Originally posted three years ago, I felt a need to resurrect it as a reminder to myself. I haven’t always lived up to this, but I have always believed in the power of faithful women who know and declare from whom that power comes. May we never forget, may we always declare…no matter the mission field.
Sisters in Christ! We are called to lead, love, disciple, minister where and when our Savior calls.
Ruth, Esther, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Lydia, Priscilla….these are our sisters that came before us. Without their faith where would our church be? What if they didn’t heed the voice of God in their hearts and instead did the worldly-wise thing?
What if Ruth went home to her family?
What if Esther played it safe and waited for her husband the king to summon her?
What if Mary said “No, I can’t do this. I can’t risk my reputation.”?
What if Mary Magdalene walked away from the empty tomb, past the “gardener” and let her mind reason away the resurrection?
What if Lydia didn’t open her heart and her home?
What if Priscilla ignored her astounding faith and stymied her exceptional intellect to opt for a safer, more comfortable life?
What if we do the same?
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?
Esther 4:14, NIV
We are the Church. God has put each one of us where we are, right here, right now to serve Him and nourish His church. He is calling us, he is equipping us. In doing so, we may feel discomfort. So what? As Francis Chan pointed out in his book Letters to the Church, Jesus was uncomfortable in a way none of us could bear or imagine. So why wouldn’t we expect to shed our comfort and feel some chill winds?
And where has he placed and called us to serve? In our homes, local churches, the mission field, our jobs, our neighborhoods, our nearby cities in ruin….God wants us to disciple, to nourish, to love, and grow His church one step, one person, one heart at a time. To do so in every place, in a way that is pleasing to our Lord takes courage and the faith that He will equip us with the words and actions necessary at that time.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13, NIV
So my loves, my sisters, let us go out together with joy and “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11, NIV) one beautiful, precious soul at a time.
