I had no idea that I was in a room full of warriors. Warriors fight.
They were victims of human trafficking; sounds like words from a CSI television episode, doesn’t it?
Well, unfortunately, it’s not just on television- it is real.
While on a mission trip I had the privilege and honor to be in a room full of women who had been rescued from the world of trafficking. I have heard numerous testimonies in my life; however, none have left me with such emotion as hearing these women. I was and am forever changed. Listening to their rescue scenarios, I was struck by their amazing bravery, how they made daring attempts, and how they cried out from the depths of their souls to be rescued; they fought and won! That encounter literally changed the structure of my DNA.
They made me want to be brave. They made me want to do more. They made me think, “Have I ever been that determined or brave to fight for anything?” I have pondered that question for months. Now, I really want to be a fighter too.
So what is it that I want to fight for?
The answer appeared hidden, although now it seems painfully obvious! I want to fight for purpose! For significant change in my ways of thinking and doing in every area of my life. I mean, I want to be the kind of person someone looks at and says, “I’ll have what she’s having!” I have never been that woman, but please humor me while I break out the song, “I am woman hear me roar!” I really want to stir up the areas of my own life, women around me, and women of the world to understand that we need to be suited up in our gear to fight to influence and change the face of this nation.
I recently read Lioness Arising, by Lisa Bevere, and it was singlehandedly one of the best books I have ever read. Why? It awakened something in me.
It begins with a quote from Matthew Arnold:
“If ever there comes a time when the women of the world come together purely and simply for the benefit of mankind, it will be a force such as the world has never known.” Is it just me, or do you feel with all the disasters, hardships, and trials the world is facing with a multitude of people feeling like there is no hope, that the time is now?
I never believed that I was the type of woman that needed or could be a part of change for myself and definitely not for others. In fact, I would usually sit on the sidelines and think, “Oh, that’s for someone who’s called to do great things, or what purpose could I really have?”
Who was/is placing those thoughts in my mind? Yes, our biggest adversary. Those thoughts are not from our big, capable God who’s placed big things in me to do! He doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called, and YOU and I are called. We all have purpose. Yet, how many times have we thought, “I really want to do this or that,” and then as quickly as the thought came, we regress because we hear, “You, do THAT? That will never happen.”
Well, I want you to begin doing what I’ve done over and over so many times until I actually began to believe it. I stood and looked in my mirror and said, “You have a great purpose.”
Speak, breathe, and repeat.
Even now, you may be flooded with thoughts that you do not have purpose. That’s where I want the fighter mentality to come in.
Luke 4:18-19 says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; He’s anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to announce pardon to the prisoners, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, and to announce, “This is God’s year to act!”
The Spirit of God was placed on Jesus to do all these things. We have that same Spirit living on the inside of us, and from that verse, it would appear we have a lot of work to do! We cannot do what that verse says if we think what we’re called to do isn’t going to make an impact, isn’t as good as one of our sisters in the kingdom, or isn’t important.
There is a ripple in the tide right now that I pray will become a full-fledged rushing current in women today. We rise up, only to get pushed back down due to our circumstance, others, and most of the time, ourselves. However, there is urgency in our time for us to supersede the lies in our heads that say our contribution is not necessary.
If you’re breathing, you still have purpose.
For a long time, I felt my life could never amount to anything as I considered the resume of my past: failed marriage, broken family, a woman who let herself be battered. However, thanks to freedom classes at Gateway church and the same God who loves you, I discovered that the thing that held me back most was thinking that my identity was my testimony. My testimony is what happened to me; my life story.
My identity only comes from God.
So, every time the devil tries to tell me who I am because I had an argument with my husband or tries to tell me who I am going to become because I am still ultimately the sum of my past I am going to fight. Who is with me? An army of sisters in the kingdom rising up can make a difference! Don’t let fear stop you.
I’ve spent my life afraid of everything. Fear has had its grip on me since I was a young child, and now that I am walking free from fear in many areas, guess what my adversary tries now? To infiltrate me with thoughts that being a daughter of the King, trying to make an impact in her own pockets of the world is not good enough! He will try anything. If one way won’t work, he will go another route.
As I recall the stories of how those brave women who fought even when they were afraid were rescued, I can’t help thinking that some of us need to be rescued as well. We need to be rescued from all the negative thoughts, old beliefs from our childhoods, and the perpetually defeated posture that says we can’t make a difference.
I truly believe the reason those women or warriors were so brave, is that their very life depended on it. My word for you today is this: our very life depends on whether we can fight past the messages we get from the devil, the world, and our past.
The time is now. You and I can preach the good news to the poor, announce to anyone we come across that they are pardoned from the prison of their past, help give them sight to see the truth, and aid them by helping remove their burdens and battered places. It doesn’t matter what your occupation or living location; the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and YOU are a warrior who can fight.
This is God’s year for you to act! That is your purpose!
Comments