28TH OCTOBER

HAPPY SURVIVAL

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea.”

(Psalm 46:1-2)

The sights of the malnourished and kwashiorkor ridden children on the roads were a nightmare and still bring tears to my eyes, fifty years later. Some were gasping for breath and sometimes we would see some mothers stop and cry over a dead child before dumping such and moving on with the others.

We were traveling from city to city in our war-torn zone, with a privilege that only a few had – traveling in a car. Finally, we settled in the town of Aro- Ndizuogu, till the end of the civil war in Nigeria. That was Biafra.

You cannot imagine how frightening and sometimes deafening the air raids were. Sometimes we would see the planes come very low; at other times, we could see the bombs dropped. But most often we would hear the deafening earth-shaking sounds of the bombs.

We had all been taught to lie flat on the floors or run into the constructed bunkers if we had time. We watched our friends and acquaintances die. Many thousands of civilians died from the air raids, starvation, sickness and, of course, the uncountable number of soldiers at the war fronts.

The earth gave way, the mountains were moved into the sea but we survived, only because God saved us and at the end of the war, our slogan to each other was: Happy survival!

It is only by God’s grace that we survived the many possible dangers that could have killed us. God remained and still is our refuge and strength, a very present help in troubles. Do you remember the times God has saved you from near-misses? Is your life in His hands? He is real!

ACTION: Are you in any trouble? Fear not; trust God and He will save you.

PRAYER: Awesome God, I say thank you for life and the privilege of having you as my strength and help in times of trouble.