My mentor taught me that the first thing I should do every day is to meet with my Heavenly Father. First, I must open my Bible to hear His voice and then pray with Him.

That’s a good suggestion, because one gets so easily caught up in the things you have to do every day that if you don’t do it, it’s noon when you realise that you haven’t kept your daily appointment with God.

So, I slipped up this morning. I quickly scrolled through the news page and woke up almost an hour later. I haven’t spent time with God. It’s almost like going into the day without a much-needed breakfast.

The news also messes with one’s head, like the main story on the front page about the farmer’s wife who returned from the shop and immediately suspected trouble when she entered the door. The house was very messy. Ammunition was on the floor, and the safe’s door was open.

Frantically, she started looking for her husband. She let the neighbourhood watch know to come and help her search. What goes through one’s mind when you see there was a burglary and your spouse is missing?

They found him in the pigsty, badly injured, with his hands tied with a wire.

I wonder what goes through a person’s head when you’re mugged in your own home? So many people have been killed in similar incidents. You probably wonder if you are the next statistic in the number of farm murders …

The fear when they take you out to the pigsty. When they push you down with a cloth over your head. Everything is dark, and you just wait for the gun to go off.

And finally, your loved one comes around the corner. You’re still alive. You survived the attack. I would burst into tears of relief for sure.

But as I sit here, a dark cloud is hanging over me, and I have many questions about our country, about our country’s people. That’s what the news does. That’s what bad news does to one’s head.

I suspect people whose relationship with God is not right also live in fear. Afraid of the day when they’re going to lay their heads down, because even though you are such a big-mouth about there being no God, you still wonder when you sit alone in a corner: what will happen if you end up in a pigsty?

Fortunately for us who believe things work differently: ⁵God is keeping careful watch over us and the future.

The devil’s sting has been drawn. He can’t do anything to us anymore. Yes, he still tries his best, but he was defeated on the cross. Jesus has already fully dealt with him. Therefore, we need not fear. We don’t have to trudge around in the dark expecting a death shot at any moment.

We can live in peace. We know where we’re going, and if you’re in doubt, just trust in God and know that His arms are wrapped tightly around you and that nothing or no one can harm you.

Scripture
1 Peter 1:3-5

Reflection
Do you live with a cloud over your head?
What are you afraid of?
Do you believe that God protects you?

Prayer
Father, sometimes I’m afraid that the devil will come and put his dirty hands on me and tear me away from Your protection. I know he has been defeated. Please hold me tight. I ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.