Dating far back in the reels of history- even before the enslavement of Black people and the Mid Atlantic Slave Trade- long before that, Black women have had to bear the weight of life all around them.
Beloved, hear my heart for a moment. This post is not meant to isolate any race(s), but instead highlight struggles that I have either heard or experienced. Being Black in America is no easy task and not for the faint of heart.
I often ask myself, “who said that our shoulders were strong enough to bear this weight?” I really want to know who decided that Black women could endure all the things that we must endure and why we are expected to do it with a smile.
Indentured Servitude.
Rape, murder, molestion.
The selling of loved ones.
Rearing the children of others… while being ripped away from your own.
The strength of Black women is far greater than I can even describe. Yet it is on this Monday before Christmas that I am choosing to let the record show that we are tired.
We are tired of being told that we are too much… or not enough.
We are tired of being told that we are strong… while others continue to mute our strength.
We are tired of being told to silence our voice, grin and bear situations, and wait our turn.
We are tired of being twice as good… to only receive half as much.
We. Are. Tired.
Soooo… what do we do in this season of tiredness? How do we press through when life is slamming us against a wall and we are drowning in our situations?????
Simple. We turn to God and let Him be our strength.
A few years ago I was doing a study on the names of God. Beloved, did you know that as the Bible goes on, God continued to reveal Himself to His through the revelation of His different names. Every name that I studied, I wrote in my phone so that I could pull them back up when I needed them. As I look at that list today, I see the name that speaks to my heart and this post- Elohei Ma’uzzi, God of my strength.
When the weight of life is crashing down on us, it seems all but impossible to call out to God and praise His name, yet that is exactly what God calls us to do. The good news is, God is not asking us to be strong on our own, He is instead asking us to let Him be our strength because He is able to handle them and more.
Do me a favor, please. Click over to Google and do a search for “STRENGTH in the Bible.” How many scriptures do you see? Pray and ask God to help you choose two to read- one Old Testament and one New Testament. Read them and think about what God is saying to you in this moment. Hold onto that feeling and pray them back to God. Pray and tell Him your thoughts, asking Him for help if you need it.
Regardless of your race or gender, our God is still offering to be your entire source of strength. Whereas the healing, love, and waiting were all things that we initiated and trusted God for the rest, having strength in the today starts with us relinquishing our hold on our lives and letting God be our strength.
So, when I say “live in the strength of today”, what I am really saying is, “let God be your strength today.”
Be blessed.
PS- A note to my sister:
You’ve had to be strong for so long and I know that it hurts at times. As you step into this new battle, please remember that God is with you and He is able to do more than you know, if you would simply trust Him. The scriptures of my heart, I share with you today, praying that our Abba would comfort and guide you during this time. Cling to Isaiah 41:10 and 2 Corinthians 12:10. I love you, sissy.
God Happened To ME Ministries, LLC 
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