With real life struggles and sin.

As many of my family and close friends know, I am no picnic; I make quite a few mistakes on a daily basis, and my past – well I can’t even go there. But it’s not our mistakes that define us, but rather our faith and daily walk with the Lord. All of us carry our own scarlet letter that weighs heavily on us, but the Grace of God is enough! So let me dive in and try to define what a Woman of God should and should not be.

                If we look at the women of the Bible, the few that have the incredible privilege to be mentioned in the Holy Book, we see that none of them was in any way perfect. They each struggled with their own sinful nature and problems, while at the same time glorifying God, trusting in Him and placing their lives in His hands. Let’s start with Eve, I would say she is the one woman we can all envy while at the same time she is the one woman for whom we can all feel a sense of shame or sadness. Eve was the only woman that had the privilege of being in the presence of the Lord before death. Eve had one-on-one time with God; she lived in the perfect Garden of Eden without wants, sadness, disease, or famine. There was really no better place to be or to live. After being deceived and cast out of Eden, one of her sons killed the other. For any Mom this could very well describe hell. And yet, we know God loved her; he made her with His hands, and from Eve came the rest of us, and the story of mankind.

                Hannah’s life is such an example to us in these days of discord. She was a second wife who was barren. Peninnah (the other wife) would give Hannah grief and irritate her. In 1 Samuel 1:6-7, it says “Hannah would not eat and she would weep to the Lord.” You could very well say Hannah suffered from depression. All women who have ever wanted a child and are barren suffer greatly; I can’t even imagine that, along with someone in your household constantly reminding you of your mishap and even mocking you for it. But, this Woman Warrior did not fight back against Peninnah, but rather put her longings and desperation in the Lord’s Hands, knowing He was capable of giving her the desires of her heart. One of the great things we can learn from her is where we chose to fight our battles.

                Sarah, Abraham’s wife did not know how to wait on God’s promises, and gave her servant Hagar to Abraham to bare his children. Later, she mistreated Hagar. Still, she received the promised child God offered. Rebekah, Isaac’s wife was a decisive and strong-willed woman; when her family asked that she take her time to say goodbye, she chose to go meet Isaac without delay (Genesis 24: 54-59). Later on, Rebekah is shown to be deceitful, by convincing Jacob (her favorite son) to steal her older son’s inheritance (Genesis 27). This is not at all how you would expect a godly woman to behave. Leah was a fair maiden, while Rachel was beautiful. Laban gave both daughters to Jacob as wives, but Jacob only loved Rachel. The sisterly bond was certainly broken as they both competed for Jacob’s affection. Leah spent her whole life in misery next to a man that would never love her in the way she surely deserved. God loved her in a special way, and carried her through her suffering. I can only imagine these two sisters hating each other, and constantly bickering. Leah was buried in her forefathers plot (Genesis 49:31). God truly redeemed her; her bloodline leads to Jesus! Rachel, on the other hand, was buried on the side of the road (Genesis 35:19) in what is today Rachel’s tomb.

These are just a few of the flawed women in the Bible, but their faith and trust in God made these women known to us today. We get so wrapped up in our suffering and emotions that we decide to fight back and take justice from God’s hands! We battle using the wrong words, the wrong attitudes, and/or the wrong perspective. Look at Hannah’s prayer from 1 Samuel 2:1-10. When we as women chose to use God’s wisdom, his sword and shield, instead of our own made up weapons, I am confident there is no battle we would lose.

There are always going to be consequences to our sin. We must not fall under the illusion that our salvation and God’s Grace relieve us from the constant heartbreak and pain brought about by disobedience to God, and the brokenness of this world. What we can rely on is HIS mercy, forgiveness, and redemptive power in spite of our sin. But there are a few things we can and SHOULD DO to stay in the small and narrow path of righteousness. 

Being a Woman Warrior for Christ takes devotion, prayer, faith, humility, love, patience, kindness, the constant reading of the Word, and most importantly, the constant seeking of God’s will for our life.

Here are some practical verses that help us do that on a daily basis: Hebrews 4:16, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalms 5:8, Psalm 139:23-24; these are good verses to memorizeand hold us steadfast in our race.

Let me just say that for most of us, as it was for the women of the Bible, none of these things come easily or naturally, and even finding time for the Word some days is very hard. But, I recently learned that devotion is not just picking up your Bible and reading a quickie verse and going on about your day.  The way I do devotion is that I sometimes “unwillingly” roll out of bed as my children wake me up, stretch, and say “Lord I belong to You, my body, my thoughts, my actions, my words, and my heart long to honor you throughout this day. Please make this possible through Your Holy Spirit. Amen.” And as I go about my day, I’m constantly thinking of the Lord, acknowledging Him, and reciting my memorized Bible verses.

                If it were easy, it would not be worth it to us or the Lord. Sometimes, my prayer is “Lord I am so messed up, I can’t get it right. Can’t your Holy Spirit just take over me? I surrender my free will! Keep me from messing up!”

Blessings!

Natacha