geographical constraints and in UESI we saw that to a large extent and we praise God!

Many of us in the body of Christ, however seem to take to this attitude- that all this will be gone and we can go back to life just as it was, with nothing lost. We still struggle to completely embrace the reality of today and the tomorrows to come, that we have gone through a lot for the world to just hit reset and go back to December 2019. No! The God of Abraham at Hur, the God of Israel at Egypt and Christ at the Cross is pointing us to this- that change has happened and that the Sovereign hand of God is moving across the globe and across our nation. When Elijah fled to Mount Horeb, probably thinking to himself that going to a place where God gave a great revelation to Moses would be his source of strength amidst the persecutions that followed him. There God shows himself to him, not in a powerful wind nor fire, nor earthquake but in a gentle whisper. We do sometimes find ourselves in Elijah’s place: quite often holding on to the past and expecting the miracles of the past while our God intends to make new ways and lead us through them.

The new normal is this- more uncertainty, a life on earth with the COVID virus and possible waves after waves and variants from time to time. But with the hope of eternity to come, what is greater uncertainty for any of us? While the world ponders on and on about the futility of life and living with greater uncertainty, we as the body of Christ know surely of the end days and urgency of the Gospel. Increasing COVID restrictions and mandates have become the norm. While they are means to be precautious, they are not reasons to fear. The past surely had its own privileges but the present needs us to walk in discernment and leading of the Holy Spirit.

We’ve lost loved ones, watched some through the strife and writhe to not be able to be there for them. But let’s remember that those who slept in Christ have gone to their eternal homes as we mourn them and Jehovah Rapha watches over us all. Career and education have taken unplanned turns but we each are where we are right now, according to the plan of God, just as He willed. Let us unanchor from our pasts so as to be able to cherish them, be hopeful for the future and put on the armour of God and step into the battleground of the present. We have nothing to fear for we fight on the winning side!

Jannie Sanjana Stephen is an MS student at IIT Madras. She did her B.Tech. at Shiv Nadar University at Greater Noida and was part of Greater Noida EU committee. She continues to be part of UESI and enjoys writing poetry and discourses.