Covid 19 And the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. Psa 91:5-6 

 

Last Wednesday my Mom got discharged. She is now recuperating at a sibling’s home in Nairobi. She had quietly braved a third wave complication of Covid. People prayed. And God is faithful. We called and he answered. May his name be praised forever and forever more!

And Then It Strikes So Stealthily You Can Hardly Hear It!

It was on Sunday 14^th, a very normal Sunday, except Mom woke up with a severe headache. I had encountered such things before, so I wasn’t alarmed. I checked her Blood sugar and BP and both were ok. So I gave her her usual regimen of drugs plus Panadol Extra for her headache.

I then left for church. But when I came back later that afternoon I found her looking even worse. She had been lying on the same seat I left her. I asked to transport her to Nakuru to see her doctor but she refused. She said it was Sunday. So I called a local private clinician to come and give her a painkiller injection. He came and left. He wasn’t even wearing a mask! And of course none of us at home did. We had never seen Covid face to face. We knew one usually had a cold and a cough. Mom didn’t experience any of those things. She had been given the injection and things had cooled. But she still felt feverish. Then at 2.30am she woke me up again. It was the headache and it was tearing her up. I gave her more Panadol Extra.

Even now I didn’t worry about not wearing a mask. I mean who does it in their own home and in the middle of the night?

But if I had been careful I should have noticed one anomaly. Between 7pm and 7am I myself had taken six Panadol Extras! For the first time I started to worry.

I took Mom to Nakuru the following day. It is a thirty minute drive. But on arrival at the hospital we were immediately put on drip. Both our temperatures were soaring above 39 degrees centigrade.

The doctor recommended admission for both of us. But I rejected mine outright. Mom got admitted. But she slept badly, being disoriented, and ripping off the drips from her body. She would then walk along the corridors knocking on doors at night. The following day saw more tests being done on her - a chest x-ray, a headscan and a Covid test. The Covid test came out positive on the third day. After that her room was shut from visitors except her family. After a week she got transferred to Nairobi.

And then it hit me proper after two weeks. I felt nauseous, I raised a fever, and my appetite escaped through the window. For one week I did with one meal per day – and it usually took about three hours to clear.

For one week I lived in bed. I prayed, and prayed and prayed. The prayer wasn’t even long. I simply prayed Nehemiah’s prayer over and over: ‘Remember me, O my God’!

There was a time I got a bit disoriented and I stared at the Bible as if it was a strange book. But I forced myself to. Later however the concentration returned – and the appetite - and a lot of thanks to God! ‘Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?’ (Psa 106:1-2).

So when is The Last Wave Going to Be the Last?

Christ is coming soon. That is the meaning of Covid. ‘Watch and pray.’ ‘Make your calling and election sure.’ ‘And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed’ (Rom 13:11). 

If you don’t know Christ time is ticking away. Now is the time for salvation.  

For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness. Psa 95:7-8 

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 1Co 10:11  

We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 2Co 6:1-2 

Not tomorrow. Tomorrow may be too late. Decide and decide today. Some things mean nothing if they are lost. Not a lost life though. That is eternal. ‘For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’ (Mat 16:26). 

God help us to reflect deeply on these things, especially on this day we celebrate Jesus death and resurrection. Life is about sacrifice. Christ paid the ultimate price. What can’t you sacrifice for him?

Life is very short. That is the ultimate lesson of Covid. Today a man is here and tomorrow he is gone. Who will be next?

The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Isa 40:6-8 

And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure. Isa 33:6  

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2Pe 3:8-9