PASTOR’S CORNER: God will deliver on time

What an encouraging word this morning. We just celebrated Black History Month. We celebrated our heritage and our ancestry.

This is a good time to reflect, to look back because that’s what the word history is. The definition is: “a study of past events, particularly in human affairs.” History always looks back but it also covers “the study of change over time.” It tells a story.

Everything has a history. Everything has a beginning of where it comes from. For every watch, there is a watchmaker. For example, this world in which we live just did not burst out of nothing. It was created by its creator; for God spoke the world into existence. He created the heavens, the constellations, and the earth. He made man from the dust of the ground and man became a living soul. History says every now and then we need to revisit our past, and where we come from so that we don’t forget our beginnings.

Black History Month highlights our past. From the day our ancestors were brought to this country until now, we have a trail to follow. As I was preparing this column, I thought about my own history and ancestry. I never knew my grandparents on my father’s side. I never knew my grandmother on my mother’s side. I only knew my mother’s father for at one point he lived with us up until he passed away. I never knew my grandparents’ parents, their parents, their parents, or even their parents — all the way back to our first parents brought here and their parents all the way back to our African origin.

I wondered, like Alex Haley — who wrote the bestselling book “ROOTS” which was made into one of the highest-rated television mini-series of all time. He literally traced his roots all the way back to Africa. As a race of people, in order to know where we’re going, we’ve got to know where we’ve been.

It was not an easy journey in our history. It literally took blood, sweat and tears. Our history has been one of hardship, death, pain, heartache and struggle and we can’t forget that. We are enjoying privileges now that some of them never enjoyed. We can do whatever, go wherever, and be whatever we want to be but it didn’t come easy.

It’s sad when we see some of our race of people not striving or building on the backs of our ancestors. It grieves our spirit to see our people waste opportunities that our ancestors did not have, but wanted. We ought to think about that the next time we see our people’s faces plastered across the screen on the 6 p.m. news! We will walk past a coffin of a senseless killing or witness those who fry their brain with cocaine trying to play “Gunsmoke” in the community when we don’t live in Dodge City.

I wonder how our ancestors would feel if they saw us today. Would they shed tears over what some of us have become? Instead of being in universities, some are in prisons. Our ancestors were assaulted, struggled, and had their dignity taken away for just wanting the simple basic rights called human rights. Some of them just wanted a basic education because life is difficult, very difficult, when you can’t read, write and do basic arithmetic. They had to make an X for their signature because they were not able to do figures or even spell and write their name. This is our history. It was a struggle indeed.

See, when you don’t know your history, you don’t appreciate it! When you feel entitled, you don’t work for anything. You expect things to be given to you on a silver platter and what you are not given you take, steal, commiting fraud and robbery. The breakdown in the African American home would break our ancestors’ hearts. Absentee fathers are not involved in their children’s live.

This country does well to have Black History Month to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of our African ancestors. I’m glad about that.

I was so glad to see on Thursday a little more than a week ago when our present president honored Black History Month at the White House. With a room full of African Americans, he honored Tiger Woods with a medal and announced a future “memorial garden” honoring past African Americans such as Coretta Scott King, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr. and others where there will be statues exclusively of African American heroes in that garden in Washington D.C.

But despite what our ancestors have come through, we see through all of this that God was with them and that he will deliver on time, in his time. God hardened Pharoah’s heart and took his firstborn son. Then by his mighty hand, he delivered the Hebrews (Exodus 3:7-9). Community, he delivered them right on time; not in their time, but at the right time! Our God is awesome!

Let this be an encouragement to somebody this morning. You may feel like you are in a prison and a slave in captivity in your situation. Don’t count God out.

See, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but it was God that set them free. MLK was the instrument of civil rights, but it was God that gave the right to vote. Moses led the Hebrews out to freedom, but it was God that delivered them. We are thankful for the instruments, but we give the glory to God.

Community, be encouraged, God will deliver on time.