When the Only Stage Left Was the Biggest One

On Easter Sunday, 1939, contralto Marian Anderson stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and opened her mouth to sing. Seventy-five thousand people stretched across the National Mall. Millions more listened on the radio.

She had not chosen this stage. The Daughters of the American Revolution had barred her from Constitution Hall because of the color of her skin. Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the organization in protest, and Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes invited Anderson to sing at the Memorial instead.

Think about the courage that moment required. Anderson could have retreated into bitterness. She could have quietly accepted a smaller venue and let the insult pass. Instead, she walked onto the largest open-air stage in the nation's capital and sang My Country, 'Tis of Thee with a voice that shook the marble and the conscience of a nation.

Joshua heard the voice of the Almighty say, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Courage does not mean the absence of fear or injustice. It means stepping forward anyway, trusting that God can transform the very thing meant to silence you into your most powerful platform.

The door that closes in rejection may be redirecting you toward a stage only God could build. Step forward. Sing anyway.