The Head of the Centre for Ministerial Formation of the School of Theology, Mission and Leadership (STML) at the Pentecost University College (PUC), Apostle Dr. Samuel Ofori, has encouraged Christians to put their faith to bear to understand the workings of God in these trying moments.
In a televised sermon during a Twi Service on PENT TV Sunday, May 17, 2020, on the topic: “The Righteous Shall Live By Faith” – Habakkuk 2:4, Apostle Dr Ofori noted that in these difficult times where everything seems to have turned outside down and hardships all over, the righteous shall survive by their faith in the living God.
Explaining the background to the passage, the theologian said that it came to a time in the history of Israel when the nation was engrossed in great strife, war, total breakdown of law and order, and moral decadence. He said that it was in this period that Prophet Habakkuk cried to God in Habakkuk 1:2-13 for answers, after the seeming silence of God to their cry.
“You might be praying to God about a particular problem for a long time, but it seems there are no answers to your cry. But I want to assure you that God is not asleep, He is aware of what you are going through in life,” he assured, adding, “Despite the apparent silence of God, He is doing something great in our lives and in the nations that we might not be aware of. God shall never keep silent in the period of our miseries.”
Apostle Dr Ofori stated that sometimes God allows certain things to happen to both the righteous and the unjust to prove His sovereignty as explicitly articulated by King David in Psalm 73:1-3. This, he said, usually leaves some people to doubt the existence of God.
“I pray that the mind of God may be revealed to the righteous and the nations in these challenging times. In such times, some people even question why God allows disasters befall human beings and why He allows the righteous to also perish. But in Isaiah 55:8-9, God wants to assure us that His thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are our ways His ways,” he pointed out.
Explaining what to do in these challenging times, Apostle Dr Ofori entreated believers to strengthen themselves and rely on God. According to him, this is the time for Christians to actualise their belief and faith in God.
He added that just as God saw His people through the past plagues such Influenza, Black Death, SARS, the Slave Trade which lasted for about 400 years, among others, the same unchanging God will see the righteous through COVID-19.
“Hebrews 1:10-12 points to the fact that God remains the same forever and shall not pass away. This one too [COVID-19] shall pass because we have a God who has a covenant with us, so we shall not die because He has built a covenant of life with us,” he stressed.
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