Of all the giants we face and are called to conquer in this life, there is one that will never fall. That’s because, while most of the giants we must confront are enemies, this one is not.
As women growing in God, we all battle with some level of insecurity. The roots of this plaguing sense of not being enough are varied and deeply entrenched. No doubt the enemy seizes those roots in many attempts to keep us hidden, limited, and living smaller than we were created to.
One of the greatest deceptions he uses in this effort is found among Christian women in community. When we are plagued by insecurity that makes us feel small, the enemy doesn’t have to send a Goliath, because we are already enslaved. Instead, he aims to keep us there by making the women around us look like giants, causing us to feel like we can never measure up.
He casts them in a light that makes them look so big and so powerful that we – often unknowingly – begin to compare our own gifts, talents, callings and ability with theirs and end up concluding that what we have to contribute pales in comparison. As a result, we often don’t contribute. We just continue to follow them around, listen to and agree with what they have to contribute, and try to draw strength from their shadows.
The truth, however, that the enemy doesn’t want us to discover is that the women around us who are operating in a greater fullness of power and gifting than we are, are there to call us up into our destinies. They are there to encourage us, and to surround us with greatness that seeks the glory of God, so we will realize we are one with them, and we should be doing the same.
God places us in community that will challenge us, confronting our limitations and fears and insecurities, because He wants us to know that it will take all of us to do what He desires. His ultimate design is that we would move as one, each person contributing what He has put within them, and all together displaying the incredible purpose, power and love of a God beyond comprehension.
I realized last week, as I was praying for someone I knew was feeling small and incapable and very out of place among spiritual giants God had called her to serve alongside, that He had done this for her, and not in spite of her. He wanted her to realize what was inside of her, and to rise into the capacity He had given her. In order to do it, she needed to run with giants – those operating at a greater level of power and purpose than she can even believe she is capable of. They were there for her benefit, but the enemy wanted to make them look like intimidating figures, hoping she would pull back and quietly go home.
Dear Woman of Breakthrough, who has God surrounded you with? What Christian women draw your attention, and who do you feel so small next to? I want to suggest that maybe God has not put her/them there for you to compare yourself with and live in the shadows of, but for you to glean courage and determination from.
The giant that will never fall in your life is the one of purpose-filled community. They are there to call you up and into your own purpose and destiny. The insecurity is nothing more than a weapon intended to keep you feeling small, because you are called to be a spiritual giant among giants, calling others up and into their destinies, too.
So take the invitation God has given you, and begin to connect with the ones who intimidate or inspire you. Glean from them all you can, and live among them as though they are the village God has called to raise you. Instead of cowering in their presence, or comparing yourself with them and finding you fall short of what they have, take a good look at what God has placed inside of you, and determine to grow through the pain of insecurity. Fight the lie of intimidation, and embrace the gift of confrontation. You are being provoked by God to rise! You are destined for greatness, and the giants He has placed you among will help you to get there! Together, we have a mighty purpose, and only together will be we able to accomplish it. Your part matters!
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She Dances Over Graves 