It’s Tough Being a Woman

Few women find within themselves true and lasting peace. The overwhelming voices of expectations they impose upon themselves pressure them to be all things, do too much, look a certain way and live to impress far too many people.

Fear causes us to revert back to that insecure junior high girl who dresses to impress other people and lives to please the opinions of others. She whispers into our feminine hearts, you’re not good enough; try harder. Do more, be more, that’s what’s expected of you. 

The woman who wants to find peace in the depth of her being must allow her heart and mind to be at rest. She must understand that her worth, value and beauty is not found in what she does, but purely, in who she is.

For a woman to understand this, her identity must be rooted firmly in the love of God. Once she understands her identity as being made in the image of God, there is no longer any need to run after temporal band aides to fix an ailing heart or pursue the approval of other people to fill up a war-torn, emotionally drained soul.

The bible exhorts us to “take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.”– (2 Cor 10:5) If we start living this way as women, we’ll stop running after thoughts and feelings that drive our emotions to unhealthy places, creating in us fear and insecurity, if dwelt upon long enough will inevitably lead us to action- attempting to soothe our worried minds. This creates in us destructive patterns. We must deal with these feelings and thoughts, earnestly, so they do not take our hearts and minds captive, enslaving us to fear.

Resting in the love of God is the tranquilizer gun the heart of every woman needs. It is the daily dying to the lie of the culture, to live and walk in the freedom of being made in the image of God, a daughter of the King, purchased and paid for by the Lord Jesus. If you know Him, rest in Him. If you don’t, cry out to Him. His love knows no limits and His peace wishes to place at rest every soul, not just in this life, but to grant eternal rest to all who choose to follow Him.

Follow Your Heart

…..”men didn’t listen to Moses, but in their hearts, turned back to Egypt.” (Acts 7:39)

 

My mind loves to run back to places of captivity. It loves to play the game of, “the grass is greener on the other side.” I can’t tell you how many times in my foolish thinking I have thought to myself, “life would be better if….I had this job, this amount of money, this honor, or this prestige.” I find myself swimming in pools of pride, selfishness and fear when I run to those places.

 

With my words I know what’s right. I know what I’m supposed to do. I know what pleases God and what doesn’t and I may even give lip service to others about the wonderful truths I know about God, yet my heart has turned back to Egypt. The place of bondage and captivity. The place of enslavement to the enemy. If I could be honest, this is where my heart goes more often then not.

 

The bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure, who can understand it.” (Jer 17:9) Therefore, the mantra, “follow your heart” is a foolish one. Fools follow their hearts.

If I follow my heart I’ll end up in Egypt much more often then in the promised land of freedom, joy, peace and contentment. When our hearts run back to captivity we wreck and ruin our deepest relationships. We will go at any length to protect ourselves from revealing the truth about our hearts. We’ll tell people, “life is great,” when in reality, it’s a facade, because inwardly, we believe something very different.  

 

The truth is, right thinking, causes right actions. In order to start acting differently, we first have to start thinking differently. If I allow my thoughts and my heart to dictate my decision making, truly, my life will be a mess. However, if I take captive every thought making it obedient to Christ, following wisdom and not my heart, I will find contentment and peace awaiting me.

 

This is why the bible implores us to “guard your hearts above all else, because it determines the course of your life.” (Prov 4:23) Follow your heart, end up in Egypt. Follow wisdom and the truth of God’s word, find freedom, hope, peace and joy. It’s there in God’s grace our hearts will be content in a less than perfect marriage, find joy in a job that doesn’t have all the perks and not feel the need to live for honor and prestige.

 

If we go to Egypt in our hearts; our marriages, parenting, finances, and freedom will suffer greatly. Today, let us fight against the enemy who wants to take us back into captivity. Let us stand triumphantly over our fears and deepest insecurities today through the victory found in following Jesus Christ.