The dramatic manner in which he has qualified for the 2018 Batumi World Chess Olympiad, makes Prince Daniel Mulenga the happiest person in Zambia.
Mulenga’s dreams of qualifying for Georgia initially got dashed when he lost in the playoffs of the penultimate phase of the Zambian Olympiad trials. As he protested over the allegedly illegal Queen move in front of a group of Zambian spectators, which was seen on the video clip posted on one of our WhatsApp groups, I saw frustration in his eyes. This is somebody who puts his heart and effort in the game, feeling cheated. But, thanks to God, at the eleventh hour (just like in the movie “Facing The Giants“), he was informed that one of the players will not play in the final phase for some reason, and as the next in line, he has to take the slot. He went to play, and eventually qualified into the Zambian Olympiad team as number four (4) on the list, with a very important final round Godlike win, to deny an International Master from qualification, as he came out to confess that the hand of God was in his qualification.
Had Prince qualified at first kick, without the drama, he would not have been able to clearly see the hand of God in his qualifying status. It would have been easy for him to think he has qualified because he is a genius or because he trains hard and studies hard. Like the story of Gideon, God kept on trimming the Israelite soldiers until they reached a sizable number of three hundred (300). He said if they were many, they would not realize that it was Him who gave them the victory.
The Bible says, prepare the horse for the battle, but victory belongs to the Lord. Sometimes He does not give you the wins when you are at your best, and give it to you when you least expected it, maybe when you are slightly out of form or when everything seems to be going wrong in your life. He has his own way of making us see His hand in and around us, if we look carefully.
Until we begin to realize it is Him that helps us, God will never do some things for us that we crave for. We go through some particular hardships for one sole purpose, so that we can learn not to depend on ourselves, and the earlier we recognize this, the sooner things begin to work for us.
The Bible says Isaac harvested a hundred (100) fold in the season of drought and it became very clear to him and everyone around him, that God was with him in the land.
It is disastrous for man to depend on himself and lay claim to successes, as man’s sole duty is to work hard and leave the rest, which is sorted out by God.
I have seen brilliant students fail exams, I have seen excellent athletes fail to win awards and titles, I have also seen beautiful & well mannered ladies fail to find a husband and I have seen great talents unrecognized. This just goes to show that “it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but it is God that shows Mercy”.
So in everything, put God first and you will reap the good of the land.
