dare to believe

When life gets hard and it seems everything and everyone stands against you there is one thing that can never be taken from you: your choice to believe.

I think of Booker T. Washington, emancipated slave. Legally, he had been freed but socially he was still considered a no-account outcast. Did he let that deter him? No.  In the face of continued racial discrimination he carried on. His determination to believe in God and in God’s power at work in his life led him to become an author, educator and statesman whose example inspired countless others.

Strength of spirit, resolve in the midst of hardship. That is his legacy.

Where did this come from? His God. Every morning he arose earlier than anyone else to read God’s Word and pray. If he accomplished nothing else in his day, he considered these times essential.

Why? Because his God was always able to remind him who he was. A man, imbued with dignity and commissioned to bless. And that is what he did.

If all other voices around him said “You’re nothing”, Booker T. Washington heard his God say to him, “You’re mine.” This, more than anything else, gave him strength to carry on when all seemed lost.

There is one thing you can always do which no one can ever stop: believe.  Others may try to belittle you; still, you can have faith—faith in your God and faith in the strength only he can provide.

Others may say: “What’s the point? Why keep believing? Give up.”  Do not listen to them. Carry on and never give up. Keep believing. No one can ever take you away from your God who arms you for battle.

So, hide in the shadow of God’s wings. Stand in his mighty strength, face to the wind—and dare to believe.