Celebrating International Women’s Day

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Today is International Woman’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, and the fight for equality. The day has been observed in some form for more than a century. The earliest International Women’s Day events included rallies for the right to vote and against gender discrimination, as well as women’s anti-war protests and so forth. In 1975, the United Nations declared March 8th to be International Women’s Day. This year, the International Women’s Day theme is #BreakTheBias.  Bias is defined as prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.¹

“The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian makes me a different kind of woman.”

Elisabeth Elliott

In celebration of International Women’s Day, I wanted to share this excerpt on the ‘Eshet Chayil‘ woman from Daughter of the King: Possessing Your Spiritual Inheritance, my first book in which I share my personal story of becoming. I have not arrived, but I press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ. I hope you will be blessed by …

Do You Realize How Valuable You Are?

Through my years in ministry serving women, I have come to recognize that the enemy deceives women into feeling powerless. Once we feel powerless, he has an open door to distort the truth of who God created us to be. I have listened to countless women struggle with poor self-esteem. They feel they have no true value in life. This seems to be a common problem among women, Christian and non-Christian, but is so far from God’s truth.

This is what happens to Eve in the Garden of Eden. She allows the serpent’s words to deceive her into thinking God was holding out on them, causing her to doubt God’s love. Eve’s identity is thrown into confusion when she believes the lie that God does not have her best interests at heart. Once she allows herself to doubt her value to God, the enemy deceives her into eating the fruit. Don’t believe the lies of the enemy. You are valuable to God. Your worth is far above rubies.

The “Eschet Chayil” Woman

The call to follow, obey, and trust God involves strength and courage. There have been many great men and women of faith who have gone before us, accomplishing what seemed impossible, and blazing a trail for us to follow. Joshua is one of the Bible’s greatest military leaders. He is best known as Moses’ second in command who takes over and leads the Israelites into the Promised Land after Moses’ death. Joshua’s boldness, courage, and determination to obey God encourages me to be
strong and courageous as I pursue God’s purpose. Whenever I become discouraged or face with new challenges, I meditate on Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Courage is defined as mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.¹ It required great courage and strength when Joshua took over the leadership of Israel after Moses has died. Over and over again, the Lord told Joshua to “be strong and courageous.” Being courageous doesn’t mean you will never be afraid. It means pressing into God for the strength and courage you need to overcome fear with faith. Sometimes your mind may even start racing away with all kinds of “what if” thoughts. But when this happens, you should kick into overdrive and let the Word of God take over. You have to trust God beyond your fears, knowing that He has already worked things out on your behalf. Isaiah 41:10 says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Blessing,

Minister Dr. A. Francine Green

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ENDNOTES

All Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard (NASB) unless otherwise noted.

1. “Courage,” Merriam-Webster.com, Merriam-Webster, Web. 8 Apr. 2017.