A Powerful Prayer From an Aging Generation to You

I sat on the edge of the stage stairs overwhelmed by what I was witnessing. The presence of God in the room was so intense you could almost physically feel His hands at work. We were experiencing a revival within the community as women repented, and rededicated their lives to God declaring they were "all in" for Him. Deep emotional wounds were being healed, burdens were being laid down. 

I was one of the women who was praying for the ladies at the front of the sanctuary as they needed it. I could feel the weariness of the last few days creeping in. I allowed my legs (and eyes) a much needed break as I sat down. 

I was one of the speakers at the conference, and at the last minute God redirected my sermon to something entirely different as He needed to show up in a mighty way. And He most certainly didn’t disappoint! 

As I sat there breathing, praying, absorbing, I felt hands on my knees. I opened my eyes expecting someone requesting prayer, but instead I saw an elderly woman shuffling closer to me on her knees. Had she fallen and needed help? I was startled and not sure what to do. She climbed up close to my face and pulled me in tight, her soft grandmotherly skin pressed against my cheek. Then she began to speak...

Her sweet voice was as soft as her skin, but brewing from deep within was the strength of God’s authority as she prayed over me. She thanked God for a new generation that was rising up who would be fearless for God.

What happened next utterly ripped my world in pieces and simultaneously built it back with tenfold strength.

She gave a grand commission for my generation to take the next generation and raise them as hers had once done for us. Hers was a generation whose bodies are growing weary. She was passing the responsibilities of living boldly, and walking righteously in our faith onto a younger generation whose feet are still able to run with every step, and whose arms can still wage war on the battlefield. 

In an instant there was a passing of a baton from one tired relay runner to a fresh one ready for a sprint. Her stretch of the race was coming to a close and she prayed for us as we grab the baton to run the next stretch before we too pass the baton sometime down the road.

This is the time my friends. The sermon God replaced my meager portion with was one of an “all in” type of a cry to his people. 

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 

(Joshua 24:14-15 emphasis mine)

Choose this day, whom you will serve. The gods of the world, of the one and only Yahweh.

The commission I received was not just for me, it was for all of you. There is a world outside our doors hungry for a message of hope. A generation younger than yours who is desperate to see what faith in action in looks like. Our children are watching intently to see how we will respond and carry ourselves if we say we have Christ in our lives. There is little room for error, and the stakes are high. Eternity is a long time to pay for the mistakes of not getting it right.

Whether you have children or not, it is up to us as the Church to walk beside a younger generation and strengthen them as they find their footing within God’s kingdom. It is a most high calling, and not one to be taken lightly.

Will you carry the next generation on your shoulders until they are firmly planted on the Rock? Will you join me as we draw our swords and shields to defend their young spirits from the darts of the enemy? Will you speak with boldness rooted in the word of God even when it does not win the approval of those around you, seeking only for the approval of God himself?

Are YOU all in?

Love,
Sarah

photo credit: Juan Pablo @ Pexels.com

If Proverbs 31 Makes You Feel Inadequate

She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future.

Proverbs 31:25

To those of us in the trenches of motherhood Proverbs 31 seems like a long, ugly list just waiting to point out our shortcomings. Nothing can make you feel inadequate quite like this chapter when you are a weary, worn-thin mother. 

Your sink is full of dirty dishes, your inbox is overflowing, there is a load of laundry in your machine that you washed three days ago and you’ve successfully forgotten to take it out (though you’ve probably remembered to start the wash for good measure at least twice by now). 

And one day, one extra chaotic day, you snap. (Probably shortly after you’ve come home from church on a Sunday after sitting in the nursery with your tiny child again, still not having heard a single sentence from the sermon for what will have seemed like eternity). 

You’ll long for those days when you would sit quietly meditating on God’s word. Those days when you would pray in the quiet of your home. Those days when you dreamed of working overseas to serve in an orphanage, or building homes, or supplying people with fresh water-- you know, the important stuff! You’ll come home, quietly stifle your tears while you plop sandwich meat on some bread for lunch, then excuse yourself to collapse on your bed.

In anguish the plea goes out to God: “Why aren’t you giving me more time to serve you?! If I’m suppose to be doing Kingdom work, then when and how do I fit it in between nose wipes, bath-times, and paying bills?”

The thought of further adding Proverbs 31 expectations to your plate to be the “ideal” woman causes you to sink deeper into despair. On some level, you think perhaps you’ve failed miserably in your ability to keep up.

Did I describe you?

I'm fairly certain I just described every mother with children.

Including myself.

