I can’t erase this scene from my mind of Dr. Abiy Ahmed (the Prime Minister of Ethiopia), bidding farewell yesterday to the late General Seare Mekonnen.
If I were Dr. Abiy’s sister, what would I say to him sitting next to him during this time?
I don’t know.
Maybe, “Do not be afraid my brother?”
That is meaningless for him because Dr. Abiy knows no fear.
Okay, maybe, “Be courageous my brother?”
Nah! That too is nonsensical for he only knows courage.
So, I wonder what I can say to him that is fitting for today, in these trying and difficult times.
Aha! I know!
I know what to say to him. Dr. Abiy knows the word of our Lord. So I will speak to him in the word of our God, “the language” that he can easily understand and relate to:
I will say to him, “My brother, the word of God says this,”
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
– – –
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:1-3, 5-8)
“This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”” (Jeremiah 17:5-8)
Amen!
What do we have in this life except the word of God?
Nothing! ///