In Stride Toward Freedom, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. describes his deep encounter with the Lord in what he came to call his “vision in the kitchen.” Before that night, Dr. King said, he “had never felt an experience with God in the way that you must have it if you’re going to walk the lonely paths of this life.” But on this night, one during which his family had again been threatened with violence and his work was not going as well as he had hoped, everything changed:
I was ready to give up. With my cup of coffee sitting untouched before me, I tried to think of a way to move out of the picture without appearing a coward. In this state of exhaustion, when my courage had all but gone, I decided to take my problem to God. With my head in my hands, I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud. The words I spoke to God that midnight are still vivid in my memory. “I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I’ve come to the point where I can’t face it alone.”
At that moment I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before. It seemed as though I could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying: “Stand up for righteousness, stand up for truth; and God will be at your side forever.” Almost at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything.
--Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Stride Toward Freedom
Today we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s
work as a leader of the civil rights movement,
work made possible by Dr. King's acute awareness
of God at work in and through him.
May his legacy of tolerance and a deep faith
in the Lord's love remain strong!
Image source 1: https://www.paintingforhome.com/products/brown-pottery-coffee-cups-cappuccino-coffee-mug-latte-coffee-cup-white-tea-cup-ceramic-coffee-cup-coffee-cup-and-saucer-set
Image source 2: James Karales, Dr. Martin. Luther King Jr. at Home with His Family, 1962 (in Kitchen), https://high.org/collection/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-at-home-with-his-family-1962-in-kitchen/
Quotation source
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