When I was little, an incident happened that left a lasting impression on me. A teacher accidentally knocked me down with his old bicycle, the kind that had a small engine attached to it. I was just a kid, suddenly covered in dust, blood, and tears.
The accident happened not far from home. My friends and I were on our usual morning walk to school, about three kilometers away. We left early, when the morning light was just breaking, and we would arrive at school when the sun was full and warm.
That day, everything changed in an instant. The impact threw me to the ground, and I remember the sharp pain, the taste of dirt and blood in my mouth, and the hot tears streaming down my face. It was the first time I felt such intense pain.
The teacher, realizing what he had done, picked me up and gave me a lift to school. He asked me to stay quiet about the accident.
When I got home, I was not myself. My lips were so swollen that I couldn’t eat. I was scared and confused, so I lied to my parents, saying a boy had knocked me down. But my story didn’t add up, and my parents went to school the next morning to confront the teacher.
I remember the trip to the hospital for my first chest X-ray. I was terrified as they checked for fractures. Thankfully, there were none, and I slowly recovered from the physical injuries.
Life is often like this, we constantly have to be content with the taste of dust in our mouth (pun intended) ,bloody messes, and hot tears! Christ has made it clear that our lot in the fallen world will be decorated by unforeseen adverse events. One moment you’re walking and lively next, you’re down and hurt and teary.
Like the disciples, Christ wants us to be well informed about the nature of our remaining time on earth: we will face many troubles. Disappointment, pain, failure, pressure, loneliness, frustration, financial difficulties, illness, loss of loved ones—these challenges will come, and humanity will forever hopelessly wait for a utopia, even with AI and emerging technologies, and there’s none!
Our experience in these situations should reflect our faith in God. We are not to grieve and complain like the world does. Our greatest treasure is God, and our true hope is to be with Him forever in glory. We already have that secured for us in Christ. This is the assurance of our faith: Christ has won the ultimate battle, and our endurance through pain is not for nothing. It’s only for a little while, and this life will be done. Though we long to be with Him, He has work for us here still, and we will be with Him in due time.
So, even when life hurts, our hope remains. Though troubles swarm at us like they did for Job, we will not be moved to curse God. There is hope for a tree that is cut down; it will sprout again. Whether we have all the riches or lie in ashes, full of sores and despised, we will see the King!
Psalm 23:4 reminds us, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” We will eat in green pastures, drink from the coolest waters, and when we walk through dark valleys, our shepherd, the Lord, is with us.
That’s the joy in the storms: He is with us. Not for a moment has He left us. Our strength doesn’t come from the false belief that things will always be okay. We won’t live in fear of loss or pain because the devil can’t rob us of the imperishable inheritance we’re receiving in Christ.
In our grief and pain, let’s not mourn like those without hope. This is only for a little while. Let’s cry and plead our petitions to Him who hears us, like Hannah. Afterwards, we will rise, wash our faces, and walk forward knowing He is with us and will not withhold any good thing from us, even in pain.
So, dear reader, be of good cheer. This is our glorious assurance ~ Christ has conquered the world!
Safari ni ya mbinguni!
Cyrus Mwema ◉‿◉