My friend, let me speak to you from my home here in Akasia, where the winter dust settles on the jacarandas and the sounds of our neighbourhood are a constant rhythm of life. I want to talk about a shadow that I, too, have felt—the paralyzing fear of the future that paints pictures of lack and failure. It shouts that the unknown is a threat. But you and I must quiet that voice with a greater truth.
A Story from Our Soil
Just last week, I sat in a coffee shop, scrolling through news on my phone. I read about the recent G20 summit right here in Johannesburg, and the subsequent diplomatic row with the United States . The headlines spoke of exclusion, of punitive measures, of nations turning away from one another. A younger version of me would have felt a familiar anxiety stir—a fear that the ground beneath our feet, both as a nation and as individuals, is shifting and unstable. Will the economy falter? Will opportunities dry up? Will we be left behind?
This anxiety is not so different from the fear that grips a student in Soweto the night before their matric results, or a mother in Khayelitsha wondering if her grant will stretch to the end of the month. It’s the fear of the farmer in the Free State watching the clouds for rain, and the cosplayer at Comic Con Africa, thrilled by the celebration of pop culture , yet anxious about finding a job in a competitive market. It is the universal human experience of staring into the fog of tomorrow and feeling your heart falter.
The Biblical Battle for the Mind
This fear is not merely a feeling; it is a spiritual stronghold, a lie about God’s character that we must confront with prophetic boldness. The world tells us to trust in political stability, in financial portfolios, in our own cunning. But these are broken reeds. The error of our age is what the philosopher Dru Johnson might call "autonomism"—the conviction that we are alone, that we must reason our way out of the dark by ourselves .
But the Scripture declares unequivocally a different truth. The God who holds tomorrow holds your hand today. This is not a sentimental platitude; it is a metaphysical reality. Let us define our terms clearly. God’s sovereignty is His absolute, unrestricted rule over all creation, from the rise and fall of nations to the fall of a sparrow. His goodness is the immutable character that ensures all His actions toward His children are ultimately for their benefit and His glory.
The argument can be formulated thus:
1. Major Premise: The Scriptures attest that God is both utterly sovereign (Psalm 103:19) and perfectly good (Psalm 100:5).
2. Minor Premise: You are His child, through faith in Jesus Christ, and thus you are the object of this sovereign goodness.
3. Conclusion: Therefore, your tomorrow, however unknown to you, is held securely in the hands of a good God. Your future is not a random threat, but a curated gift.
A common objection is, "But look at the suffering around us! Look at the gender-based violence, the poverty, the pit latrines that still endanger our children" . How can a good God be in that? This objection fails because it mistakes God’s permissive will in a broken world for His ultimate, redemptive purpose. He does not promise a pain-free life, but He does promise His presence in the pain, and a plan that weaves even the darkest threads into a tapestry of glory (Romans 8:28).
The Unshakeable Foundation for Your Future
So how do we, as modern South Africans, live this out? We must move from a theology of panic to a philosophy of peace, rooted in the Hebraic mind of the Scriptures—a mind that does not separate belief from practical, ritualized living .
Your faith is not a fragile feeling. It is a ritual of trust. Just as the fans at Comic Con Africa express their passion through cosplay and community , you express your faith through daily, deliberate acts of reliance on God. You open your Bible not as a magic book, but as the authoritative script for your life. You pray not to inform God, but to align your heart with His. You worship, as I have done for twenty years, not because the music is perfect, but because it is a skilled practice that shifts your focus from the storm to the Saviour.
The peace in you, the peace that Christ left for us (John 14:27), is stronger than the panic that tries to overwhelm you. It is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of a Person. It is a peace that can look at diplomatic tensions, power shortages, and personal problems and say, "My God holds it all. His plans for me are for good, to give me a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).
Your Call to Courageous Discipleship
Therefore, reason itself, illuminated by Scripture and confirmed in our deepest longings, compels us to acknowledge that the most rational response to fear is faith. It is the only position that matches the reality of a created universe governed by a loving God.
I challenge you today: Actively transfer your trust. Move it from the shaky foundations of human provision to the unshakable rock of divine promise. Name your specific fear—be it a job, a relationship, a national concern—and deliberately place it in the hands of Jesus Christ. The panic is a shout, but the peace of God is a deeper, more powerful current. Let it flow through you. Let it anchor you.
For the God who commands the winds and the waves of global politics and personal circumstance is in your boat. And with Him, you will not merely survive the storm; you will cross over to the other side.
In the mighty name of Jesus,
Harold Mawela
Akasia, Pretoria
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