Life has a way of not always ending up the way we think. Haven’t we all looked back at some time in our life and said, “How did I get here?” or “Lord, I was sure that door was going to open for me!” or “What happened to that friendship? I thought we would have been friends for a lifetime.” I don’t know about you, but for me it is hard when I find myself in a place where everything I thought would have come together doesn’t, and God slowly redirects my footsteps. And, when I say slowly, I mean that He slowly starts to reveal the path He has for me. When Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (NIV), don’t we all feel like we go through amazing and wonderful seasons, but then we walk through those seasons that strip us of everything we know to be familiar?
It is in these changing of seasons that, over time, I have learned to dig my heels in deep and declare as a woman of God, “I will never give up! I will hold my ground!” Even though I don’t understand, I will stick close to God and stand firm. He is the only one who knows the full plans He has for my life.
In order to become a strong and mighty daughter of the King, it is vital that we stand our ground and stay faithful to God despite all that is going on in the natural. One thing I have to remind myself of consistently is that God knows the end from the beginning, and He knows where I will be one month from now and even 10 years from now. Just because things don’t always work out or go the way we would have liked, that doesn’t mean we should give up and find our own way of doing things. Instead we must say, “But as for me, it is good to be near God” (Psalms 73:28, NIV). When we stick close to God and ask for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation for the season we are in, it will empower us to stand our ground because we understand the direction in which He is leading us.
Ephesians 6:13b-14 states, “And after you have done everything, to stand, stand firm then….” (NIV). I love this portion of scripture because it reminds me that when I, in the natural, have done everything I know to do, I need to just keep standing – no matter if I see any results or solutions! Have you ever been in that season where it feels very dry and God feels so distant from you? No matter how much we pray, fast, and seek His face, God seems to be silent. I have just recently come out of a three-year season of this, myself. It seemed like everything I knew to do didn’t work. It is in this time of feeling like nothing is working that God reveals His strength to us. The dry seasons strip us of the old habits, the old mindsets, and the old way of doing things, and cause us to press and run after God.
Now, ladies, how easy it is for us to just throw in the towel and run back to what we know to be familiar! When we feel like the Lord is being quiet and not answering all our prayers, we can so easily run back to the world for our joy and identity. Our society has given us such an instant gratification mentality. To wait for anything these days is just an irritation and frustration to us. Sometimes we will go to any extent to make sure that we get what we want. However, God doesn’t always work on our time schedule. God’s timing is perfect and is right on time (Habakkuk 2:3). For the things God has promised and spoken to us will not be delayed or come late, but we must wait for it, dig our heels in deep, and stand faithfully.
It is in our pressing and determination of not giving up that we become strong women of God. If we were to never go through pressing or hard times, we as women of God would become weak and spoiled because we would always get what we want. But when we begin to fight and be faithful – even when we don’t see anything changing or notice any hope – we will find that strength inside of us is being formed and that we are becoming stronger and mightier warriors for our King. All we have to do is remember to call on the name of the Lord. Even when we don’t feel He is near, He is, and He is helping us through. So, ladies, arise! Dig your heels in, and declare along with me, “I will never give up! I will hold my ground! I will stand firm! I will be a devoted daughter of the King!”
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