Dericka Canada Cunningham, GBW Founder
November 27, 2023
This Week's Anchor
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desire to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.””
Matthew 16:24-25 (NKJV)
Welcome Grounded Black Women, to our final devotion for the year! For the month of December, we will rest and thoughtfully connect with the Holy Trinity as we reflect on the current year and prayerfully set our intentions for the new year. Tune in next week to receive guided scriptures and reflections to carry you through the end of this year.
As we approach these final weeks, what better time than now to talk about God’s sustaining power through endings and transitions? Each year, my mother and I have conversations about endings as the series finales of our favorite shows wrap up. With the ending of shows, we both feel a sense of sadness for the culmination of our beloved series and yet we express appreciation for writers who honor the original arc of a story. In the words of one of my daughter’s former favorite shows (Muppet Babies), every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Like show writers who honor this truth, we are also challenged to accept this reality in our everyday lives. Not only is this true for every story, but it’s true for every day, every week, every month, and every year.
Each year must come to an end. Yet, with the eternal power of the Holy Trinity, endings are more so transitions, and they coexist with beginnings. The end of the year can bring some of the most stressful seasons in our lives. As we discussed last week, the joy of the holidays can coexist with grief, struggle, and isolation. In addition to this, we often find ourselves in deep reflection toward the end of the year, and sometimes what we remember is painful, especially in difficult years that we barely survive. It would be remiss not to acknowledge what feels like the never-ending stress of living in our times alongside ongoing racial-ethnic violence that lingers through yet another year. So, understandably, we can get to the end of the year feeling as though we have the weight of the world on our shoulders. Nonetheless, our anchor scripture reminds us that we aren’t meant to carry this weight alone and that we have a Divine Spirit-guide that will direct us from one season and year to the next.
This scripture is somewhat of a biblical altar call. It comes from the words of Jesus Himself, and simply put, we are invited to follow Jesus with the instruction of surrendering our fleshly life and with the reminder that when we lose ourselves in Jesus, we find so much more. With the power of the Holy Trinity, we somehow gain through losses. We begin again through endings. And we grow and evolve through attempted destruction. But to receive this transformative power, we must surrender. It’s interesting that when we think about surrendering as Christ-followers, we often have the view that it requires us to give up our desires, visions, and plans. Contrarily, surrendering is an act of release. We aren’t giving up, we’re giving to. When we surrender our will, our worries, and our end-of-the-year stress to God, we place them in His metaphorical hands because His hands can hold and mold our lives better than we ever could on our own. We aren’t just giving up control when we surrender, we are most importantly tapping into Divine control.
Our struggles with endings and transitions often connect to our need for control (and the reality of our lack thereof). However, when we surrender the process of transitioning from one season to the next, we are empowered to begin again through Him. If the end of this year seems heavy, lay it down. If you feel overwhelmed, let your worries flow from you through prayer and meditation. Let’s pick up our crosses and follow the Holy Trinity through the end of 2023 and into the new year!
Reflection
What is resonating for you about this scripture and/or this devotion?
What worries/concerns are you carrying as you approach the end of this year? What can you do to surrender in these final moments of 2023?
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
Job 11:13-20
Psalms 37:7
Luke 9:23-24
Acts 14:21-22
Philippians 2:12-13
1 Thessalonians 3:1-4
My Through-the-Week Reflection Guide
A Song of Inspiration
Quote of Love & Liberation
“You are on the eve of a complete victory.
You can’t go wrong. The world is behind you.”
Josephine Baker
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