Odita Sunday 
By Ewere Okonta
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eobnewsmedia@gmail.com
www.ewereokontablog.org.ng
Last Tuesday evening, somewhere between a crowded bus stop and a quiet hospital corridor, life delivered one of its usual reminders: the world is a mystery.
Earlier that morning, I had met a young man at a café near the Owa Oyibu Campus of the University of Delta, Agbor. He was vibrant, full of dreams, speaking excitedly about his plans. He had just secured a new job in a technology firm. His words were soaked in optimism.
“Sir,” he told me, “in five years, I will build a startup that will change Africa.”
I smiled at his confidence. Youth have a beautiful way of believing tomorrow belongs to it.
By evening, the same young man was lying unconscious in a hospital ward after a strange accident involving a motorcycle that appeared from nowhere. The doctors were uncertain. The family was confused. Friends were stunned.
Just hours earlier, he had been planning the future.
Now, the future had paused.
Welcome to the mystery of the world.
Every day, we wake up believing we understand life. We make schedules, write business plans, pursue careers, build houses, chase influence, and argue about politics on the internet as if tomorrow is guaranteed. Yet the same world that allows us to plan also has a habit of interrupting our plans without notice.
A man boards a flight expecting to land in another city; sometimes the news says the aircraft never arrived.
A woman leaves home healthy in the morning and by nightfall the hospital diagnosis changes the trajectory of her entire life.
A billionaire who controls corporations cannot control the tiny blood clot that doctors discover too late.
A poor student somewhere in a rural village suddenly invents an idea that attracts global investors.
The world turns upside down in ways that no textbook, no economist, no philosopher, and sometimes not even the most devoted religious leader can fully explain.
This is why the world is indeed a mystery.
Science has made extraordinary progress. The internet connects billions of people in seconds. Artificial intelligence can now write essays, diagnose diseases, and even predict weather patterns. Yet with all this knowledge, humanity still cannot answer the most basic question with certainty:
What will happen tomorrow?
Nobody knows.
Not the president in the state house.
Not the professor in the university.
Not the pastor on the pulpit.
Not the billionaire in his private jet.
Life humbles everyone eventually.
That is why death shocks us every time it happens, even though we know it is inevitable. Accidents leave us speechless. Sudden success surprises us. Sudden failure confuses us.
The world behaves like a puzzle with missing pieces.
In our communities, we see it all the time. Two people graduate from the same university with the same degree. One becomes globally successful. The other struggles for decades.
Two friends start the same business. One flourishes, the other collapses.
A careful driver dies in an accident while a reckless one survives.
Explain that if you can.
This mystery is what should teach us humility.
Unfortunately, many people misunderstand the lesson.
Some people carry the problems of the entire world inside their heads. They worry endlessly about wealth, status, power, and reputation. They fight bitter wars over temporary things. They lose sleep over matters that time will erase.
But here is the uncomfortable truth: life is too unpredictable for such arrogance.
The world is not fully under our control.
This does not mean we should become lazy. It does not mean we should abandon planning. It does not mean ambition is useless.
No.
Planning is important. Hard work is essential. Discipline is necessary. Vision is powerful.
But wisdom lies in understanding the limit of human control.
You can plant the seed.
But you cannot command the rain.
You can design the strategy.
But you cannot control the outcome.
You can drive carefully.
But you cannot control every other driver on the road.
That is why humility before God remains one of the greatest forms of intelligence.
Many of the tragedies we witness around us; broken friendships, political conflicts, family disputes, ruthless competition come from people who behave as if they own tomorrow.
They forget that life can change in a single phone call.
One phone call from the hospital.
One phone call from the police station.
One phone call from a doctor.
One phone call announcing unexpected opportunity.
Life swings in unpredictable directions.
The mystery of the world should therefore teach us three powerful lessons.
First, live with humility. No matter how successful you become, remember that life itself is fragile.
Second, live with kindness. Since nobody knows what tomorrow holds, it is wise to treat people well today.
Third, live with faith. Human planning is important, but divine planning is supreme.
History repeatedly shows that many of the greatest breakthroughs in science, business, and leadership came from unexpected places and unlikely individuals.
The same mysterious world that produces tragedy also produces miracles.
The student nobody noticed becomes the global innovator.
The struggling entrepreneur becomes the industry leader.
The rejected idea becomes the billion-dollar solution.
Mystery cuts both ways.
That is why worrying endlessly about tomorrow is both exhausting and pointless.
Instead, we should work hard, plan wisely, love deeply, laugh often, forgive quickly, and trust that there is a bigger intelligence guiding the universe.
Call it providence.
Call it destiny.
Call it divine orchestration.
But whatever name we choose, one fact remains undeniable:
The world is indeed a mystery.
And perhaps the greatest wisdom in life is learning how to live faithfully inside that mystery.
This is the Sunday sermon from my holy pulpit!
Ewere Okonta is the CEO of EOB Media. He is a family values advocate. He writes from the Department of Business Administration, University of Delta, Agbor.
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