Oga-Coro, the uninvited
guest who came along with it’s own chair, was like a shot out of the blues. It
came like a thief in the night (1Thes,5:2)): suddenly, without
notice, catching us unawares. Indeed, we were attacked by a stronger man (Luke11:22).
It was like nothing we have ever seen or
known in this generation because the eye had not
seen, nor ear heard nor has it yet entered into the hearts of man(1 Cor,2:9;
Issaiah,64;4). It brought terror, danger of death and wave of destruction
everywhere (Jeremiah,20:8&10; Ps18.4) and it appeared we were born for
trouble and sorrow (Jeremiah,20:18) The impact of Coro was brutal, pervasive
and it derived special joy in dealing with the mighty ones and humbling the
great: BIG people, BIG institutions and BIG countries and unlike before the
leaders of the flock were also afflicted because they had nowhere to flee or
means of escape (Jeremiah,25:35). Indeed, the mighty fell (2Sam1:19-20); the
high and haughty were hewn down and humbled (Isaiah,10:33)
as He brought down the high tree and dried the green ones while exaulting the
low ones and making the dry to flourish( Ezekiel.17:24) and none could boast of
their wisdom, strength and riches( Jeremiah,9:23) because it is not by power or
by might …( Zech,4.6). Our money, positions, possessions, connections
and achievements became useless and we realized, sadly, that our greatness will not keep us from death(as) we will still die like animals
(Ps49:20). Those who always spoke
with certainty about what they would do tommorrow learnt to moderate their words and started saying if the Lord wills…( James, 4:13-15).
In effect, it became obvious that we
plan but God decides.
The
poorer people and nations, were treated compassionately by the vicious disease,
which made the usually sure-footed scientists to speak in uncertain and
contradictory tongues. It shows that the race and battle is not always to the
swift or the strong or who willeth but to whom God showeth
mercy (Eccle,9:11; Romans,9.16). As it has always been, whenever people are
faced by the incomprehensible, they seek out the Great Being, asking how, why,
and when. Because the BOOK contains everything, it came in handy
as people read online, offline and between the lines in sustained efforts to
understand the inexplicable and uncontrollable and as Pastor Stephen Furtick
had declared, The only way God can show that he is in
control is to put us into situations that we cannot control.
It
was during this era that I realised that Dolly Parton was a Gospel artiste. Her
2002 song, Hello God was played and re-played, especially in the
early days of Coro. The song, which she sang in that her sonorous and
enchanting voice, is a tearful and penitential plea asking God to listen, to have mercy, to
do something,: Hello God… can
you hear us; can you help us like
before? We are in great need of your love… we have learnt our lessons. Dear God, don’t let us go! We cant
make it without you; in the name of all that is true please forgive us for we
know not what we do; give us one more chance. Pastor Kumuyi appeared to agree with her when
he said thatTrying
times are like dark hours. We grope about looking for a hand to lead and pull
us out of the darkness. Overwhelmed by our pain and suffering, we feel all
alone, abandoned by God and men. At such harrowing times, we wonder where God
is. We wish He would show up, and end the pains we bear (Daily Manna, 14/5/20). The
Catholic lenten hymn, God of Mercy,bestrode
the airwaves, in and out of lent, as
people with teary eyes sang God of mercy and compassion, look with pity
upon us.. Lord God we ask for mercy, let us not implorre in vain… Other hymns like Nearer my God to thee,
I need thee every hour and I surrender all, became
instant hits! The various preachers admonished us to return to God who has torn and stricken
us because he would surely heal,
bind revive, and raise us (Hosea, 6: 1-3).
As
early as March 2020,The Catholic Church moved from prayer for Nigeria in
distress to prayer against Coro imploring the Omnipotent
to take charge, as we prayed for effective medication to be
speedily found (that was before the vaccines) for healing to the sick,
eternal life to the dead and consolation for the bereaved
And then, Mike Bamiloye, who has stirred many souls through the
practical content of his videos composed an earthshaking poem titled Just
only one plague, recalling how this single plague brought the world on
its knees, suspending all wars and threats of wars, forcing all of us to stay
indoors and to practice personal hygiene and then asking what we shall do about the ultimate plague
When the Trumpet sounds and Jesus Has come and
gone with His Own Blood Washed Saints…?
