Sub-Saharan Africa is burning with unbelievable sad stories. Three of our listeners wrote to us with disturbing news and asked why God has not intervened. We have received many emails in the past months from our listeners living in Mali, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, and Spain asking the same question. Our answer is simple. God is alive and actively involved in our lives. God is involved and sharing in our pains and sorrows in every crisis we are going through. The major stories:
On 12 May 2022, Deborah Emmanuel a Christian female student at Shehu Shagari College of Education Sokoto, Northern Nigeria was beaten to death and set on fire by fellow students who accused her of posting “blasphemous” statements in a WhatsApp group that her department made to post-school assignments and other course information. When the Islamic students began to post Islamic religious materials, Deborah reminded everyone that WhatsApp was for school assignments and not for Islamic religious rhetoric. That was her only crime. The Islamic students mobilized their fundamentalists, dragged her out, beat her to death, and set her body ablaze. Nigerian securities were overpowered and could not save Deborah.
On May 9, 2022, Fulani Herdsmen in Nigeria killed eight Christians in Bussa, Plateau State in addition to 21 Christians killed in April in the same area. The Herdsmen attacked seven villages in Miango District, wounded over 30 Christians, and destroyed church buildings. On April 2, 2022, the Herdsmen attacked Christians in Ariri as they were sleeping late at night. They killed 10 Christians and wounded 19 others. In Ritivo village, 28 Christians were wounded. Daily attacks on Christians are increasing and the Herdsmen are using high-powered ammunition.
We want to encourage our listeners to derive comfort from the word of God. We are praying for all of you. In Psalm 46:1-5 David reminds us that;
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.Job provided us with some words of comfort. In Job 5:8-16
“But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He bestows rain on the earth; he sends water upon the countryside. The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. He thwarts the plans of the crafty so that their hands achieve no success. He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night. He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful. So, the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.”
Categories: AFRICA
