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Writer's pictureDericka Canada Cunningham

When Purpose Finds Us in Suffering

Dericka Canada Cunningham, GBW Founder

August 16, 2021



This Week's Anchor


“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know

that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope.

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out

into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)


 

This week’s devotion continues our conversation from last week. Hopefully, you’ve been able to fill and refill your faith tanks the past few days and are ready to tap further into God’s purpose for you!


Our anchor scripture this week shares a similar message to that of last week. Like the beginning of James 1, Romans 5 affirms that we glory in our sufferings because they produce perseverance. If you recall, perseverance is defined as “steady persistence in a purpose, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.” This chapter of Romans begins by reminding us of the unique blessings we are offered through our relationship with God. In God, we have peace and access to His grace—a strong foundation for our ability to persevere. This scripture then proclaims that we are provided with a combination of three powerful things when we are preserved through our suffering:


  • Perseverance—we are sustained in purpose

  • Character—we are molded into the person we are called to be

  • Hope—we are anchored through trust in the Holy Trinity


Finally, Romans 5 encourages us that we can rest assured that we won’t be disappointed in hope because of God’s radical love. Hope is defined as a person or thing in which expectations are centered, and of which or whom one places their trust. Hope is often misunderstood as being solely based on feeling (i.e., feeling positive, confident, and assured in an outcome), but what I like about the definition above is that it doesn’t even reference feeling. Instead, it describes hope as a posture, perspective, and in some ways, an act. With this viewpoint, we can acknowledge and honor every emotional experience that is connected to our suffering and yet, have hope. Hope can coexist with the reality of our pain—we can be scared and hopeful; exhausted and hopeful; emotionally overwhelmed and hopeful. When we come to God in our pain and with our suffering, we are met with God’s ever-healing love. And the great thing about God’s love is that it is poured into us just when we need it. Those moments when we are suffering the most are often the same moments that God enters our hearts through the Holy Spirit and gives us just the right amount of hope and affirmation to help us live on.


As I prepared this devotion, I wanted to bring to light a Black woman who has exuded this depth of purpose through suffering. Of course, I immediately thought of none other than our beloved Maya Angelou. Most of us grew up reading her books, poetry, and other written pieces. We are familiar with her inspiring story—that of a young girl who overcame a multitude of sufferings and evolved into a woman known, quoted, and revered across the globe. One of her most cited poems, Still, I Rise, has stayed with me since childhood:


…Out of the huts of history’s shame, I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain, I rise I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear, I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear, I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise, I rise, I rise…


If it weren’t for suffering, there would be nothing to rise from and through. Many of us, like Maya, can attest to the moments in our lives when God’s love and purpose found us in our darkest times. If it isn’t reflected in our own testimony, we can see it in the stories of our mothers, grandmothers, and ancestors. God can orchestrate anything in our lives to bring our purpose into focus. Amid our suffering, we find ourselves and purpose finds us. This doesn’t at all diminish or dismiss the gravity of pain that comes along with adversity. Matter of fact, connecting with our purpose in no way cancels out our pain; however, it does have a way of being a sturdy container for it. God and His purpose for us are far greater than our pain and suffering.


We can’t avoid suffering, but we (and more importantly, God) can certainly use it. We can be transformed in it, grow through it, and change because of it. We can connect with it, empower within it, and inspire despite it. So, whatever form of suffering you find yourself wading through this week, rise in the purpose that lies deep within it.


 

Reflection

  • What is resonating for you about this scripture and/or this devotion?

  • How has purpose been revealed in suffering for you in the past and/or present?

  • What do you need from the Holy Trinity to affirm your purpose in seasons of pain?

  • 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

  • Romans 5: 1-11

  • Romans 15: 13

  • 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

  • 2 Corinthians 4: 17-18

  • John 14: 27

  • Isaiah 55: 12


My Through-the-Week Reflection Guide



 

A Song of Inspiration





 

Quote of Love & Liberation


“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.

In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are,

what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

Maya Angelou









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