Voices: A Woman After God's Own Heart

This is the fifth post in a series about Voices of the True Woman: A Call to the Counter-Revolution. Click links to see posts on prior chapters: one, two, three, and four.

Ah, to be a woman after God's own heart - that is our goal, is it not? But it is so easy to pay that phrase lip-service and not examine and emulate the characteristics of such a woman. In chapter four of Voices, Janet Parshall shares a key disposition of a woman after God's own heart: surrender. This trait is exemplified in the story of Hannah, found in the opening chapter of 1 Samuel.

Hannah was a devout woman, who was greatly loved by her husband; but she had no children. Unsurprisingly, this made her deeply distressed. I can only imagine the pain she felt as she longed for God to fill her womb. In beautiful character, she cried out to God and made her request to Him: if He would give her a child, she would give him back to the Lord's service. Hannah not only surrendered her longing to God, but also promised to surrender the fulfillment of that longing to God, should He choose to answer.

I can think of many times in which I made a request of God that He provided, and went on my merry way, satisfied to possess that which I longed for. Certainly I gave thanks and praise to God, but rarely have I gone so far as to promise to dedicate the request back to the Lord. Yet, Hannah did just that and followed through by bringing the son God gave her to the temple after he was weaned. Her devotion to God is incredible and her sacrifice is far greater than I can imagine emulating. And yet, that is exactly what I must do to be a woman after God's own heart.

I think of my children growing older and becoming the passionate followers of Christ that I long for them to be. No, God did not require that I give them into His service at age three, but will I be willing to surrender them to God at age twenty-three if He calls them to another land as missionaries? What if He calls them home at twenty-one!? Will I be able to let go of my grip of control and trust them into the hands of the One who gave them to me in the first place? These are not questions that I can ignore. I have to decide now whether I will be willing to surrender them to God when He calls them. This decision will not only affect my future, but it has a great impact on my life today, as it shapes the decisions I make for them now, what I teach them now, and what I pray for on their behalf now. 

Like Hannah, we need to make the decision to surrender our longings and lives to God, but the follow-through is a constant act of surrendering. Surrendering our rights, our desires, and our grip. It's the process of surrendering each step of the way that culminates in living a surrendered life. In Janet's words:

Motherhood gives us feelings of fuzzy blankets and baby rattles and toys to line the crib. But motherhood is actually one of God's refining fires. The reality of motherhood is that it's a place to learn surrender, letting go, trusting and believing that God is God.

But because He is in it, motherhood gives us the opportunity to interact with history. Our prayers don't just become part of protecting our children from harm and from hazards of their own making. With God in control, our prayers for our children can make a mark on our nation. True women, like Hannah, trust God enough to believe He has great things planned for the babies He has given us - babies we give back to Him for His use, His Kingdom, His glory.

What longing in your life do you need to surrender to God?

In hope,

Voices: For Such A Time As This

This is the fourth post in a series about Voices of the True Woman: A Call to the Counter-Revolution.

The book of Esther in the Old Testament could easily have been the inspiration behind the blockbuster films of our modern day. A beautiful heroine, a wise sage, a guileless villain, a foolish king, and the fate of a nation at stake. There's danger, intrigue, suspense, and irony. You're drawn into the story before you've even had time to finish your popcorn.

When the treacherous Haman seeks the extermination of all the Jews in the land, Esther is the only person who can save the day. Having been providentially made the queen, Esther must risk her life to plead with the king to spare the lives of her people. It is the wise Mordecai who provides the climactic moment as he urges Esther to go to the king.

Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?  - Esther 4:13-14

As Nancy Leigh DeMoss notes in chapter four of Voices,

Esther is not the star but simply a player in the heavenly drama being acted out on an earthly stage. Ultimately it was God who raised her to this lofty position in a pagan land. It was God who put her in the palace of a wicked king. She had been placed there by God for Kingdom purposes which - note this - were totally unknown to her.

I want to remind you that you, too, have been positioned by God in your place right now for His own Kingdom purposes.

Honestly, there are times when it is so easy for me to get caught up in my own desires that I can't see past the end of my nose. I want what I want and I allow my self-centered pride to keep me from seeing life through the lens of God's Kingdom. My attention is focused on how my circumstances are affecting me, instead of how I could be used in the midst of them to bring glory to God. Nancy provides this challenge:

The question is not, "How will this circumstance affect me?" or, "How will it fulfill my wants and needs?" The right question to ask is, "How does God want to use my position, my season of life, my place at this moment in time to fulfill His Kingdom purposes in the world?"

Even when we can get past ourselves and our desires, there is a danger in thinking that we are too small to be used by God: our personality is too small, our position is too small, our circle of influence is too small. After all, Esther was in the king's palace in a position to save millions of people; I'm just an ordinary girl in a small church in a small town with small abilities. Ah, but there is pride in that, too, because I'm still thinking about myself! I have to remember that God is sovereign over all aspects of my life, including how seemingly small or big it may be. I have to allow myself to be used by Him where ever I am. It's up to Him to determine how great the impact may be. Nancy shares this insight:

Whether it was Esther then or you today, only God knows - and only time will tell - why He has sovereignly placed you where you are right now, at this moment in history. You have been given a role to play, and no one else can fill it. . . . And though you may not view your life as ranking anywhere near the level of importance with Esther, this is not the way your Father sees it. You are a tool in the hand of God, being applied to situations that may just feel like "everyday life" to you but are actually backlit stages where the purposes of God are being put on display from your street address. And He knows the audience He's playing to, whether it be members of your family, church friends, random acquaintances - whoever needs to see His power at work in a surrendered heart . . . like yours. (emphasis mine)

These words humble me. They remind me that it's not about me; it's all about God. As a true woman of God, I must not seek the spotlight by putting myself in the center of my world; the glory belongs to God alone. As a true woman of God, I have to be submissive to the plans of God in even the smallest things, for it is God who determines the impact.

I am in no position to be the hero to millions, but might it be my role to be a hero to one, such as my husband, whom I can love and honor? Or might I even be a hero to two, such as my children, who need to know they have a Savior who loves them and died for them that they might have life? Could I even be a hero to dozens as I fill a needed position in a church ministry? Yes, I could be a small hero to all of these, but only if I am fully devoted to God and have the courage to be used by Him.

Esther's legacy is not that she rose to the position of queen. Rather her legacy is what she allowed God to do through her.

Do you have the faith and courage to leave an Esther-like legacy? To whom can you be a hero today?

In hope,