Week 1: What If God Wants Me to Be Brave?
Devotional:
Who doesn’t love the story of Ruth?
A godly woman in a desperate situation is saved when God sends Boaz to the rescue. Like a fairy tale, from starving peasant to prominent wife and mother, the book of Ruth ends with the happily ever after legacy of King David. It’s an epic story for the ages.
Deep inside of all women, I think there’s a part of us that longs to be Ruth (or Cinderella). As we face situations that are beyond our abilities, challenges that we cannot overcome on our own, or the hardships of life there’s a part of us that hopes there’s a Boaz coming in to save the day.
Maybe your Boaz isn’t a human being---maybe it’s a miracle---a check in the mail, supernatural healing, a change of heart by someone who is hurting us. You see, it isn’t necessarily about being married or single or finding a man to rescue us (although for some women it is)---it’s more about the attitude of waiting for a magic potion to rescue us. We’re looking for someone or something to fight the dragons and give us the happily ever after ending we believe we deserve.
But what if it isn’t God’s will for a “Boaz” to come to the rescue?
What if God has an entirely different plan in mind?
What if instead of God sending a Prince to rescue you, God’s plan is for you to rise up and be the Princess Warrior who finds her strength in Jesus, bravely fights the battle and wins the victory?
I know---the possibility kind of scares me too---but it isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility.
As we study the Bible we see that not every heroine’s happily ever after came when they were rescued. Sometimes God used the heroine to bring deliverance and rescue other people.
What if that is God’s plan for you?
What if God isn’t calling you to be a Ruth, but instead He’s calling you to be a Deborah? An Esther? Or a Jael?
What if He is calling you to be one of the Brave Women of the Bible?
Please allow me to be vulnerable and say that none of these questions are shared in a judgmental or critical way. Instead, they are the result of my own personal struggle and being issued this challenge by the Holy Spirit.
You see, the truth is that even though there are some parts of my life that are miraculously amazing, there is another side to the coin where every victory---personal and spiritual---is met with a battle. Without going into detail, please allow me to say that there are some areas of my life that are still very hard---where God has not removed all difficulty---and where the struggle is real. During a recent time when I was just tired of struggling with the same people and circumstances over and over again, I fell into my old default pattern of “Why can’t I just be rescued?”
On a particularly bad day when I was suggesting rescue scenarios to God (like He needs them), the Holy Spirit put these questions in my heart:
What if you’re not called to be Ruth, what if in this scenario you’re called to be a Deborah?
What if instead of staging a rescue, God intends to make you brave?
What if God’s plan isn’t what you think it is? What if it’s completely different but even better?
I have to admit, this was a new thought for me---I’m still processing it.
But it started a new journey.
Over the next few weeks, I’m inviting you to join me on this journey. Together we’ll look at the women in the Bible who were called to be brave---the Princess Warriors of God’s Kingdom.
We’ll ask the Holy Spirit what we can learn from their examples and how we can emulate their bravery.
Where the journey will lead I’m not sure---but I’m excited to get started.
Will you join me on the road to bravery?
With your help I can advance against a troop
with my God I can scale a wall.
It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
Psalm 18:29,32-36
Discussion Questions:
What if in this scenario you’re called to be a Deborah?
What if instead of staging a rescue, God intends to make you brave?
What if God’s plan isn’t what you think it is? What if it’s completely different, but even better?
Share a Scripture that helps you be brave?
How does this week's topic apply to your current situation?