In his book, Fearless, Max Lucado shares this story from the life of Booker T. Washington:
Every morning of his young life, he, along with all the plantation slaves, was awakened by the crow of a rooster. Long before daybreak the unwelcome noise would fill the sod shanties, reminding Washington & his fellow workers to crawl out of bed & leave for the cotton fields. The rooster’s crow came to symbolize their dictated life of long days & backbreaking labor.
But then came the Emancipation Proclamation. Abraham Lincoln pronounced freedom for slaves. The first morning afterward, young Booker was awakened by the rooster again. Only this time his mother was chasing it around the barnyard with an ax. The Washington family fried & ate their alarm clock for lunch. Their first act of freedom was to silence the reminder of slavery. (pages 38-39)
We, too, have a “rooster” that crows each day – the enemy of our souls. Scripture tells us that Satan accuses us before God 24/7, reminding Him of all that we have done wrong. He constantly reminds us as well…
“You failed again.”
“You will never get it right.”
“You are not as good as them.”
“God can’t possibly love you.”
Plaguing thoughts take root & enslave us into a cycle of sin & defeat.
In Isaiah 61:1, we are told that Christ came for a most specific purpose:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Â
Today may we, like Booker’s mom, be courageous & silence the reminder of slavery.
