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 45:7-8 (NKJV)

Is there a redemptive purpose to struggle? How are you facing the trials of your journey? Are you willing to journey with someone else from another race or culture to experience true healing through dialogue and forgiveness?

The journey from Trial to Triumph is a 9-piece devotional series devoted towards giving us an inspirational and instructional framework to dialogue with people from other races about the recent social crisis. We hope to use the conversations that grow from this series as a springboard to address underlying root issues that are hindering our unity as Christians. The goal is to help us come to a place of healing, forgiveness, and destiny to carry out God’s plan for our lives, our community, and our nation.

On May 25, 2020, an African-American man named George Floyd died in Powderhorn, a neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. While Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on a city street during an arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. According to the criminal complaint against Chauvin, this is what led to Floyd’s death. The arrest was made after Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a deli and according to police, Floyd physically resisted arrest.

Though the officer was initially charged with third-degree murder which was later changed to second degree, the incident sparked a series of protests from the east to the west coast of the United States. Riots in cities and the looting of businesses have broken out like we have not seen since the Rodney King incident. On March 3rd, 1991 Rodney King was wrongfully and violently beaten in Los Angeles by Los Angeles Police Department officers during his arrest on I-210. The officers who beat him were later acquitted.

As my family and I talked about this incident around our dinner table, we were deeply grieved by the fact that this man died over $20 at the hand of an irresponsible and possibly racially motivated police officer. I shared with my family that I am saddened by the fact that 29 years ago before my girls were born, we dealt with similar issues. Unfortunately, here we are today still having the same conversation. Additionally, it is truly unfortunate to see how the incident is dividing the nation, giving way for opportunists to push their political agendas, causing irresponsible individuals to spark riots, and even some to loot businesses, further damaging an already hurting economy. This incident led George Floyd’s brother to make a public statement denouncing the riots and looting. He said, “I know my brother would not want violence. Let’s do this peacefully please.”

At first glance, it seems as though America’s social state has been frozen for the past 29 years since the Rodney King incident.

This has revealed the saddened state of race relations in America. We must continue to all work in the fight towards achieving Martin Luther King’s dream for unity and equality between the races. If this dream is to be achieved, we all must journey together in a redemptive framework dialogue with the goal to improve race relations as well as improve our collective relationship with God. We may not be able to directly change the justice or political system, but we can change our hearts, our ways, and work together to reflect the perfect will of God.

As we journey together in the next several weeks, let’s reflect together upon these seven themes:

• The Dream – Can we dream together of a better America? Let’s work towards a world where all are justly treated and Christians of all races reflect the unity that Jesus prayed for. Proverbs 21:15, John 17:21
• The Betrayal – Can we admit the sin of our ancestors? Let’s come into agreement that some of our forefathers betrayed their fellow men due to their sinful nature, thus we are collectively suffering the consequences of it today. Genesis 4:9, Psalm 55:12-14
• The Struggle – Can we recognize the effects of this betrayal? Some of us face struggles due to inequities in our systems and others are struggling with how to deal with the pain of the past and its consequences. Genesis 40:15, Leviticus 19:15
• The Rise to Greatness – Can we accept that despite our struggle, we are still called to greatness? If we can just get out of the way, God is able to help us realize our individual and collective potentials despite our past and our vulnerabilities. Genesis 41:40, Romans 8:28
• Forgiveness – Can we forgive ourselves and each other for what has happened? Be willing to let go of the past and begin to give each other the benefit of the doubt. Genesis 45:5, Matthew 6:14-15
• Destiny – Will we walk in our destiny? Once we have forgiven, we must prepare our hearts for God to reveal our destiny and his ultimate purpose for us as individuals and a collective. Genesis 45:5, Jeremiah 29:11
• Legacy – What legacy are we willing to leave to our children? Let’s come together to build both an America and world we want our future generations to inherit. Genesis 50:25, Proverbs 13:22

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. Jesus prayed that we would 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 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. This is the Great Commission! Jesus Christ came so that we may have life and live it abundantly. However, we cannot have an abundant life in a state of division. True abundance 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, that you may recognize His will in your trials and challenges so that you may fulfill His ultimate purpose for your life.