"Uncommon Women" part 3 ~ final thoughts

Final Highlights from "Uncommon Women" ~

So just how does a woman draw upon an uncommon courage in uncommon days?
I believe the answer lies in having an UNCOMMON FAITH.

By uncommon faith, I do not mean to suggest a faith that is attained through some kind of super spiritual manuevers. I simply mean a faith that endures and even develops in the face of.
In the face of desperate circumstances and in the face of disappointing and, perhaps even, dreadful outcomes.  

Our faith in God is not a tool for manipulating the outcome we desire. Our faith in God is the vehicle by which we arrive at an unshakeable trust that, regardless of the outcome, God IS working ALL things together for our good.

Mary was a woman of uncommon faith. She carried in her womb a literal promise of God. Mary's body housed and birthed Christ, the Son of the Living God.
When Gabriel delivered his stunning news to Mary, he shouted, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

And Mary responded, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."
Above all other mothers, Mary knew without doubt that God had a plan for her son's life. I wonder if, over the course of thirty years, Mary thought as did many others if the Kingdom Jesus came to establish was to be an earthly one.  
I imagine her heart swelling with joy as He performs miracle after miracle.
I imagine her sorrow when she hears of His arrest in the Garden of Gethsamane.
I imagine her state of shock as she maintains her vigil at the foot of His cross.

Bleeding, battered and bound by nails, Jesus speaks to His mother, "Here is your son."
And he nods toward the man near her.
"Here is your mother."

I wonder if in that moment Mary's own words thirty three years earlier pricked her heart ~ "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."
Is this God's plan for her son's life?
I imagine every fiber of Mary's being wanting to scream out, "You are my son. I want you. I want you back."
And in Mary's hours of grief, I imagine that scene between mother and son replaying in her restless mind.
After all, even though Mary had carried the Divine, she was just a woman.
But she was an uncommon woman, living in uncommon times, possessing uncommon courage with uncommon faith.

How can this be?

I believe it is because Mary had something in common with us ~ an UNCOMMON SAVIOR.

Are you in an uncommon time in your life?
Do you need uncommon courage?
Do you need uncommon faith?

Allow me to lead you in prayer.

Dear Abba,
You are the only One who knows what will come tomorrow. You are the only One who knows if the next bend in our road will bring us to uncommon times. As we run our race and persevere in the faith, may we dig deep in You and discover an uncommon courage. May we have a faith that endures--the kind of uncommon faith that's based on fully trusting You with the outcomes in our lives.
May we be uncommon women on the "good days" and on the "not so good days."
And as we approach this season in which we celebrate the miracle of Christ's birth, may our lives become less about us and more about Jesus ~ our UNCOMMON SAVIOR.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

"Uncommon Women" part 2

Highlights from "Uncommon Women" ~ (parts 1-2)


"She girds herself with strength and strengthens her arms" Proverbs 31:17.
We cannot see around the next corner, the next bend in the road of our lives. Perhaps your tomorrow will be an ordinary day. Common. But tomorrow someone will face hardship or heartbreak. Tomorrow someone's world will turn upside down and she will wish for an ordinary day ~ for "common times" to return. And perhaps, it is your strength that she will need until her own is renewed.

We never know when we will be called upon to face our worst fears, take up courage, gird ourselves in strength and just keep walking out our faith.

We all hope for and revel in those days of calm, in which the waters of our lives provide for smooth sailing and we are untouched by tragedy and sorrow. But those other days--the days of trial by fire are the ones, that if we are willing, refine us as gold.

It is in those seasons that in our very weakness, the power and strength of Christ Himself manifests in such a way that people do not see you, but Christ IN you ~ that your life becomes less about you and more about Him who purchased you.

Esther was a woman who lived in UNCOMMON TIMES. From an orphan to a queen, she was a nobody who became a somebody ~ a common, ordinary kind of woman whose courage in uncommon times revealed her to be quite extraordinary and uncommon.

Her elder cousin Mordecai's rhetorical question, "Who knows that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" has reverberated through the ages to inspire godly women over and again. (Esther 4:14)

For a real life example of an "uncommon woman," visit Elaine at http://www.peaceforthejourney.com/

In UNCOMMON TIMES, you need UNCOMMON COURAGE.

Deborah and Jael were partnered in a moment in history which required UNCOMMON COURAGE.

