BEFORE March 28, 2015, Dame Patience Jonathan was seen as a true believer of Jesus Christ. Like her husband, she was a regular face in churches of different denominations. Obviously, she committed her husband’s presidential contest to God. She must have prayed fervently that her husband wins the election.
Just as she was asking God for favour, Buhari her husband’s opponent was also praying to the same God. As humans, we all seek God’s favour in what ever thing we want to do. We want God to help us achieve our goals and when our prayers are answered, we scream and go for thanksgiving. The problem is, is it possible for God to answer all our prayers at the same time? All the 14 presidential candidates prayed to God to win the presidential election but we can only have one president a time, except we want to break the country into 14 republics.
The failure of President Jonathan to get a second term may not translate to God’s refusal to grant him his request. The Bible says in all situations we should give thanks to God. The President’s wife should like her husband not turn her back on God because Jonathan lost the election.
On Easter Friday last week, only the president was in church with his wife conspicuously absent. As if that was not enough, she also refused to go to church last Sunday. She simply stayed back while her husband went to the church alone. That was a complete opposite of what was the practice before the election.
Now the question is, is the first lady angry with God? Is she protesting because her husband did not make it in the presidential election? Or is she so devastated that she is yet to recollect her self? What ever her answers to these questions may be, I think she should learn to be grateful to God who has kept them in government house and at government expense for the past 16-years. Her husband started up as deputy governor to Alamyeisigha and later became the governor of Bayelsa State when his boss was impeached. From there he was catapulted to position of a vice president of Nigeria under Yar’Adua’s presidency. When Yar’Adua died, he automatically became the president of the country in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. He contested in 2011 and won.
It is gratifying to note that President Jonathan confessed recently that he is the luckiest Nigerian politician to have had the opportunity of enjoying government privileges for 16 years – 1999 till date. The position taken by Mr. President does not appear to be shared by his wife who appears to have seen the defeat of her husband in the election as a terrible humiliation. If she is truly a Christian in the manner she has exhibited over the years, she would have known that power is given by God. When her husband won the 2011 presidential election it was just because God wanted it to be so. Now that the same God has given the power to another person through Nigerians, she should learn to be grateful.
Her behaviour is a revelation of the selfish nature of man. It is in our nature to praise God when things are going well; we refuse to give Him honour when things go contrary to our expectations. We fail to realize that the defeats we suffer may have been caused by our actions or inaction.When God gave the Israelites a king called Saul, It was expected that he would carry out God’s instructions without modifications. When God asked Saul to kill the Amalakites, their king and all their domestic animals, Saul acted differently. He spared the life of the king and brought some fat domestic animals to Israel which made God angry. Prophet Samuel was sent to tell Saul, he had disobeyed God and therefore was no longer competent to remain as king of Israel. The spirit of God did not only depart from Saul but he died a miserable death and David who was just a teenager was anointed king.
This is a period for soul searching, Patience Jonathan should sit down and reflect on her husband’s performance. She should also reflect on her somewhat uncouth behaviour and find out if she was not part of her husband’s problem rather than blaming God. For example did she realize the implications of some of the statements she made during the campaigns like asking her supporters to stone any person who used the word change. Nigeria has a population of over 160 million and her husband hails from the smallest ethnic group in Nigeria. Therefore to have been given the opportunity to rule this country for 6-years is a miracle. God should be glorified. Her husband is not the most educated Nigerian neither is he the most exposed. It is just by divine grace that he has enjoyed from God and all that he has acquired for the past 16-years.
Long before March 28, God already knew Jonathan was not going to win. When some pastors were predicting victory for him and collecting money God was laughing.
God sends help when we need it. There is no pain we bear that has not be borne by Christ. The way to heaven is consecrated by His footprints. Every thorn that wounds our feet has wounded Christ. Every cross that we are called to bear, he has borne before us. The Lord permits conflicts and defeats to prepare the soul for peace. The time of trouble is a fearful ordeal for God’s people, but it is time for every true believer to look up and by faith he may see the bow of promise encircling him.
In victory as well as in defeat we must learn to give glory to God who sends us to sleep and wakes us up in the morning.
In the form of men, angels are always in the assemblies of the righteous, and they visit the assemblies of the wicked, as they went to Sodom to make a record of their deeds to determine whether they have passed the boundary of God’s forbearance. He delights in mercy; and for the sake of those who really serve Him, he restrains calamities and prolongs the tranquility of multitudes.
Little do sinners against God realize that they are indebted for their own lives to the faithful few whom they delight to ridicule and oppress