Egypt and North Africa: what happens now?

Many of us are watching the daily news to see how events are unfolding in North Africa and the Middle East. It seems to be such a turbulent, yet hopeful, time for citizens in these countries.

But I’ve noticed that while these revolutions are going on, quite a few people in the media, as well as colleagues and friends, are asking – “What happens now?” Fledgling democracy, if that is the will of the people, seems a still fragile hope in some of these states. Yes, some of those long in authority are now gone, but the citizens, often repressed for many years, don’t seem quite sure what to do next. Some Western observers have expressed fears that extremists will take over these governments and that the ordinary citizens will be no better off at all.

As I was thinking and praying about this recently, I remembered back to 2001. Like very many people worldwide at that time, I was regularly praying in the aftermath of the events of September 11 in the United States. I live in England, but I had a brother living in the US at the time, and so I know keenly how relatives and friends yearn to help their loved ones overseas when it looks as though they may be in potential danger.

One day around this time I was minding my little two-and-a-half-year-old nephew. We’d been having fun playing together and then settled down to watch a children’s video. Partway through the story he turned to me and asked, “What happens now?” After I answered him, he waited for a minute or so and then asked again, “And what happens now?” This went on for a few minutes—he was teasing me!

After he had left that evening though, I began to think about the question. Again and again he’d asked, “And what happens now?” It struck a chord with me, and I realized that over the previous week, many colleagues at work and in the community had voiced this same question. In the wake of the terrorist attacks, there was a general fear that something bad was to follow, such as further violence. This is the same sort of fear that’s often expressed with regard to North Africa and the Middle East today, as citizens there navigate an unstable and often dangerous political landscape.

What struck me at the time was that all the fear was of something that had not yet happened. Essentially, it stemmed from an uncertainty of God’s ability to care for us in the future. So I prayerfully asked God, “What is happening now?”

The answer came: “Why, God is happening.” God is being at this very moment. And because He is All right now (and there can be nothing outside of All), then in the next moment He is All too, as well as in the moment after that, and so on. God, our Mother and Father, is taking care of us in each moment.

The words from Hymn 391 in the Christian Science Hymnal came to mind. The hymn starts with two questions: “Why search the future and the past? / Why do ye look with tearful eyes / And seek far off for paradise?” It answers the question, at the end of the hymn, with these words: “The ‘one far-off divine event’ / Is now, and that event is Love” (Charles H. Barlow).

God’s present kingdom – it isn’t something we have to wait for.

I found I could trustingly pray that those involved in the aftermath of September 11, could find God’s (Love’s) care evident, which is all we ever really need – it is enough. And this care is just as available for those involved in political events in North Africa and the Middle East today. Mary Baker Eddy gave a wonderful definition in Science and Health of “enough”: “The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space. That is enough!” (p. 520 ).

One of the ideas I have loved in my study of Christian Science is that as God’s children we are living in God’s present kingdom – it isn’t something we have to wait for. In her spiritual interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer, Mrs. Eddy interpreted the line “Thy kingdom come” as “Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present” (Science and Health, p. 16 ). And it is a kingdom of Heaven. Elsewhere, she defined it as “the reign of harmony in divine Science; the realm of unerring, eternal, and omnipotent Mind” (p. 590 ). The writer of the book of Psalms in the Bible says too: “The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. All of your works will thank you, Lord. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power. They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign. For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. ...The Lord always keeps his promises” (Ps. 145:9-13 , New Living Translation). So in this kingdom, each moment God is acting, loving, mothering, fathering, comforting, guiding, guarding, governing, redeeming, never making mistakes ... the list is endless. And we can trust in this divine inspiration to guide our prayers and the actions of those seeking freedom and stability in the Middle East.

I don’t think my little nephew realized how important his question was when he was being playful, but I’m grateful to him for prompting me to pray and to see a little more clearly God’s present harmonious government of all.

So what happens now in North Africa and the Middle East? Of course these countries need to move forward to more stable political situations. And each of our God-empowered prayers surely has a role to play in supporting harmonious development and honest answers for all as events unfold in the coming weeks and months.

As we continue to pray for guidance, I trust that each step of the way we are with God. We are living in God’s (Love’s) kingdom of heaven now, and Love’s good presence includes no element of violence, uncertainty, or fear. Paul’s prayer in his letter to the Romans in the Bible is what I pray for North Africa and the Middle East: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost” (15:13 ).