In the days of Israel when women in leadership was uncommon, Deborah the prophetess, was a judge and a leader in a battle than ensured 40 years of peace. As she and Barak went forth in battle against the Caananites and their leader Sisera, there was another woman who played a key role. Jael, a tent dweller, welcomed Sisera as he stumbled into her tent asking for a drink and protection as he slept.

Jael, keenly aware of who lay sleeping in her tent, did what she had done many times before  ~ a common activity in her nomadic world of tent dwelling. I wonder if her hands shook and her heart beat faster as she picked up a tent peg and drove it hard. Only this time, her target was not the ground, but the head of the enemy ~ from common to uncommon in one hoist of the hammer.

In the post battle song of Barak and Deborah, they praise Jael for her uncommon act of courage. (Judges 5:24 - 27)
Most blessed of all women is Jael,
wife of Heber the Kenite,
most blessed of homemaking women.
He asked for water,
she brought milk;
In a handsome bowl,
she offered cream.
She grabbed a tent peg in her left hand,
with her right hand she seized a hammer.
She hammered Sisera, she smashed his head,
she drove a hole through his temple.
He slumped at her feet. He fell. He sprawled.
He slumped at her feet. He fell.
Slumped. Fallen. Dead.
~ from The Message

When you feel you are at your weakest and unable to make another decision, to take another step, to pray another prayer, you must look beyond your present and into your future where your hope lies and your joy is made full.  Look to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.
To look beyond what your eyes see in your "present" to what is coming in your future takes courage.

Courage is not always, and perhaps not even often, exhibited in one brave act. When I think of the people I personally know who are courageous, they are the ones who, despite ongoing adversity in one form or another, just keep putting one foot forward making the right decisions day in and day out.

Courage does not always roar. Sometime courage is that quiet voice at the end of the day saying I will try again tomorrow. ~ Mary Radmacher

To visit another real life example of an "uncommon woman," meet my friend, Leslie at http://letajoykeepyou.blogspot.com/.
Leslie fully embraces Christ and knows Him in the fellowship of His suffering. She is just one of the many uncommon women who exhibit uncommon courage in uncommon days.
 
How is this accomplished? I think I know.
 
(to be continued...)

A Little More of "Uncommon Women"

I got to speak to some wonderful women last night. For the gathering I prepared a new topic entitled "Uncommon Women."


In "Uncommon Women," the women I honor are those in UNCOMMON TIMES of UNCOMMON COURAGE with UNCOMMON FAITH.


Not only do we have the Biblical examples of women like Deborah, Esther, Mary (mother of Jesus) and Elizabeth, but if you look around, there are plenty of women that you know who are UNCOMMON.
In fact, it may be YOU!
Uncommon Women are:
~ called upon to live out a season that is UNCOMMON and not of their choosing.
~ digging deep to discover an UNCOMMON COURAGE.
~ developing an UNCOMMON FAITH that endures despite adversity.


Highlights from "Uncommon Women" ~


"She girds herself with strength and strengthens her arms" Proverbs 31:17.


We cannot see around the next corner, the next bend in the road of our lives. Perhaps your tomorrow will be an ordinary day. Common. But tomorrow someone will face hardship or heartbreak. Tomorrow someone's world will turn upside down and she will wish for an ordinary day ~ for "common times" to return. And perhaps, it is your strength that she will need until her own is renewed.
We never know when we will be called upon to face our worst fears, take up courage, gird ourselves in strength and just keep walking out our faith.
We all hope for and revel in those days of calm, in which the waters of our lives provide for smooth sailing and we are untouched by tragedy and sorrow. But those other days--the days of trial by fire are the ones, that if we are willing, refine us as gold.


It is in those seasons that in our very weakness, the power and strength of Christ Himself manifests in such a way that people do not see you, but Christ IN you ~ that your life becomes less about you and more about Him who purchased you.


Esther was a woman who lived in UNCOMMON TIMES. From an orphan to a queen, she was a nobody who became a somebody ~ a common, ordinary kind of woman whose courage in uncommon times revealed her to be quite extraordinary and uncommon.
Her elder cousin Mordecai's rhetorical question, "Who knows that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" has reverberated through the ages to inspire godly women over and again.

For a real life example of an "uncommon woman," visit Elaine at http://www.peaceforthejourney.com/


In UNCOMMON TIMES, you need UNCOMMON COURAGE.
Deborah and Jael were partnered in a moment in history which required UNCOMMON COURAGE.


(to be continued...)