Dericka Canada Cunningham, GBW Founder
November 11, 2024
This Week's Anchor
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)
I love the transition between the seasons, particularly from Summer to Fall. And as Halloween whizzes by each year, I always welcome our final two months with all the holiday cheer they bring cues Mariah Carey’s Christmas album. Nevertheless, alongside the holiday joy, this time of the year is often marked by a deep sense of exhaustion for me. This year, in particular, has brought about a challenging November for many of us, I can imagine. With the results of the recent election this week, in the words of Tamela Mann, truth is I’m tired, and I know many of you are too. As I found myself wading through my own weariness, God, in true God form, gave me such a great reminder of the encouragement shared in 2 Corinthians chapter 12.
Our anchor scripture, I’m sure, is one that many of us hold close to our hearts. It proclaims that His grace is sufficient for us and that His power is made perfect in our weakness. It inspires us to delight in our weaknesses, being confident that God’s power will be revealed through our vulnerabilities. And it declares that with God’s presence when we are weak, we are made strong through this power.
As I shared, I entered this week purely exhausted, and by the time I made it to Wednesday morning, I was depleted. The intersections of Black woman-wife-mother-therapist-friend-and-family member weighed heavy, and I felt utterly drained. My week included an overbooked schedule that gave little room for me to exist, let alone process the reality of our nation. It was one of those weeks where you feel like you can’t catch your breath and can barely keep up—running on fumes and moving from one task, session, and demand to the next while trying to hold steady through the chaos and confusion. Amid what is a typical busy schedule for me at this time of the academic year, I had the additional load of facilitating a mindfulness workshop for students on our college’s campus. One that I had little to no time or space to prepare for and zero mental and emotional energy to lead. As I made it to the day of the workshop, I felt my anxiety mounting. I’m a girl who likes to plan intentionally and thoroughly as a facilitator, so feeling unprepared didn’t sit well with me. As I felt the dread rush over me, I said a simple prayer to God, one that my mama and other Black aunties, grandmamas, and women in my life often expressed, “Lord, give me strength.”
I made it five minutes into facilitating the workshop, and the sense of dread was quickly washed with calm and ease. As the workshop flowed effortlessly, I felt God’s presence. The topic had nothing (directly) to do with God, but my purpose in leading it certainly did. What initially felt like a dreadful burden became an amazing and rewarding workshop to facilitate. And it miraculously happened while I was drained, exhausted, angry, discouraged, overwhelmed, and unprepared. As I sat at my desk afterward, I heard the words, “In my weakness, He is strong.” I entered this moment feeling empty and depleted but left feeling full and grateful.
The situation itself was a simple one. Leading a workshop isn’t the most challenging battle in life right now, but on that day, it felt like it, and God somehow used my overcoming a basic work demand to speak to me. God showed up in a moment when I really needed Him and in a space where I needed to be reminded of His grace, power, and strength. Some of you reading this devotion today might need this same reminder. Whether a perplexing political climate, challenging work demands, a painful journey of emotional healing, relationship conflict, an arduous health process, ongoing grief and loss, isolation, trauma, anxiety, fear, or just the load of carrying it all, I assure you that God sees it. He sees you and is willing to enter the depths of your weakness and help you discover a strength you never knew could exist.
Many of us were raised to believe that our weaknesses repel God. But the opposite is true. Our weaknesses are an invitation for God to show up in our lives and surprise the heck out of us and everyone else! So, as we continue to reel from last week and enter a new one, it is my prayer that we are each affirmed by God’s sufficient grace. Thank you, Lord, for peace, grace, and strength that overcomes all circumstances and surpasses all understanding. Thank you for not leaving us in our most challenging and weakest moments, entering our vulnerabilities full of love, filling us with this same love, and much more. May we wade through this season, inviting God’s Power to rest on us and making room for Divine Protection, Purpose, and Provision to anchor and guide us. Amen.
Reflection
What is resonating for you about this scripture and/or this devotion?
What weaknesses and vulnerabilities do you need God’s strength for/in?
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
Isaiah 40: 29-31
Isaiah 43
Zephaniah 3:17
Philippians 4:13
Colossians 1:9-13
Hebrews 4:14-16
My Through-the-Week Reflection Guide
A Song of Inspiration
Quote of Love & Liberation
“I want to be in spaces where I can just be: be myself, be all I am, be all I can be,
be in my fullness and be in all my strengths, my weaknesses, and my being.”
Malebo Sephodi