This past weekend I attended the first annual retreat for The Master’s Program for Women held at the beautiful St. Christopher Camp in Johns Island, South Carolina. The theme for the retreat was “For Such a Time as This.” The Master’s Program is designed to help you discover your unique Kingdom calling based on your unique abilities, talents, life experiences, and spiritual gifts that God gave you (www.themastersprogramforwomen.org). This is the only curriculum that I teach that is not my own because it aligns perfectly with my personal mission in life – to help working people be successful in every area of their lives—helping people find their calling is part of my own calling.
During the retreat we noticed that God kept reminding us of His love for us and kept directing us to certain scriptures:
Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Esther 4:13-14 (NLT)
13 Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. 14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
Psalm 46:10 (NLT)
10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”
As I reflected on the weekend and everything we learned and shared, God’s message to women became clear in my heart: Women – Rise up YET Be Still!
God is asking women around the world to rise up as Kingdom leaders yet God is also calling us to “be still” and know that He is God. Notice that He’s not calling us to be CEO’s or high level executives of any companies. It doesn’t matter where we are in life or what position we hold in the world. What matters is what position we hold in the Kingdom—our eternal influence! Leadership is all about influence. He wants to use each woman exactly where we are—with our unique experiences, education, and talents—ALL for His Kingdom. So while He is calling us to rise up, He is also asking and requesting of us to take care of ourselves, to care for our bodies which includes the mind through rest and relaxation. He wants us to learn to meditate in His Word which brings us peace and inner rest.
But then I asked God, how do we rise up and be still at the same time? Through prayer!
We pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding—not only of the Word but for every situation we encounter. We pray for patience, grace, healing, and resources. We pray for rest, peace, and calm in our lives so we can see clearly the path He sets before us and so we can listen clearly to His commands and direction. We pray for one another and intercede for each other. We pray with a humble heart knowing that He is God and He already knows our needs. But we also pray with gratitude knowing and trusting He will meet all our needs. We pray believing that God’s timing is perfect even when we don’t understand it and when we feel we’re out of options. We pray from the heart with confidence that He knows our hearts and He blesses our sincere prayers.
We, women, are notorious for wanting to do it all—by ourselves. We forget that we are an army and that, together, we can accomplish exponentially more than on our own. We forget that when we ask our sisters for help, they respond. We need to remember that together we are God’s secret weapon against the enemy of this world. If we are too busy trying to do it all, we will not listen to God’s direction on how to accomplish His plan for our lives and to reach and lead in the world.
Women – Rise up for we are called for such a time as this! God needs us to rise up and be leaders in His Kingdom. God will do amazing things in this world through us—women leaders.
Women – Be still and know that He is God! God needs us to be rested so we can accomplish all of those amazing things He has planned for us to do. He needs us to LEAD and become Kingdom leaders—what we were meant to be.
I encourage you today to rise up and yet be still knowing He is God. We are called for such a time as this!