“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”
Recently, I finished, Judgment Days: : Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Laws That Changed America, by Nick Kotz. Kotz’s work scans the years 1963 to 1968 (the Johnson presidency through the assassination of Dr. King).
In my review (you can read it by clicking here), I highlighted seven points of appreciation for Dr. King. Let me share three of them with you:
King's stamina (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, relational) was amazing. He was just 36 when the Voting Rights act of 1965 passed and had been a leader in the civil rights movement since he was 26.
King went to difficult places to pursue justice: We all know Dr. King endured death threats throughout the deep South, but he also faced challenges in the North. King said that the venomous hatred expressed in Chicago was as bad as--or worse than--anything the movement had encountered in the South.
King always pressed on: Despite intense challenges and despite harboring doubts about his worthiness to lead, he pressed on. Listen to his words:
“I could hear an inner voice saying to me: ‘Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And, lo, I will be with you even until the end of the world.’ I heard Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.”
He did stand up. He stood up time and time again, including the night of April 3, 1968 when Dr. King rose to speak to people assembled at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tennessee.
It would be his last speech. The next day an assassin's bullet would quiet his voice, but not his movement. I offer this portion of that speech (click here for the full text) in honor and memory of a man, not perfect, but who lived out the message he preached. I also offer them because they illustrate in words and example what God says about not fainting in the day of adversity . . .
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
The last two years have been difficult on many fronts here in our country, but particularly with respect to politics, the pandemic, and racial volatility. I think we can all reach that place of saying, “Why bother? I’ll just put my head down and do my thing.” King refused to do that. He refused to give up. He pressed on! He did not faint in his day of adversity.
Let’s draw from God’s Word and from King’s example in our own efforts toward loving all people as God has loved us in Jesus.
A few other words from this amazing leader:
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"
"Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for ‘the least of these.'"
“Racism is a philosophy based on a contempt for life. It is the arrogant assertion that one race is the center of value and object of devotion, before which other races must kneel in submission."
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”