I have made endless reflections on what we had asked for from God as Kenyans before the General Election held on March 4th: we wanted a peaceful free and fair election, free of violence and a good leadership thereafter that will be the people’s choice. That is what we wanted, or (maybe) what we needed.
Although the average me is not the
political type (referring to the politics of governance and not the politics of
fact and reason), I have been wrestling within myself with the facts at hand:
facts such as the reality of a new constitutional dispensation, new governance (though
I am not quite sure about this because of the on-going election petitions),
revived expectations and so many other things which you political guys out
there can fill in…
Be it as it may, our prayers
have given us a few realities to live with regardless of whether they (the
realities) are good or bad - because all this depends on which side of the
political coin you fall, and who you think
should be our president or leaders in general…
Nevertheless, I guess God
answered our prayer(s), right? We fasted and prayed (I had several partners I
did this with) crying out to God for a better leadership and a peaceful and prosperous
Kenya. And God answered our prayer(s). Glory be to His Name. He answered our
prayers: Psalm 34:17 [ESV]: “When the
righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their
troubles.” I
had been so sure that God was going to answer our prayers that I had assured my
fellow youth at church after our Bible Study that, “Guys, mark my words,
there’s not going to be violence/clashes this time round, no matter what has
been said all through…”
So with all that going on in my
mind after the General Elections, God has been saying to me (or in another way,
rhetorically asking me), “When you prayed to me for Peace, did I not answer you
in my utmost faithfulness?” And I have been answering, “Yes LORD, You did”. And
though I have been replying with a “Yeah LORD, You are faithful to answer [all]
our prayer(s),” it has been hard to admit that my answer to God is what is
being replicated in every Kenyan’s mouth, and at times even myself…
What has been stirring numerous
questions in me has been: are these leaders we elected so far the BEST there
could ever be as far as God’s children and this nation is concerned?
But again while tormenting my
mind with questions, I have been reminded that God has mercy on whosoever He chooses and compassion on whosoever He
pleases [Romans 9:15/Exodus 33:19 [ESV]:
For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom
I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”]. The truth has been (and will
always be) that no man has ever made choices for God. Okay, righteous men may
influence God to make choices, but they will never make decisions for Him… And
in the contest of prideful Kenyan Christians, and for the good reason of
stopping us from boasting of what a good
leader we had chosen for ourselves; and also for the sake of literally
ensuring that we are not seasonal intercessors but a people who are always standing on the walls of our nation
in prayer, God has decided that the leadership we have is what we should have.
I have wrestled with Proverbs
16:1 [ESV]: “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the
answer of the tongue is from the LORD” for a long time already. I
have wanted to judge God for exposing
us to “tough” situations as a nation
in the name of hardening our faith, but I have come to realize that whatever
God does, He does… and He does it for the good of us all (Romans 8:28) because only Him (as we all know
and believe) knows and has the very best for us…
This is how and why:
- He wants us to know that in the same way He answered us concerning a peaceful elections (regardless of how some of us may perceive the elections), He was and is faithful to make our nation abound in plenty regardless of what people and nations say. He wants to show us His power if we continually seek Him on behalf our land – just as we did before the elections. He wants us to be consistent in asking, so that He may be consistent in giving…He wants us never to cease seeking Him…
- He wants us to stop wholly depending on other nations. To stop being terrified by sanctions and 1st world nations. He wants us to humbly tell the nations that He is in control and that we (in every way possible and against all odds) are going to be okay. He wants us to face the reality of sanctions and impossibilities with a confident spirit. He wants to create a pride in us for His Name in this land. He wants us to tell the nations that we are of God, and if He is with us, no one can be against us. He wants them to be terrified of us – that we can manage it because we believe in Him. He wants us to stop being terrified, but start proclaiming the year of the Lord, the year of Jubilee (biblically but not politically)…!!
- He wants us to acknowledge Him as the main leader of our land and pray for our leadership just as in the days of old. He wants Kenya to know that what HE DOES, HE DOES… and that because He is God, He should know what He is doing. We are never left or forsaken by Him, right?
I know we may not agree on many things here on
earth, and mainly concerning the Kenyan political landscape, but we should at
least agree with God that He is omniscient and omnipotent. We should agree that
God has this nation inscribed on the palm of His hand. We should agree that we
are not supposed to give up on Kenya. We should at least appreciate what we
have – a nation that we can freely and peacefully build…Yeah, we should agree
on so many other things…
I am trying to see Kenya through the eyes of God, and
I am learning to thank Him that He cares so much not to let us forsake Him in the
name of dwelling in our comfort zones…
I am trying because there I should… I am trying because I want to see things
differently and as a child of God…
God has the best for us. Only the best.
Can we start seeing it that way, at least from
today?
Bonface Morris.
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