Psalms 138:3 has been on my radar for
quite some time. The NIV reads like this:
“When I called You
answered me,
You have made me bold and stouthearted.”
Bold and stouthearted are such manly
sounding words. Even the meaning of stoutheartedness is “valiant,
brave, courageous” and other words associated with male qualities.
But y'all, I know some stouthearted
women.
While it is much more preferable for a
virtuous woman to have a sweet, gentle and pliable personality there
are some who have strong convictions and aren't afraid of
asserting them. There is a breed of women out there who have such
passions for all that is truth and righteousness that when they are
faced with adversities they boldly go forth in valiant courage.
Many decide a woman with a confident
demeanor is stubborn. Some call her assertive, overbearing, too much,
harsh, brash, outspoken, wild, uncontained, a free spirit; strong
willed. (I dislike that last one with great passion. Just saying!)
Call it what you will, courage and
confidence in a woman is a beautiful thing when used for her Heavenly
Father's glory. He designed her unique,
exactly as He wanted her, for exactly the path He knew she would walk
on, facing the challenges only she would face.
Life is hard. We're going to need a
little resilience if we are going to survive the
knocks life can deal. We're going to need a bit of 'get up' in our step. Some spunk, if you will.
While it's no secret that women are the
more relational and caring part of humanity, that shouldn't mean they
are incapable of displaying courage in the face of life's bitter
storms, or not allowed to have knowledge, wisdom and insight stuffed
between their pretty little ears.
If you're like me, you might even
decide that most people just don't know how to handle more woman than
the average Susie! Anybody?
Oh believe me, I've tried to squash
these passionate all-consuming feelings. I tried to corral the wild
and uncontainable vividness of right and wrong, black and white, that
I tend to see. I tried to bite my tongue when things just wanted to
spew out.
For a while it worked! And it worked
well! It worked because I tackled it with the same passion I'm so
driven by. I told my cooking utensils exactly what I thought as I
gouged them into whatever dinner was being prepared. I swung that
broom with extra vigor, trying to prove a point stabbing those bristles at the dirt. I tackled those dishes, suds a-flying, and
passions a-mounting!
Then it didn't work, and I hated myself
for being myself and being myself WELL.
Maybe this is why it failed,
I had tried to change myself instead of
letting God change me.
I was trying to change the very person
God made me to be. I was trying to fit myself into this
cookie cutter shape of what I wished I could be, what society says a Christian woman should be, and what many women around me seem to have no
problem being- the submissive wife, the patient mom, the demure,
sweet, gentle, quiet woman.
All I figured out was that while I
could act demure, there was nothing demure, gentle, patient, or
submissive about my heart. Then, because my vivid right and wrong
passions kicked in, I was soon condemning myself for being so
hypocritical by trying to be what I wasn't.
Satan used my self against myself to condemn
myself. What an evil plan.
Does anybody understand what I'm trying
to say here?
I need some wild eyed, crazy haired
woman to tell me she understands exactly what I'm talking about.
Well, maybe you're not wild eyed or crazy haired, but I'm willing to
bet you feel like it some days!
Here is my conclusion-
My stouthearted spirit was given to me
by God- it's not going anywhere.
But, somewhere between the convictions
of the Spirit and the execution of those convictions, I need to
choose whether self will take over, or grace will abound.
For example, I get to choose how I
respond to situations. That doesn't take away or even damper the fire
in my heart for all things right, good and just in any given situation.
I get to choose to control my words.
That doesn't rein in or diminish my fervency, it's just channeled into a more God honoring way. In fact, I get strengthened even more as I put God's grace on display for those around me to
see.
The same stoutheartedness that grasps
the convictions you and I have, can be the same stoutheartedness in
which we execute our convictions.
A stouthearted woman can be proven sweet, gentle, kind, humble and submissive, when she lets herself
be guided and directed by the Holy Spirit rather than her self.
When self-will is taken out of the
picture, whats left is
a confident woman on fire for God, unashamed and
unfazed, blazing a trail as she runs hard after Him. >>TWEET THIS<<
THAT is a stouthearted woman.
I like her.
~~~~~~~~~~
Be encouraged!
Be inspired!
Click below to join
a virtual coffee break for your heart!
~~~~~~~~~
If you are a stouthearted woman too, you might find
this article by Lisa Jacobson itweeting.
Sharing with.... Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, Modest Mom, Soul Survivor, Proverbs 31 Wife, The Beauty in His Grip, What Joy is Mine, Yes, They Are All Ours, Salt & Light, She Lives Free, Life of Faith, Nourishing Joy, Mom2Mom, Motivation Monday, Unite, Teaching What is Good, Chronically Content, God's Growing Garden, Joy Dare, My daily Walk in His Grace, Rachel Wojnarowski, So Much At Home, Woman to Woman, Holley Gerth, Becoming Godly Women, 3D Lessons, Graced Simplicity, ImpartingGrace, Jenninfer Dukes Lee, Creative K, Children Are a Blessing, 7 Days Time, Faith and Fellowship Blog Hop, Essential Things, Missional Women, A look at The Book, Family Fun, Create With Joy, Counting My Blessings, Christian Mommy Blogger, TimeWarp Wife
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
