Rise Up, O You Sleeper, Awake! — The Audacity To Be A Godly Woman
- Teaching and Living Out the Fruit of the Spirit at Home - February 15, 2019
- Enough: Seeing Past the Guilt - November 28, 2018
- Souls Informed by Truth - November 14, 2018
My husband is Superdad. He sent me away for a weekend with my mom to Beth Moore’s Living Proof Live Simulcast in Wichita last year.
Spiritual Nourishment
I don’t know about any of the other moms of little kids out there, but I’m drained. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mommy, but I’ll tell you it seems to take every ounce of everything I have to give–every day. In the best way of course!
Spiritual nourishment during this season of life can be especially hard if Sundays are spent nursing babies, wrangling young kids during the service, or being distracted by an active toddler who may or may not have escaped down the aisle while you are trying to worship Jesus. Right.
Sometimes, it’s even hard to get out the door to Bible Study. I find myself seriously craving some meaningful corporate worship with fellow believers. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s not all about “me getting fed,” but let’s be honest, in this season it seems like I’ve got an appetite for spiritual food and I’m just still hungry all the time.
Church Camp for Women
Anyway, I cannot tell you how grateful I was that my husband encouraged me to go to this conference. Praise the Lord, seriously! If you get a chance to do something like this such as Women of Faith or a Living Proof event or Abundance, etc., please go! Do it.
This was Mommy church camp and I loved every minute. Walking in, you could absolutely tell the Holy Spirit was there and He was ready to work.
It would take me longer than I have room to write here to talk about everything Beth discussed this weekend and how the Lord worked in my heart. However, I want to highlight the point that set the theme and struck a chord that has echoed in my heart all day.
Audacity
These are days that require audacity in our faith. Beth defined audacity as “intrepid boldness, disregard of normal restraints.” It is not an absence of apprehension, but it is a courage found only in Christ. Audacity in Christ means we must be characterized by boldness for Him because our witness as individuals, and as an entire Church, is at stake. We should not be afraid because our birthright is in Christ and we are secure that He has won the war.
As a woman of God, a daughter of Christ, we must not give up our “birthright” flippantly to this world for things that seem to satisfy us in our lives. Just as Esau gave up his birthright to his brother Jacob for stew (Genesis 25: 19-34), we often have contempt for our Jesus just because we are exhausted, we are depleted, and we are vulnerable to a certain flippancy or impatience that comes with allowing our focus to be distracted from what really matters.
What’s your stew?
Beth asked us all: “What’s your stew?”
What might you be allowing to satisfy your desires instead of Jesus? What might be your focus “right now” instead of waiting on the Lord? Or what is taking precedence in your daily life over Christ? Are you tired or stuck in a routine that does not include prayer and meditating on the Word?
We have so many idols in this culture. I read 2 Tim 3:1 and I think of the world in which we live. The thing is that Satan looks for the vulnerable and seeks a foothold.
1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Romans 1: 16-18 (ESV) tells us, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”
Rise Up, O You Sleeper!
Ladies, we must not be asleep! We must be alert and ready as ones who are adopted in Christ to have the audacity to serve the living God as He has called us. Boldness is at stake in our own lives, in our nation, and in our world. Have the audacity to be fervent in your prayers, dedicated to your relationship with Christ, in love with our Savior, bold in sharing the truth and in glorifying Him through the way you live your life.
Scriptures remind us, especially in Psalm 39 and in 1 Peter 1 and Isaiah 40 that our time on this earth is short. Our only real legacy is what we do to further the Kingdom of God. That might look as simple as bringing someone (your children, friends, family, or strangers) to know the Lord or as big as a ministry like Beth Moore’s. Whatever that looks like in your life, be audacious in your faith and be bold for Christ every day. Ask God to show you how you can use your day to be audacious for Him. Pray fervently and be in His word.
Ponder one of my new favorite songs:
Rise Up, O Sleeper, Awake by Andrew Peterson
An excerpt of the lyrics:
Rise up, O you sleeper, awake
The dawn is upon you
Rise up, O you sleeper, awake
He makes all things new
He makes all things newThe world was good
The world is fallen
The world will be redeemedSo hold on to the promise
The stories are true
That Jesus makes all things new
(The dawn is upon you)