We readily found and dwelt on all the assurances from
God. Some called for repentance, arguing
that because we disobeyed the commandments, he inflicted us with the Egyptian
plagues (Exodus, 15:26; Deuteronomy,7:15). Others
recalled the promises of God that if he sent epidemic on the people, and they
pray and repent of their evil ways, he would hear, forgive and heal the land(
2Chron,7:13-14). Some reminded us of the assurances of Isaiah 54:7-10, where He
promised that his anger had abetted and that he had taken pity and blessed us
with his faithful love and covenant of
peace and that if he did not spare his son for our sake, there is
nothing that is too much for him to do for us (Romans,8:32). We remembered Ps
27, where we see God as our light and salvation, who will shelter us and keep
us safe when attacked by enemy army (Coro havocked us mora than the Russians are doing at Ukraine). However in
all this, we were admonished not to put the Lord to the test by failing to comply
with all the necessary protocols because faith in God does not mean that we should
not play our parts as done by our grandfathers in faith. After all, we had been
warned to submit to government authorities
and policies (1 Peter,2:13-24; Romas,13:1). We were also reminded of the Bible
prophecies being fulfilled in the coronised environment,
including handwashing, absence of celebrations, inability to mourn the dead and
sick people being quarantined.
We
also started searching for Biblical solutions to this plague. We remembered how
Moses and Aaron offered incense, stood between the living and the dead to end
the plague that ravaged the camp (Numbers, 16:47-8) and how David built an
Alter and sacrificed burnt offerings to bring an end to plague in Israel.
Biblical verses were used to support the various protocols including isolation
and quarantine (2 Kings,15:5; Isaiah,26:20). Those in quarantine took special interest in
Psalm69, asking for his intervention in his great mercy as they became outcasts
to their relations and no solace and consolers in their anguish.
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As these were going on, there were also words of encouragement and hope that kept people going during those distressed and stressful times. Fr Eustace Siame of the Daily Bread Ministry reminded us that the content and context of Isaiah 40-55, when Israelites were in exile also applied to us because we were in social exile (social distancing) caused by Oga-Coro and that Covid was thus our own Babylon. We were advised not to be afraid because even if God struck us with a rod and lift his staff against us, His indignation and anger will cease in a little while and that subsequently the burden shall be taken away from our shoulders and the yoke from our necks (Isaiah,10: 24-25; 27). We were reminded that once we humbled ourselves before the Lord, He would lift us up (James,4:10), keep us safe from secret traps and deadly diseases (Ps 91:3), and that nothing can be against us if God were for us( Romans,8:31). In The Word for Today (13/3/20) we were encouraged to put on the full armour of God and the shield of faith so as to be able stand firm against the arrows of the evil one (Eph:6: 11-16) and to stand up to the Devil so that he will flee (James: 4:7). We were continuously reminded not to fear that which can kill the body but cannot harm the soul (Mt,10:28). We were also assured that we should not fear even if we walked through the valley of the shadow of death, because the Lord was and is with us (Ps23) and that those who trust in the Lord are like mount Zion, which cannot be moved and abides forever because the Lord surrounded his people just as mountains surround Jerusalem (Psalm 125: 1-2) and only through him are victory and strength found.
We remembered that the Lord is on our side, strong and mighty (Jeremiah20:11);
our defender, protector, fortress, and shield, who keeps us safe ( Ps18:1-2) as
a shepherd keeps his flock( Ps31:10) and that even though weeping endureth for a night joy commeth in the morning: (Ps 30.5)
because He will turn our mourning into joy, comfort us and give us gladness for
our sorrows( Ps 31:13).
