The Sunday Mail
Ian Rea
A recent incident had a profound effect on me. A friend of mine, who was buying groceries, stopped to observe a crusade that was taking place at a shopping centre’s car park.The “man of God”, decked in an expensive suit and running up and down the plush stage, was preaching prosperity gospel shamelessly, repeatedly misquoting Psalm 23:6 to emphasise his point.
“Surely goodness and Mercedes will follow me all the days of my life”, he yelled into the microphone, “and it can be the same for you!”
Sadly, this provides a thumbnail sketch of the state of a large percentage of the church in Zimbabwe. What hope is there for our nation when so many are seeking God for their own selfish ends, wanting a powerful personal assistant rather than a Lord they must serve?
Yet the Bible is clear that if God is going to do something in Zimbabwe, He will do it through the church. For example, does not Paul tell us that Christ has been given pre-eminent authority over all creation for the church, “which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Eph. 1:22-23)?
Christ is our head, but we are His body. Thus we are His hands and feet on earth to do the things He wants done on Zimbabwean soil. Our mandate is to exercise His authority whilst doing His will on earth, so that He can fill everything in Zimbabwe in every way. Reader, unless the church does something, I shudder to think where this nation will end up. But is the church in a sufficiently healthy state to be “the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way”?
We have some long way to go. But how should we respond?
Throughout the Bible, God’s people fasted in response to calamity. We are facing unprecedented calamity in Zimbabwe.
However, our fasting should be characterised by humility.
In fact, a true fast is not even defined by refusing to eat, it is a reminder to walk humbly with God all the time. And a humble heart is:
Obedient – Are you walking in complete obedience to God?
Submitted – Are you like the people of Israel who wanted an obedient god, refusing to obey the will of the God who created them for His purposes?
Dependent – Have you recognised that we must depend on God who is in control of Zimbabwe? We need to walk in daily recognition of our dependence on God, so that we do not take detours pursuing our own man-made plans and purposes.
Selfless – God says:
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? (Isaiah 58:6-7)”
A servant heart – consider the words of Paul:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. . . (Phil. 2:5-7)” Don’t you think it is appropriate for us to fast regularly at this time of calamity in Zimbabwe? However, when you fast, carry out an audit of your life, checking to see whether you are walking with a humble heart.
Have you been obedient, submissive, dependant, selfless and a servant since you last fasted? What needs to change going forward?
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Mic. 6:8).
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