But, there may be a slightly different picture of who this Proverbs 31 woman is suppose to be. It’s also clear to see who she isn’t. In the 21 verses that describe this woman, nowhere does it say she sits quietly for hours deep in prayer with God, nowhere does it say she leaves behind the mundane and goes to serve in a foreign country. This gives us hope!

If you really slow down this chapter you’ll find what most of us would say are the mundane chores of a day. She makes meals for her family, she shops for the best deal on whatever her household needs, she stays up late hemming her husband's pants (well, sort of). Her husband is well known and highly regarded, so we can safely assume she A) spends a lot of time listening to him and being an encourager, and B) she holds down the fort while he tends to work so he doesn’t have to worry about home. She sews clothes, has a little business to earn a little money, and watches over her household and family (probably even wiping snotty noses in there somewhere). 

And while she opens her arms to the needy, it seems to be right out her back door, not overseas.

Every single one of those tasks isn’t glamorous. None of those tasks demand the, “Look at me, I’m serving and doing amazing things for God!” kind of attention. They are the quiet and the ordinary things of life. It’s 21 verses of a busy wife/mom doing what busy wives/moms do best. It’s 21 verses of dishes, laundry, drying teary eyes, mopping floors, showering, date night, hemming pants, and making a casserole for a sick neighbour.

Sometimes God moves us quickly from one spot to another, and other times we are called to just sit tight...for what seems like forever (especially when we're in the middle of it). He anchors us for awhile so to speak. He’s doing it because he doesn’t NEED us to do anything, except to be right where we are. 

He doesn’t need our hands holding orphans in Uganda, he’s got it. What he really needs is us holding the hands of our children. He doesn’t need our mouths teaching English in Singapore, he’s got that too. He’d rather our mouths teach our children. He doesn’t need us to stay up for hours contemplating deep theological theories, he knows them all anyway. Go to bed, tired mama!

Above all else, the Proverbs 31 woman knows that she’s right where God wants her. She knows she’s serving God through the mundane. It isn’t where she is or what she’s doing, it’s her attitude. 

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,  knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." Philippians 4:11

She knows that when this world fades away it won’t matter whether she’s washed laundry, cooked hot dogs and Kraft Dinner, and cleaned dog puke stains from the carpet for the entire last year, or created a ministry that clothes the homeless around the globe. 

What will matter is HOW she served WHEREVER she served. Did she feed her family the KD and hotdogs with kindness, and treat the little one who spilled their cup of water for the gazzilionth time with a gentle approach that reflected God? Did she seek to do the mundane knowing it was God that required that of her, not just temporary circumstances that she's only waiting to get through to get to the other side of where she can REALLY serve?

Her strength and dignity, and her fearlessness of tomorrow all come from knowing that she’s right where God needs her. Right here. Right now. 

He makes the world spin, he really doesn’t need us to do anything more than sit down on the floor and read "Hop on Pop" to our tiny child one more time before bed. Our lives bring him glory whether we heard this week's sermon OR if we rocked our baby in a chair while attempting to stay awake from sleep deprivation in the back corner of church.

You’re right where God needs you.

At the end of the day, when you crawl into bed and mutter a tiny, “Thank you for getting me through today”, before you fall asleep, it’s enough for this season you’re in. You're doing enough. God needs you here. Right here. And rest assured, one day you'll hear a sermon again.

"But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness." 1 Timothy 6:11 (emphasis mine)

photo credit: Daria Shevtsova @ Pexels & Dawid Sobolewski @ Unsplash

4 Lessons I Learned By Walking Where Humans Dare to Tread

In my last post I shared how God redeemed our marriage from a drug addiction, and near divorce.
As I reflect on that time of my life and what is cost me to stay, I can also say I learned a ton from my experience. Since we are celebrating the four year anniversary of God saving our marriage, I wanted to share four brief lessons I have learned by staying and trusting God instead of walking away.

1.  Staying is not the easy route.

Walking away may seem like the easy thing to do, but our marriage vows don’t say, “for better or for kind of difficult circumstances." They said, “for better or for worse," and for worse is really, REALLY horrible for some of us. It is a trial of our faith to stand our ground and make the choice to stay. It will require you to walk by faith not by sight as you wander through what seems to be the enemy’s camp. 

2.  Staying meant I had to change too.

Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” It was no wonder I had lost my hope in my marriage. I allowed the pangs of hurt to determine my outlook instead of trust in God. As a result, instead of fruits of the Spirit, I had rotting, stinky fruit of destruction and wrath. 

If my husband and I were going to move forward I needed to change too. It would not have been fair for him to work so hard to change only for me to change nothing. I spent time in repentance, laying down my hurts and wounds. I asked God to soften my heart again, and to trust that God could fully handle all of the mess. It wasn't instant, it took time, but God heard and answered my prayers. 

