Sidi Musa (1) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

Even in laughter the heart may sorrow.
Proverbs 14:13

Sidi Musa (1)
Sidi Musa was a singer and entertainer who knew an endless number of songs and had a story, an anecdote, a joke, for every topic. His humour was contagious, so he provided a lot of happiness for his audiences. In a poll for the happiest person, his name would certainly have been mentioned.

But behind a facade of cheerfulness lay the real Sidi Musa: a young man with an empty heart and an accusing conscience, fearful of the future and of death. Everyone thought Musa was happy – but he couldn’t hide the truth from himself.

He was religious: he fasted and prayed, he donated money, he chastised himself and he went on pilgrimages. He searched for peace and security but in vain. He found no rest and his heart remained empty.

Even today there are people who are favoured by fortune and can afford everything. They are brilliant entertainers, darlings of the media who exude charm and wit, ride a wave of success, have money and influence, and have fans falling at their feet. But if you take a look behind their facade, if you listen to or read their honest comments rather than their ready-to-print ones, if you see their faces unvarnished for once, then you recognise the truth: burdened consciences, empty hearts, and fear of failing, being forgotten, being alone, growing old and dying.

The Bible also describes such people. In the book of Ecclesiastes, a king who possessed everything and indulged himself in whatever he could summarised his life by saying, “And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). Doesn’t the Bible provide a solution either?

(to be concluded tomorrow)

Today’s reading: Nehemiah 3:1-15 · Proverbs 11:10-19