Today (the 23rd March 2021) marks exactly one year since lockdown restrictions began in the United Kingdom. As restrictions begin to ease and life returns to some form of “normality”, it can be easy to look back at last year with a pessimistic mindset, remembering only the difficulties of 2020. However, even after the year we just had, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 77:11, we want to “remember the deeds of the LORD”. To do this, we asked some of our writers to share what they have learnt about God’s faithfulness during these unprecedented times.
Shumi Mararike: During the pandemic, God has brought greater depth and joy into the relationships in my life. Despite spending the majority of my time at university, I’ve come to appreciate the love and support of my family all the more. We invest in the well-being of each other, being intentional in our efforts to spend more time together. I have also experienced more of Christ’s love from my friends’ sacrificial love and consistency toward me. Their wisdom, encouragement and rebuke has contributed to my growth as an individual over the past year. Most significantly, two of my close friends have trusted Christ for salvation; to God be the glory!
Chude Obuaya: When news first broke out that there was a deadly virus spreading throughout the world I underestimated the severity. I looked at the data at the time and it didn’t seem as severe as it turned out to be. My university was one of the latest to close and I had to finish my Masters at home. This affected my final exams as well as my dissertation and it was difficult. Compiling this, there was so much death that was occurring throughout the world from Covid-19 to police brutality, it was a lot. God led me through a time of lamenting which was good for my soul. It led me to the goodness of God. Throughout the past year, God has shown His faithfulness to me in my degree, career and relationships. He has kept me and shown me that He is in control no matter what happens.
Seyi Sobogun: God is so faithful. I cannot count the number of times in the last year that God has shown me that He is for me, He is with me and He will never leave me. In situations where I was ready to give up, God always showed up. But that is exactly who He is, He is faithful and even if we are faithless, He will always remain faithful because He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:11). No matter what may have happened over the last year, regardless of what fears I may have faced or challenges that came my way, God remained the same.
Deborah Asamoah: As a TV freelancer, I already live month to month with the precarity of employment. In March 2020, the coronavirus brought the production I was working on and all other TV productions, to a screeching halt. I went from having work and income lined up, to nothing at all. However, during those months I had plenty because God used His faithful providence to ease my anxiety by making financial provision when I had no means to work. But more importantly, to teach me a greater lesson of finding satisfaction in Him amidst the trial of having to go without.
Ayo Stephen: The pandemic was one that took us all by surprise. At the start I must admit, it was difficult, tolling on my mental and physical health. However, God has shown that His faithfulness never changes despite how the world changes. God has kept all my family and friends alive. Due to his grace, I did not see death, nor did I mourn over my loved ones. He also brought me closer to Him, despite my imperfect self – and with the sudden lockdowns, He has graced me with opportunities to become closer to Him and further away from the world.
Toye Akinoso: During this lockdown, God was faithful to making sure my joy in him will be full. When lockdown started in the UK, it seemed as though the world took a standstill. The busyness we had all become so used to quickly dissipated. Prior to the pandemic, I found that we can often get so caught up in the business of life that we often miss the lessons God is trying to teach us. During this lockdown, I learnt the importance of what the Psalmist meant he said ‘be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10). This year, God allowed me to slow down and focus on what really mattered, our Creator God, Heavenly Father and Saviour.
Matidaishe Mupfacha: God was faithful in preserving my family, especially my parents. The are both nurses and they worked in environments were Covid was very much present. Every day they were exposed to potentially being infected, but they never were. Things were going well until late-December 2020 when most of the family got infected, my dad being the worst affected. I watched my dad do his best to remain present and positive through the whole painful ordeal though every night he fought nightmares of death. I watched my whole family support each other, trying to put their medical minds together in order to alleviate my dad’s ever-fluctuating symptoms. God was faithful in keeping us sane and hopeful. He allowed my dad to make it through.
Dan W. Brown: This time last year I had just dropped out of uni and was working a temporary job in a factory, feeling very uncertain about the future. Lockdown turned out to be a great blessing in my life, it helped me to slow down, spend more time in the word and prayerfully consider the future. In the middle of my uncertainty, God was wonderfully working, and he blessed me with a job that I love, and in the process taught me a lot about what it means to rely on him completely. For the rest of my life, I will look back on the last year as a time when God displayed to me his magnificent sovereignty over a broken world. Glory to God