The Wheel behind the Will of God

Dear God,

You are a master planner; I have no doubts about that. What I worry about sometimes, is how you let people manipulate your will for their own gain and succeed. I have always wondered about that. Then I heard my pastor say this one day… “Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. God’s Will is not always easy, but it’s always worth it.”

Now hear the concluding part of my story……..

The fire crackled, casting flickering shadows on Grandfather’s face. Afam sat up straight, hoping for more of the stories.

“So, Grandfather, the missionaries were messengers of God, they had an obligation to obey the call of God. But why did they do all that they did?”

Grandfather chuckled, tapping Afam lightly on the forehead. “My boy, ‘When a rabbit digs, it does not do so for fun—it is searching for food.’ The missionaries were not just spreading the faith; they were helping their masters expand and take territories.”

Afam gasped. “You mean there was a larger scheme behind the faith? The target was the land, the gold, the oil?”

Grandfather nodded. “And more than that—The target was the people, their dignity, and even their mind! The biggest and most fatal conquer is the human mind!”

“How can this be, Grandfather?”, the boy wondered

“The missionaries wrote long letters back to Europe after they had arrived. They described Africa as a place full of “wild people who needed saving.” They told stories of “uncivilized” men and “oppressed” women who needed guidance to survive.

“But that’s not true!” Afam protested.

“Of course not!” Grandfather agreed. “Our people had kings, queens, doctors, builders, farmers, and warriors. We had laws, traditions, and wisdom older than the oceans.”

“But why did they say those things?” Afam frowned.

“My boy, if you want to kill a dog, you start by giving it a bad name.” Grandfather chuckled

Afam’s eyes widened. “So, by making us seem needy and weak, they made it easier and legal for them to come to help us and help themselves?”

Grandfather smiled. “Ah, now you’re thinking like a wise man! And not just our land—our labour. They made it seem like using African hands to build their railways, carry their goods, and work on their farms was ‘helping’ us.”

“But that surely can’t be the “Will of God?” Afam asked.

“Maybe, maybe not. God’s will won’t always make sense, but it will always be perfect,” Grandfather murmured.

Afam’s mind was racing. “I still wonder why and how the people, as strong as they were didn’t fight back?”

“Oh, they did. Or rather they tried, but it was too late. They were already too divided to stand for long.

Afam frowned. “How?”

Grandfather leaned in. “The missionaries came with gifts. Delicacies unknown and severely desired. The chiefs craved all these and in turn for the gifts looked the other way as their people were catered away. So, for a token of salt and mirror, walking stick and hat, able-bodied warriors went missing and found themselves in ships bound for Europe”.

“The chief priests started professing divine messages based on a bag full of cowries or “a shilling” and the innocents were condemned and banished to the ships. Warriors who were to protect the lands were now used to round up the people and send them to the ships. Everybody and everything became suspect.

Afam’s heart sank. “And soon, the people stopped trusting each other.”

Grandfather nodded. “That is what happened. Some people converted to Christianity in fear. Some stayed with our old ways. Some followed Islam. Suddenly, brothers argued, villages split, and the colonial masters no longer needed chains to control us—we did the work for them.”

Afam shook his head. “That’s terrible!”

“It was a clever trick, my boy,” Grandfather said. “As an old proverb goes, ‘A house that fights within itself does not need an enemy.’”

“But Grandfather,” Afam said, “isn’t God fair and just? How could he have allowed these atrocities to succeed?”

“My son, the God the missionaries brought with them had a very different and beautiful flavour. He is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken. When we could not trace His hand, we trusted His heart that He would help us.”

“And God helped?”, the boy asked with hope in his eyes.

“Yes, He did, Grandfather smiled at him, He raised great men in the missionaries that stood against the extortions even against their own masters. These men fought on our side till the end. They restored our dignity and gave us back our lands and golds.

Afam smiled. “So not all of them tried to erase our stories!”

“Exactly!” Grandfather laughed. “Some knew that if you take away a people’s land, you take away their soul. So, they fought to preserve it.”

“So, what happened in the end?” Afam asked.

Grandfather stretched his arms. “Well, my boy, the “Will of God” was never truly silenced. The people woke up. They fought back. Some used words, some used weapons, and some used wisdom. But in the end, God turned the captivity around. Christianity was entrenched and the people became better for it. For you see, every storm has a purpose, either it clears a path or strengthens the roots”.

“So, we won?”

Grandfather smiled. “Look around you, Afam. We are here, aren’t we? Our God is with us, isn’t He? We are better off than we started, aren’t we? Yes, we Won, we survived.” One thing is clear in all these, “The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.”

Afam grinned. “And as long as we listen and obey the Will of God, we will never be lost.”

Grandfather patted his head. “Ah, my boy, now you sound like the storyteller.”

(And as the stars twinkled above them, the Talking Drum beat softly in the night—steady, strong, and unbroken).

Now, my Lord, my case is made. Rick Warren said that “Faith is trusting God even when you don’t understand His plan.” I may never understand the patterns and pictures of your plan, but I understand “Faith”. I may never understand why you let certain things fall apart but I know that “Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place”. I may never know why you stand back and watch men twist your plan out of place, but I know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

So, do your will, I must.

Beat the righteous drum, I will.

And be in Faith and Trust, I am.

Be the lamp that leads the people to the light, I must.

Because You are the Wheel behind Your Will!

 

This is your daughter; I have stopped digging for I am checking in.