God and RaceПримерок

If you’re looking for a quick fix to your discomfort around the conversation on racism, you’ve come to the wrong place. This devo isn’t a quick fix--it’s meant to be a guide. It’s a guide that offers something better than fast solutions and quick fixes. It offers space to acknowledge your pain, paralysis, and imperfections, and hope for the future. It’s meant to help you get back up and keep walking even when it hurts—especially when it hurts. We believe walking can heal us from the words and wounds that have hurt us, especially when we’re willing to walk with God. Now, we are not suggesting that all of us become walking target practice for those who actively commit racist acts of violence. But we are suggesting we keep moving forward with God in the midst of those acts, because God is our source of strength. Faith isn’t weakness, contrary to popular belief. And open-handed conversations about race are not for the faint of heart, so you’ll need all the strength you can get. Walking with God allows us to walk through the pain of systemic racism rather than running away from it and denying our unhealthy reactions of perfection or paralysis. We both know we have a lot of gumption to come along and tell everyone to just get along, to simply open their hearts and their hands regarding conversations on race. Let us assure you, there are no easy ways for a bunch of imperfect people to fix centuries of pain and paralysis. Instead, this is an invitation to join the journey and keep walking. Just like Wayne’s mother kept walking as those boys taunted her and threw a rock at her back, we need to keep walking too. Walking paves the best path toward what we should be walking towards. So, we are going to have to keep walking on the path towards conversations on God and race with open hands and open hearts if we want to know where we should be walking. When in doubt, keep on walking. And it’s even better if we keep on walking, together. Reflect: What makes it hard for me to keep walking on the journey of racial reconciliation? Where do I need a guide? What invitations have I received from others and from God to keep walking this journey? How has God shown me his strength even when I’ve been weak? What reasons does the Apostle Paul give for delighting in his weakness (2 Corinthians 12)? Like Paul, how can you rely on God’s grace and power in light of the reality of racism? The author of Hebrews gives us a list of faith-filled people of God, all of whom had to keep walking when life got hard. Pick two or three people who stand out to you in chapter 11. In what way(s) was their weakness turned to strength (v. 34)? Pray: Talk to God about what makes it so challenging for you to keep walking with open hands on the journey towards racial reconciliation and unity. Ask God for the strength you need—his strength—when you feel weak along the way.