We were assured that He will be
our God and wipe
away every tear from our eyes and that there will be no more
death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has
passed away”( Revelation 21:1-4) . We remembered that nothing, whether
on the sky above or earth below can separate us from the love of God (Romans8:35)
and that the steadfastness of the
Lord never ceases; His
mercies never come to an end because they are new every morning(
Lamentations,3: 22-23). We recalled his admonition that we should be determined,
confident, neither be afraid nor discouraged because He will never fail or abandon us( Dauteronomy,31:6; Joshua,1:9), and
will rather be with us till the end of
time as reaffirmed by Jesus( Mt,28:20). We took solace in the fact that he
shows mercy to those who walk before him with all their hearts (2 Chron,6:14;
Isaiah, 45:24) and we continually encouraged ourselves with Psalm 46 (1-3) that
God is our refuge and strength, a permanent
help in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid even if the earth is shaken
and the mountains fall into the ocean depths, even if the seas roar and rage
and the hills are shaken by violence. We reminded God that He is our
rock, constant refuge, stronghold and pleaded with him to incline his ears onto
our plea, rescue us and not let us to be
shamed( Ps71:1-5)In all these, we were encouraged by the assurance that the
Good Lord was and is a promise-keeper (Eziekiel, 12:28;
Jeremiah,1:12; Joshua, 23:14)
But as people all over the world were praying in expectation of Gods mercy and thanking him for positive developments, Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of NewYork at that time declared that"The number is down because we brought the number down."... God did not do that, fate did not do that, destiny did not do that… Our behavior has stopped the spread of the virus. God did not stop the spread of the virus. And what we do, how we act, will dictate how that virus spreads.” My townsman, Rev. Dr. Kingsley Obi Jon-Ubabuco, Rector, St. Philip-The-Apostle Anglican Church Arlington Texas took a strong exception to this, reminding him that ‘God gives the knowledge, skill, education, training, medications, machines, facilities, resources, the life and the well-being and the wisdom to make decisions that direct and make all things to come together for the good of the world He created and sustains’ and that the physicians and pharmacists, care givers, and all professions in the healthcare industry (and every profession and trade, for that matter),are working for/with God(Sirach 38:1-15). He ended by reminding Cuomo that while he might be the Governor of New York, he was not the Governor of the world! However, in Nigeria, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and boss of PTF-Coro, Boss Mustapha felt otherwise as he declared that the case would have been worse and Nigeria would have crumbled if not for prayers. He urged Christians and Muslims to pray more because given the directions, projections and modelling, we ought to have crumbled by now. But I can assure you that prayer has played an active role and active part in sustaining us as a people and as a country.” At another occasion, he led Government officials to attend an interdenominational service against Covid and that was after three days of fasting.
Coro has proved that everything around us is temporary as things aur lives revolved around, went on sabatical and we learnt to live without them. By early 2021, people were afraid that Coro had become a ‘permanent member’ of our homes and communities as it nearly became omnipresent. However, as I write( April,2022), Coro appears to have repented and governments all over the world, including Nigeria, are relaxing the stringent protocols. Our mouths are full of praises because He has given us victory and saved us from our foes(Ps 44:7+). In our troubles, we called on the Lord for help, he heard our voices and listened to our cry for help; he reached down from above, took hold of us and and pulled us out of the deep waters, rescued us from our powerful enemies, helped us out of danger( Ps 18:6,16-19). We are singing to the Lord and praising him because he has rescued us( Jer,20:13). Hymn 50( Ps116) is now trending: how can we repay the Lord for his goodness to us, for loosening our bonds? We will raise the cup of salvation, make a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on His name in praise! We can now join R Kelly to sing: ‘The storm is OVER now’. Well, it is not totally over because members of the US executive (Merrick Garland, Attorney General & Gina Raimindo, Commerce Secretary) and legislature were coronised when they attended the exclusive Gridiron Club dinner on 2/4/22.
Many
people believed that God had done it and there are still some who believe that
human effords are responsible for the denoument. However, it is indubitable that God, through
his Word played an invaluable role in the situation. People were given hope,
saved from despair and were able to maintain their mental stability through out
those distressed and fearful days. Our competence ( with which we managed and subdued
Oga-Coro) also comes from God(2Cor,5:3). We shall focus on the roles and antics of our pastors in the
covidious era, one of these days.
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