'We should look to God and not lose hope in him'

A message of hope from a child: Aboyowa Dabor, 12, attends All Nations Church in Clapham, where her parents Tony and Prudence are members. Prudence is a front-line worker.

One morning Aboyowa wrote the following message and shared it with her mother. It is published here with their permission

Even through this coronavirus pandemic, we should look to God and not lose hope in him. We need to be using this as an opportunity and discover the godly way of facing trials and tribulations in our own individual lives and as a community. We should suffer with joy just like Paul and Silas in the prison and be patient, knowing that after all this pain it will be better and those who kept strong and hold of their faith in Christ will be rewarded more than they'll ever know by the FATHER.

The Old Testament recounts the story of Job who lost everything but his faith was never lost. My prayer is that people will not lose their faith to anger, upset, sickness, loss of hope, impatience and disappointment. My prayer is that people will not curse God to his face and use this as a chance to blame him for all the deaths of the innocent and the not-so-innocent. But instead give people the wisdom to look to the cross and seek inspiration, encouragement and peace. In John 14:27, Jesus talks about a special peace that he gives to us as a gift. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do, I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

This peace that God gives us is free to take but it's also free to lose. It's like a comforter; a restorer of any guilt or pain or trouble or heartbreak that we may feel in our hearts. It's that peace that kept so many righteous and great men and women of God in the Bible to continue the work because they knew they had a purpose on earth- to fulfil God's gracious promise- a promise that was made to humanity in the very beginning at the fall of man.

Never forget that God will willingly try to come through to even the most evil of all people to show his very best. If Jesus could change and turn around the entire life of a persecutor of his own name (Paul), who's stopping him now?

Miracles can happen. Sometimes the best way to get through to people is indirect communication. Videos, stories, movies, books are all indirect. That's why we should look positively through this virus and see it as moment to share God's message of love and peace through ways we may not have imagined we'd ever do. But do not abandon what truly matters, which is glorifying God's name to the ends of the earth. We don't do this for the glory to come to us. No! It all belongs to him: the one who loved us so much that he gave his only son; the one who remembered each and every one of us even though we wake up every morning and somehow deliberately falling into the trap of sins tempting grasp; the one who so desperately wants you to commit your life to him and be his child.

So go for it! Don't let anyone stop you from fulfilling God's plan and purpose for your life and others surrounding you. By doing this, just like for Job, your works will not go unnoticed by others and God. And remember you are not alone. 


Image | David Tomaseti | Unsplash