When the Stage Was the Front Line

On Easter Sunday, 1939, contralto Marian Anderson stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and opened her mouth to sing. Weeks earlier, the Daughters of the American Revolution had barred her from performing at Constitution Hall because of the color of her skin. The rejection stung. Anderson was already one of the most celebrated voices in the world — Toscanini himself had told her that a voice like hers came along once in a century.

She could have retreated. She could have performed quietly elsewhere and avoided the controversy. Instead, she stood before seventy-five thousand people on those marble steps and sang My Country, 'Tis of Thee. Her voice carried across the National Mall, steady and unshakable, turning a moment of exclusion into one of the most powerful performances in American history.

What strikes me is that Anderson never raised her fist. She raised her voice. She let the gift the Almighty had placed inside her be her answer to hatred.

Scripture tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Courage does not always look like charging into battle. Sometimes courage looks like a woman standing in the open air, singing the truth when every door has been slammed shut.

Whatever stage God has set before you this week — however hostile the audience may seem — do not shrink back. Open your mouth. Let the gift He gave you be your answer.