Just like that, another year is in the books and the start of the new one has begun. As we launch into 2019, I want to encourage and challenge all the women reading this post to make one resolution this year. Just one.
I resolve to be a woman of purpose.
In Ephesians 2:10, Paul writes to the Church of Ephesus a reminder, “For we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” This verse is saying God created us as a masterpiece, to be used by Him to help fulfill His grander plan. I’ve heard it said, and agree, that women living out God’s purpose are "essential and indispensable in the life of our churches and homes."
What does it look like to be a woman of purpose? I want to discuss 3 characteristics of a woman living out God’s purpose for her life.
1. She Accepts His Provision
Read the story of the woman at the well in John 4. In this passage you’ll see Jesus go out of His way to interact with a woman that has experienced tremendous pain and rejection. When Jesus offers her the hope her soul longs for, she doesn’t try to cover up her short-comings nor does she dismiss the longing within her. She humbly accepts His provision and we see her transformed by His grace. John 4:28 says, "So the women left her waterspout, and went to the city and said to the men, ‘Come, see a man who told me all the things I have done.’" A woman living out God’s purpose for her life accepts His provision.
2. She Changes Her Perspective
Over the years, I’ve grown to see when I’m feeling overwhelmed it's because I’ve let some perfect outcome in a situation or task become ultimate in my heart. In Matthew 6, Jesus addresses worry, saying, “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be provided for.” I once thought this verse meant if I did all He asked, then He’d be my genie in a bottle. THAT’S NOT WHAT HE’S SAYING HERE! What He’s saying is, I know you are worrying about all these things, but instead of focusing on them, focus your attention on Me. All the things that are worrying you, I will provide you with what you need for them. A woman living out God's purpose for her life changes her perspective.
3. She Understands Her Story
I have a friend that endured sexual abuse by someone who was supposed to protect her. Fast forward 7 years, and I received a text from her with an image of a women’s bible study she was responsible for coordinating at her church in another state. I WEPT. I wept because this young lady allowed God to enter her story and redeem it. Where the enemy could have suppressed her through all that hardship, she allowed God to comfort her and replace all the lies she believed with the Truth found in His Word. In short, He redeemed and reclaimed a treacherous story, and now, in turn, she’s leading other women towards the same Truths that set her free. 1 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." A woman living out God’s purpose for her life understands her story is an opportunity to be used to comfort others with the same comfort she was given through Christ.
Ladies, may we be women whom live out these same characteristics in 2019, and watch our homes, churches, and communities thrive as God unleashes His power through us.