God-Given Strength

This weekend I had the privilege of slipping out of my Mama role and into the role of a Jesus-Girl being refreshed in the Word of God.  I attended the Women's RENEW conference where the keynote speaker was Lysa TerKeurst.  My favorite Jesus-Girl!

I stepped out of my comfort zone and joined in with a church I didn't know, joined sisters in Christ I had never met, traveled by tour bus with another church I had never met, and simply asked the Lord to meet me this weekend.

What a refreshing time it was!  I felt loved and beautiful from the beginning to the end of our time together.  Every glowing face I met for the first time felt like a sister I hadn't seen in a long time.  They embraced me, they were sincerely interested in my story, they wanted to know my heart for God, and they extended love to me as if having never met didn't matter.  We so often put God in a box and then He accepts the challenge by blowing our minds wide open with His abundance of lavish love.

The Worship time this weekend was like no other I had experienced before.  Uninhibited, with complete abandon, soul-spilling, God-glorifying, a beautiful aroma being lifted to Christ on the Throne.  His Presence was felt so very deeply in my soul and I responded as if it was just He and I.

The Teaching time with Lysa was also such a gift from God's heart to mine.  Being wise women while on assignment for God.  Three very different sessions with Lysa, yet a ribbon tying them all together so that we left renewed, refreshed, and reconnected.  God met me there and filled this Jesus-Girl up.

As Lysa spoke out of 1 Samuel 25, I quickly remembered the story of David, Nabal, and Abigail which I have studied before.  Lysa broke Abigial's story into Blessings, Busyness, and Burdens; of which I could relate to each one!  But when Lysa taught on the Burdens portion of Abigail's story, God stopped me in my heart and in my thoughts with one phrase.  "Place the blame on me [Abigail] because I am the one strong enough to handle it".

I'm in a season of being tired of needing to be strong.  I'd love to just fall apart and know someone else is on duty and will deal with the mess.  Often, I throw myself a pity party and wonder why the guest list is so small.  I'm polishing up my whining skills.

Abigail had a million other things going on at the time David and his men decided to call out her husband, Nabal,  for his mistreatment of them.  Yet Abigail rose to the occasion by providing David with more than what he had asked Nabal for, AND she took the blame for her husband Nabal.  To prevent catastrophe, Abigail humbled herself into a position of great strength, because she was the one strong enough to handle it.

Being strong enough.  Instead of viewing a woman needing to be strong as an injustice and something to be saved from, God was whispering to me that He calls women to be strong because He is their source of strength.  God gives women strength when He needs them to accomplish His Will.

What freedom God gave me with this fresh perspective.  God-given strength is given to those strong enough to handle the assignment God has given.  If you are in a season that God is requiring you to be strong, know that your strength comes from God and He believes you are strong enough to handle whatever He is allowing to press in on you.  Needing to be strong isn't a burden; it is a blessing given to those God calls to accomplish the hard things.  Press into Him sisters!  Be strong in the Lord!