Persevering Power - Look Up
Part # 1
Growing up, my mother used to tell me, “Keep your head up.” She’d say, “Never look down,” and “Don’t let anyone intimidate you.” She said this to let me know if you look down, you’ll only see what’s in front of you and not what’s ahead of you. Whenever she’d catch me looking down, she would stop me and say, “Son, never look down and always look someone in the eye.” As a child, I didn’t understand why she felt the need to constantly tell me this, but as a man, I get it.
She taught me that life can be challenging, and some people will tell you that your life doesn’t matter as much as someone else’s, but don’t let anyone determine your value or worth. “Keep your head up.”
As a Black woman with a fairer complexion, my mother had to fight many battles to achieve the things she did. She was born and raised in a society where fitting in was tough. She’s the second oldest of nine but the oldest girl. She speaks about being a young girl and having to wake up early every morning to fry an entire chicken for her father before he went off to work his two jobs (for the longest when she would tell this story, I thought that she literally deep fried an entire whole chicken every day. I recently discovered that while she would fry an entire chicken for him daily, it was broken into smaller pieces).
She bore the responsibility of her family at a young age. She diligently pursued her calling, first attending Jefferson State Community College and then graduating from Samford’s Ida V. Moffet School of Nursing. As a Black woman in the late 70s, she was part of the wave of Black people who benefited from the hard-fought battles of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Her life experiences have helped her persevere in her two callins for over 40 years. Those two callings are her family and meeting the needs of others through health care.
My mother is one of the most hospitable people you will ever meet and loves making space for people. As a teenager, our house was where friends could come over and hang out. Before I learned to drive, she would take me and my friends to the movies or mall and back and forth to games without complaining.
She also endured much in life that I never saw or understood as a child. But now, as an adult, I better understand her persevering power.
In Bruce Stroms’ book Persevering Power: Encouragement for when You’re Oppressed by Life, he details what it takes to persevere in life and leadership. He acknowledges the injustices of this world and that Jesus told us, “In this life, you will have trouble…” But he also reminds us of what Jesus says: “Take courage for I have overcome the world.” He encourages us in life by reminding us to Look Up to God if we are going to learn to persevere.
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1-2, ESV).
As a child, I remember my mother constantly singing and praying throughout our home. Whether in the kitchen cooking or cleaning, she would joyfully sing songs to the Lord. At night, she anointed our heads with oil and prayed for God's protection, guidance, and purposes to be fulfilled over us. She was intentional with her words and how she created a home for us in a hostile world. I now see she was practicing the principle of Looking Up to God for guidance and direction. When life got hard, she prayed. When things seemed to be going well, she prayed. When she and my father got divorced, she prayed. When finances got tight, and we fell behind on bills, she prayed. She sought to keep us in church and find a place where we could thrive even when life oppressed her.
She taught my sister and I to Look Up and turn our gaze upon Jesus. Though this world brings trouble, Jesus satisfies and will never leave or forsake you. Strom says, "Look up and set your affections and your work toward the advancement of the kingdom." My mother taught us to work to advance the kingdom of God in both word and deed. She went to work day after day, faithfully serving as a nurse and caring for the needs of others. She never complained when she was wrongfully passed over for a promotion she rightfully deserved by someone she trained and who was less qualified. She found ways to channel that frustration into equipping us to navigate our culture's harsh realities.
God created you on purpose for a purpose.
Strom says, “Jesus gives our life direction and purpose. We discern that purpose through prayer.” My mother not only diligently prayed for us, but she also taught us to pray. Leading us in prayer at night or making us participate in the church service. On Sundays, when our church had its “testimony time” (if you know, you know), she would have me stand up and sing the song I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. We would have to memorize and quote scripture because she knew we needed to hide it deep in our hearts so we would not sin against God.
“Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.”
Psalm 119:11
Learning To Look Up
The mission statement for my writing here at Act Justly | Love Mercy is to influence the culture with the values of the kingdom!
Why?
Well, I like what Strom says: “You were created with purpose, and that purpose was to worship through work.” In his book, he goes into greater detail about what it means to tie worship and work together, so I recommend reading it to understand this fascinating concept. But what moved me about this and connects it to our mission is, in Micah 6:8, we are told that God requires every person to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” We do this through the living of life, and as I’ve grown older, I see that intentional living requires real work.
You apply your hands, heart, and head to God's purposes. God empowers you to seek Him through his presence, love, and faithfulness! That’s why you learn to look up and never look down. To look down means you don’t practice justice because you think that others are better than you or you are better than others. You also don’t look away because how can you love mercy if you turn away from the brokenness of others?
You look up to God, who gives you vision for a brighter day and future. You look up to the one who gives you strength and the ability to stand. You look up to God to gain perspective on who He is and who you are. This is the first step and the most important in learning to persevere. I’ll leave you with Paul's words to the Roman church:
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. 5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:1-5, CSB).
You look up to God, even in life's difficulties, and see He is working in you!