We Survived!

February 7th, 2014

Read Romans 8:28-39

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:37 NKJV)

A few years ago I had a chance to visit the African American history museum in Detroit. One of the displays was a replica of a ship that transported slaves from Africa to America. Such ships would cross the Atlantic Ocean on the route known as the Middle Passage. The ship would contain the bodies of African men and women in heinous conditions, lying below deck on shelves arranged like kitchen cabinets. They would be packed like sardines. Some Africans survived the Middle Passage, while others did not. I left the museum utterly speechless and choked up by what I saw.

Looking at America today, we can see that the seed of these men and women not only survived, but is still thriving. Those slaves helped make America the great country it is.

Perhaps you have survived your own “middle passage”—that is, any painful experience that it took God above to bring you through. You may have suffered through a bad divorce, rape, molestation, domestic abuse, or a drug or alcohol addiction. Maybe you have been the victim of a crime or witnessed someone you loved gunned down or murdered. I myself suffered through witnessing my spouse have a fatal heart attack.

But somehow, some way, we made it. Romans 8:35-39 lists hardships in life that many people may suffer. Because we are conquerors through Jesus Christ who loved us, God will work everything out for our good. Whatever did not kill us made us stronger. Whatever did not take our minds gave us more wisdom. Whatever did not consume our emotions gave us more love and compassion.

If you haven’t already done so, take that challenging “middle passage” of your life and use it as a stepping-stone to a bigger and brighter tomorrow.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for allowing me to survive my middle passage. It wasn’t the beginning of my life, and it is surely not the end. Amen.

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