3.  Never downplay your testimony

This is a lesson that took time. Initially neither my husband nor I were ready to share what we had gone through. We had shared our trial with a few close friends while we were going through it, but it took time before we were ready to share it with the world. Once we felt ready we both knew we needed to share every hurtful detail. 

We recognized two reasons why we need to share those details in that moment. The first was that if we did/ thought something, there are others experiencing the same things and need to know they are not alone. It eases the torment of the circumstance to know you are experiencing what others have survived. The second thing we both recognize is that to share anything less would have been to downplay the work God did in our lives. 

Imagine for a moment that the only recorded account of the moments leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection went something like this: He was killed, and then he rose again. What if we took out all the graphic details of the betrayal of a friend, the mockery of the crown of the thorns for the “King of the Jews”, the naked display of sweat, blood, and death that Jesus endured? The scale to which God works in is downplayed when we narrow the boundaries of evil by eliminating the grim details. 

God is not fluffy. He does not just repair the surface, he repairs foundations. How will others trust his mighty ability to move and shift our lives if we only share what was on the superficial layer?

4. Staying provided the biggest witness to the type of relationship God has with the world.

This was a lesson I learned by seeing the reaction of others, and not by anything I thought I was doing. In a world where people pack up and leave at the first sign of offence, I had no idea that staying would paint a different picture. It became a portrait of God’s ability to forgive those who repent and turn from sin. It was an image of the grace and mercy He pours out on those who don’t deserve it. It was a statement that even when we mess up horribly, He not only doesn’t give up on us, but He makes straight our paths for us to return back to the safety and comforts of His embrace.

Even to those who have heard our story, but not known intimacy with God, it confused their logic. I've seen countless confused faces who were baffled by our story. "How could you stay through that?" I've been asked. Frankly, it was less of me and more of a reflection of the One who lives in me. 

When we stay through the trial (however graceful or clumsy we may feel) we give the world an example of a God of grace and mercy. Not by my own doing, but by His hand was I able to stay in the dark crevasse where the depth of despair is so deep that nothing but the love of God can reach it. We walked where humans dare tread, but we walked it with a God who fears nothing!



Photo by Spencer Selover from Pexels 

A Characteristic of God Hidden in Every Woman

Tucked away inside the the very first chapter of the Bible is the rich treasure of biblical womanhood. A high calling on every woman in every walk of life separate and uniquely distinct from biblical manhood.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26)

The word “man” in Genesis 1:26 is actually from a Hebrew word that means “mankind.” Because God made mankind in His image the theological implication is that God made humans to have companionship with Him. He did not create abstract beings, He created people with likeness to Him.

Man had animals, and land, and everything he needed, but he was very much alone. God recognized that man needed companionship, so God made another version of mankind in Eve, a woman. 

Against the religious backdrop at the time that Genesis was written, it was unheard of that a god would want relationship with humans. In fact, these very writings in Genesis were a direct assault on the mythological religions of the time where humans were created to be slaves to lazy gods who didn’t want to work. Contradictory, we have this picture of a perfect God, who has no need for mankind, but who decides to create and enter into a loving, intimate relationship with mankind solely for the purpose of companionship.

God’s great call on women is seen within the order of creation. God wanted to make mankind in his image, first came Adam. Eve was not made until after Adam gave witness and name to every animal and does not see his match. In the same way God made Adam to be relational to him, He made Eve as that very reflection of intimacy to Adam.

This is not to say Eve is less than, or resembles less of God. No! In fact she is made in the image of the character of God that reflects his relational nature. This is separate and distinct from the character and reflection of God found in man. 

It is in the very nature of every woman to be relational. We may be introverts, or extroverts, but at the heart of every woman we care about our friendships.

What an astounding role for women to walk out inside creation: to be the image bearers of God’s desire for relationship to the people around us.

Though this call is seen more clearly inside the role of marriage in contrast to the roles of man, it is not overlooked beyond the boundaries of the marital bond. This high calling at the very foundation of womanhood is for all women in all stages of life!

Young women, you have opportunity to reach out to your sphere of influence to reflect this type of relationship. To humble yourself and pour out compassion on those around you as God has done for you. 

Married women, you have the opportunity to reflect this relationship with your spouse. Even, and especially, in those moments when your relationship is rocky. Humble yourself and work to protect the bond that God has joined together as the full reflection of His image is found when man and woman are united.

Women, you are all created uniquely and with distinctive attributes of our loving God. You are made with unique purpose separate from our male counterpart. I encourage you to honour your high calling bestowed upon you as walk daily as the image bearers of a relational God.