Dericka Canada Cunningham, GBW Founder
March 7, 2022
This Week's Anchor
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 6: 10-12 (NIV)
Watching the war unfold in Ukraine is heartbreaking and terrifying. In moments like this, I can’t help but feel several complex emotions and thoughts in response. I often place myself in the perspective of a mother and consider the parents and children who are impacted. I have an urgency to help beyond “thoughts and prayers”, and yet another part of me feels so helpless in being able to make a meaningful impact from my comfortable space in this country. Part of me wants to stay aware and cognizant of what is happening to ward off further ignorance, but another part of me grows weary in consuming local, national, and global news. I, undoubtedly, recognize that my thoughts and perspective on this mean nothing compared to those who are living it and fighting for their lives right now in Ukraine. In fact, being able to witness this war from afar and reflect on these complicated feelings is unequivocally an unearned privilege. Nevertheless, as I ponder on the unnecessary and often unprovoked evils of this world and feel that sense of powerlessness and hopelessness that comes along with the consistent reminder of our human ways, I hear a soft and still voice whisper, “the battle is beyond you and beyond this.”
Our anchor scripture calls us to place our strength in the Lord and to put on our spiritual armor to fight spiritual battles. It reminds us that though we witness and experience physical wars in our world, the true battle is beyond our flesh and is against powers and principalities. Sometimes we are indirect witnesses to spiritual warfare occurring in our world, and sometimes the warfare happens around and within us. I vividly recall a moment a few years ago when I experienced the most significant spiritual attack I’d ever encountered in my life. It occurred in that same doctoral internship year that I shared in our previous devotion. That year was easily one of the most difficult years of my life. The attacks that I endured ranged from feeling unheard and disillusioned at my training site to experiencing unexplainable health issues to having night terrors and panic attacks in the middle of the night to being randomly spit in the face by a homeless woman in the subway station. The strongholds were overwhelming to say the least. Sure, I had a partner (my now husband of whom I had just begun dating months prior), a loving family, and supportive friends in my life. But they were all hundreds of miles away. At the end of each night in that cold and dark apartment, I would lie in my bed, and it was just me, my thoughts, and the Holy Trinity. One sleepless night I heard that same still voice reminding, “this is beyond you, Dericka.” I discerned that it was spiritual warfare that I was up against. I didn’t know why or how I made my way into this season, but I was certain that the only way I would sustain through it was to fight these spiritual battles with spiritual weapons.
Every now and then (and sometimes more often than we would like) we come to seasons in our lives where we witness or battle spiritual warfare. When we find ourselves in these moments feeling overwhelmed, desperate, and helpless, we can ground ourselves in the spiritual foundation that consistently and continuously sustains us. It might seem like a tall order to ground yourself through these battles, but during that frightful training year, I realized that I had to go back to the basics. It was the simple things that carried me through—I offer some of these as potential ways to ground yourself in seasons of war (emphasis on potential as I recognize varying degrees of struggle and war, some of which might be harder to ground within and endure):
Pray and communicate with the Holy Trinity whenever and wherever you can—I’ve never been one of those prayer warriors who could bring down walls with hour-long deep and powerful prayers. My prayers are often raw and simple. Before this moment of warfare, I felt guilty and ashamed about my prayer style. But in true God form, in this challenging season of my life, God showed me the strength in how I prayed. My desperation for God’s presence at the time made shame and guilt go out the window—I just prayed when I could. My prayers were often transparent conversations with God. I talked to Him at the grocery store, while on the train to work, while driving, and just about anywhere. I released myself from rigid expectations regarding what prayer “should” look like and I just talked. I shared everything—my fears, my feelings, my exhaustion, my rage, my gratitude, and my hopes. Sometimes our prayers aren’t even words—just tears, mumbles or groans. The Bible encourages us that even when we can’t make the words, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf and that God still hears us and meets us in our pain (Romans 8:26).
Sing your heart out—God loves when we sing. I’d like to think that He especially loves when I sing because I feel connected to Him when I do (I realize my singing is no more special than anyone else’s). We hold such powerful ancestral gifts in our song. Singing can uplift our spirits and make us feel validated and heard. It can connect us to others (near, far, living, and late) and helps us express how we feel. When we sing, we literally change the sound vibrations and waves in our environment, which means we shift the atmosphere. So, sing boldly, loudly, and freely!
Connect with gratitude-based worship and praise—I know I’ve said it before, but gratitude is truly a powerful force. My gratitude meditations during this time really anchored me. I also realized that the more gratitude I exuded, the less space the enemy had to discourage and distract me and the more room it made for hope and connection with God.
Reclaim your space---There was one night when I decided that satan was no longer welcomed in my home. I walked through my apartment demanding that satan leave and proclaiming my space as Holy ground. I called on the Holy Spirit to dwell in that space with me and it was at this point that a shift happened not only in my environment and experience but more importantly in my perspective. I reclaimed the authority I had in God. I stopped being afraid of what was happening in my body. And I forged ways that I could ground myself from that point on (e.g., consistent meditation practices, physical activity, journaling).
Stay connected with others—For some of us, moments of struggle often translate to self-isolation. For those like myself who lean in the direction of introversion, this can be even more true as we often seek solitude to replenish our energy. However, helpful solitude can easily shift to hindering isolation. It was in this season that this became clearer for me. I had to learn to balance the two. As much as I loved time to myself, my church community was my sacred space, brief facetime calls with friends were everything, my partner, parents, and family were jewels, and my trusted peers at my internship helped me feel validated. I also seized moments to travel away to get the space I needed and found this to be incredibly refreshing.
Seek and find joy, big or small when possible—When we think of difficult seasons in our lives, we often consider them to be wholly disconnected from joy, but joy can co-exist with our despair. In fact, allowing joy to cozy up with our challenges is part of how we are sustained through them. In these seasons, it is usually the small things that bring us joy—for me it was the calm and peace I experienced as I traveled on the train into the city, catching items unexpectedly on sale at the grocery store, exploring new places in Philly, having a church member seem excited to see me during service when I missed the week before, finding home in a new podcast, and observing others at the airport—the opportunities are endless when we open ourselves up to receiving scattered moments of joy even in the midst of our struggles.
I cannot acknowledge enough how incredibly difficult these seasons can be. It’s hard to keep the hope alive when wars are raging around and among us in multiple ways and across many contexts. And for those who are in the midst of it, it might understandably feel impossible. Even so, I hear the hymns and songs of our grandmothers and ancestors radiating through my soul—my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand…Our hope was never meant to be placed in this world. The world will consistently disappoint us. Most of us can take one glimpse at the news and feel this revolving sense of disillusionment. This week, as we take in everything that is happening around us and feel the weight of the world on our hearts, we can invite ourselves into rest and reassurance by picking up our spiritual tools and remaining anchored in the Word.
Reflection
What is resonating for you about this scripture and/or this devotion?
What spiritual warfare do you discern in your life, the lives of those around you, or the broader world?
What do you need from the Holy Trinity to help sustain you in moments of physical war and spiritual warfare?
What intention(s) do you want to set to connect and/or reconnect with being grounded this week?
Related Scriptures to Ground You Through this Week
Psalm 18:1-19
Isaiah 40:28-31
John 10:7-10
Romans 8:37-39
2 Corinthians 10:4-5
Ephesians 6:10-20
My Through-the-Week Reflection Guide
A Song of Inspiration
Quote of Love & Liberation
"You're not obligated to win. You're obligated to
keep trying to do the best you can every day."
Marian Wright Edelman
Comments