https://odb.org/MY/2022/03/29/past-the-boundaries-of-knowing
The Covid-19 pandemic, now turning endemic, has turned upside down many lives across the world. From upheavals in families caused by lost lives, children losing both parents to the virus to restaurants and businesses closed for good as the prolonged lack of income just meant that they can’t continue paying their workers, their rent and meet their other commitments. Inevitably, those at the lowest level of the chain suffer the most as workers lose their jobs when businesses close. Even large industries like consumer electronics and automotive are facing serious supply issues caused by the current global shortage of chips.
Unless you’re a government retiree with a life long pension or a government servant, no one is spared from the anxiety and uncertainty of what the future lies. We don’t know how long we can hold on to our jobs. In fact, we are unsure how long our companies can survive the impact from the pandemic in terms of sales, margins or even the continued availability of raw materials to manufacture our goods. For example, you may have secured orders for 100,000 units of your products for this year but with the unavailability of a key component, you may only be able to actually sell 10,000 units this year with the 90,000 postponed to next year, affecting both this year’s as well as next year’s sales. Or we may have to contend with rising prices causing less people buying our goods or services as people have less in their wallets due to the present economic situation. As consumption makes the world go round, depressed demand across markets leads to a cascading downward spiral with disastrous consequences.
If we are faced with the negative effects of the pandemic, if we lose our businesses or jobs in the process – as believers, we can trust in the unseen and put our faith in God. We need to believe that whatever happens, we may be hard pressed but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. Whatever may happen to our businesses and jobs, we will be preserved by God. We will suffer but will not be destroyed. We need to make adjustments in our lifestyle, in our spending but we will find a way out of this maze with God’s grace and guidance. Certain plans and even dreams need to be shelved. Certain aspirations need to be curtailed and adjusted but we will see this through as God is with us all the way.
The message today is don’t give up hope and despair. The Lord is still the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Jesus Christ is still our Lord and Saviour. The Holy Spirit is still with us, living in us. March on, continue our walk. In fact, be more fervent in our faith and serve God more. Get more involved in prayer and ministry as we explore and search for the light at the end of the tunnel. Get ourselves busy in God, don’t sit around and sulk. As we look for new things to do in terms of our jobs and businesses, serve God by helping out others in our predicament, minister to people in need, be active in church. There will be a way out as we are a people who believe and trust in the unseen. We are a people who fix our eyes on the unseen as what is seen is temporal but what is unseen is eternal!
Ronnie's Thoughts 