Not Giving Up
Isaiah 40:21-31
A black colleague of mine shared an experience he had last year when the Black Lives Matter protests were at their height. A white friend of his had come out in support of the protests and was very vocal in her call for justice. After being involved for a little while, she told him that she was ceasing her involvement because she was suffering from what she described as “protest fatigue”. My colleague said to her “you can choose to cease your involvement because that would not affect your life in any way, but we don’t have that luxury, however tired we may be”.
In every area of life, in every aspect of human pursuit, people have had to struggle with tiredness - mental and physical fatigue. It is one thing to feel tired when you are pursuing something that you have chosen to do and are excited about. The excitement that comes from such pursuits and the very real possibility and sometimes clear signs that you will succeed, are often enough to energize and motivate you to keep going.
But it’s a whole different thing when what you are pursuing is not something that you have chosen, but that which has been imposed upon you. It is a whole different thing when what you are struggling with is not just a mere phase in life that you are going through, but that which you, like generations before, have been carrying all your lives and will continue to carry – an inescapable burden.
For black people, the struggle for justice and equality has been generational, and while progress has been made, the struggle continues. It has been and continues to be exhausting, but we don’t have the luxury of giving up.
In the words of that well-loved spiritual:
Nobody knows the trouble I've seen
Nobody knows my sorrow
Nobody knows the trouble I've seen
Glory, Hallelujah
Sometimes I'm up
Sometimes I'm down
Oh, yes, Lord
Sometimes I'm almost to the ground
Oh, yes, Lord
Nobody knows the trouble I've seen
Nobody knows but Jesus.
That is not the plaintive cry of a random, isolated individual; it is the collective lament of a people. A People who, after centuries of devaluation, disrespect, discrimination, and at times the denial of their very humanity, continue to stand tall, strong and proud. A people who in the words of the Apostle Paul, have been “afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
A people who are tired, but will not give up.
Will not give up because we cannot afford to.
Will not give up because our trials have made us strong.
Will not give up because our hope is in God.
Faith in God has always been at the centre of the Black struggle; it is deeply rooted in the passionate belief in the God of whom Isaiah speaks; the God who is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. Who does not faint or grow weary. The God who gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
In our struggles, black folks have learned to draw strength from our faith because it is a living faith. It is what grounds us, challenges us, renews us, and holds us together. Yes, we grow tired. We feel the pain of fatigue and the burden of exhaustion - the victims of pain and suffering don’t ever become indifferent to their condition. But we don’t give up, we persevere because we have learned to wait upon the Lord, who renews our strength. “Those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
To wait upon the Lord is not to sit back and do nothing. It is to “participate in God’s processes in order to experience transformation”.
It is to immerse ourselves in the relationship unto which God calls us; a relationship of knowing and trusting.
It is to act with purpose and courage knowing that our strength comes from God whose creating power can transform our frailty and weakness.
It is to trust God, who is with us at all times - those times of success and ease when it feels like we are soaring like an eagle, those times of overwhelming challenges and pain when we have to find the strength to run in-spite of the pain, and those times of tiredness and fatigue when we can barely manage to put one foot in front of the other.
Whatever are your struggles, however deep the pain, “transformation can happen because God is the source of power as seen in creation. Life can make a new start because God acts in the events of history for good.”
So however tired and fatigued we may be, we wait upon the Lord, not as a neutral, passive activity, but as participants in God’s actions.
We wait with Hope.
