By Sarah Liberty Hardee
God's Brave Women - Sarah's Story
Sometimes after a long day of playing, the kids lay their heads on their pillows and fall asleep instantly. Tonight that was not the case. They were resisting bedtime and younger one was literally kicking and screaming. I sat on the floor, wishing my husband were home to help me. Some days being a ministry wife and stay-at-home mom feels incredibly lonely, and I find myself in a place of weariness… a place where I truly need some kind of power and self-discipline.
Often, because of our sin nature, we tend to look inward at ourselves for the help we need. And when we don’t like what we see, we can feel like God has failed us. We can feel anxious and ashamed. We can feel hopeless.
But Scripture offers us a true source of hope and power for every circumstance.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 says, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
I once heard in a sermon that pride is described as believing in your power more than you believe in God’s. Isn’t that poignant?
"I once heard in a sermon that pride is described as believing in your power more than you believe in God’s."
When we trust in our own power, we secretly know its shallowness. We mask and we hide. We try to make up for our failures or use lofty speech. We puff ourselves up, trying to prove to everyone (including ourselves) that we can be trusted. Weaknesses and trembling are hidden – masked from view in order to keep up the perfect image that we enjoy portraying to others. And it can make us weary.
But, when we live life as a Spirit-filled woman, we exchange the power of men (which always fails) with the power of God (which never fails!). We exchange weaknesses we mask for pride in eternal strength and rest.
"But, when we live life as a Spirit-filled woman, we exchange the power of men (which always fails) with the power of God (which never fails!)."
Resting faith. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect description – the goal we want to achieve so badly? Our hearts long for it. Our hearts long for Eden’s hope. We want to have perfect faith, perfect rest, and perfect strength. We want to know God so well that it’s a delight to serve Him with no doubt or selfish ambition. We may seek to be perfect and strong in our own right, but in the end we will never find it. We were made to bravely give our weaknesses to our God, and in return, He will give us the strength we need.
So friends, let’s be real with each other. Let’s admit our shortcomings and not mask them with idealistic speech. Let’s agree to “know nothing” except for the truth of Jesus Christ crucified. Together, let’s link arms in agreement. While we fail here on this earth, we can fail in honesty and know our failings are covered in Christ’s love. May we put fake images to the wayside and proclaim the testimony of God. When we do, we will stop striving in our falsehoods and start resting in His amazing grace.
"May we put fake images to the wayside and proclaim the testimony of God. When we do, we will stop striving in our falsehoods and start resting in His amazing grace."
Remember, God has not failed you and He never will. Rest in Him and His timing. Be brave and allow God to work in your weaknesses. And when you do, you will encourage your sisters in Christ to do the same.
Brave Woman Manifesto
Make sure to check back next week as another courageous Sister shares her story!
And by the way...
You are Brave!
No matter what you are facing, God has made you in His image, which means you are full of His strength and power. I would love to connect with you more and give you a FREE gift - the BRAVE WOMAN MANIFESTO: Five Things to Tell Yourself When Life Gets Hard. Click HERE to sign up for my monthly newsletter and you’ll receive the FREE Manifesto, as well as recent blog posts, updated resources and personal details delivered only to my lovely email tribe.
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About Sarah
Sarah Liberty Hardee is a graduate of Calvary University, wife to Benjamin and mom to Cyrus and Roseanna. She started ChristCenteredMama.com because she is passionate about building a community to help mothers find their center in Christ through all of the stages of marriage and motherhood. She self-published The Dwell Journal - a 12-Week Guided Bible Study Journal in January, available here. In her free time, she dabbles in photography, plays piano, and drinks Earl Grey tea with honey. Follow her on Instagram @christcenteredmama.