The Journey “From Trial to Triumph”

And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save our lives by a great deliverance.  So now it was not you who sent me here but God;… Genesis 45:7, 8a

Was there a redemptive purpose to slavery?  Have you had trials in your own journey?  How has God worked it together for your good?

Black history month is a time of year set aside in America since 1976 to celebrate and remember the important people and events that have occurred in the history of African Americans.  For me it is also a time to reflect on how this history has been impacted by the Author of history, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I am a redeemed African who resides in America and my ancestors were the ones who sold their fellow brothers and sisters into slavery.  As I reflect on the history of African Americans within the context of a Biblical worldview I see the hands of God in this great sin that was motivated by greed, and a refusal to be ones brother’s keeper.

No matter your political orientation, you must agree, the two-term election of the first African American president in America is evidence that Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream has come to pass.  Also, no one can deny that the words “we hold these truth to be self evident that all men are created equal…” are true in America.  This is a testament of America’s greatness and uniqueness among all nations of the world.

As we celebrate black history month, let us reflect on the journey of African Americans from Africa to America through the eyes of Joseph.  Like the story of Joseph, blacks in America were not the victims of an evil act that was too powerful for God’s might nor were they victims of the strength of men’s will, but rather they were part of God’s eternal plan to realize His ultimate will in the earth.  In other words, what the devil meant for evil God used for good.

I refuse to believe that for one time in history God was not on the throne or did not have complete command over the affairs of men.  God’s will be done in spite of the will of men.  God had an eternal will that occurred in spite of the sin of slavery and the evil of segregation.   If African Americans are to tap into that eternal will, they must be able to see the redemptive aspect of their experience and have the courage to learn from their history, confront their hurts, forgive those who offended them (Africans and whites) and move on to fulfill the destiny that the Lord has for them.  Like Joseph, God sent them ahead to preserve posterity in the earth and to save lives by a great deliverance.  So it was not man who sent them to America, but God.

Today, Africa is one of the most impoverished nations in the world, with disease, corruption and immorality instilled in the fiber of its society.  America is the most powerful nation in the world with the most educated, influencial and prosperous blacks in the world.  If Africa is to be healed from it’s economic, spiritual and social ills it will take the interventions of blacks in America who have been healed by the blood of Jesus.  It will take these redeemed African Americans who recognize the ultimate purpose that God had in mind when he allowed for a group of Africans to be brought to America through slavery early in its history.   To help us understand the journey of African Americans from Africa to America and to move beyond its pains to its redemptive purpose, I developed a lecture series titled ‘The Journey’ which is based on seven themes that parallel the life of Joseph.  These themes include;

1. The dream – A time of innocence, opportunity, hopes and pride.  Genesis 37:5
2. The betrayal – A period where the desires and weakness of the flesh causes us to deceive our own.  Genesis 37:19-20
3. The struggle – A period of trial, test and challenges as a result of the betrayal.  Genesis 38:24
4. The rise to greatness – A period of elevation out of a state of despair. Genesis 41:40
5. Forgiveness – A period of repentance and reconciliation. Genesis 45:5a
6. Destiny – A revelation of the ultimate purpose that the Lord has for us.  Genesis 45:5b
7. Legacy – The passing of the baton to the next generation. Genesis 50:25

These seven themes are essential to bringing not only healing to those who are still bound by the sins of the past, but reconciliation to those who have allowed the past to create a wall of division.  Unfortunately, this wall is hindering the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ from living up to the prayer that Jesus prayed to the father; that we be one, even as He and His father are one so the world may know that He was sent, John 17:21.  Why is this unity among the sons and daughters of slave masters, the sons and daughters of ex slaves and the sons and daughters of slave traders important?   It is important because through our unity the world will know that our God is God.  It is important because it is the only way to ensure that the maximum number of lives are brought into the kingdom of God, since each time a person believes that Jesus was sent, he is one step closer to accepting Him as Lord and Savior.  This is the great commission!  It is important because Jesus Christ came, that we may have life and have it more abundantly and we cannot have abundant life in a state of division.   True abundant life is found in the unity of God’s people.

My prayer for you today is that God will grant you the grace to reflect upon your own journey and recognize His will in your trials and challenges that you may fulfill His ultimate purpose for your life.