Today’s guest blogger is Sarah Horn who leads a military wives ministry, Wives of Faith. She reminds us that as we lead, we are often seeking a group who agrees and helps us move forward, but who also needs to move alone at times. If God has given you a directive, move on it even if not one goes with you. He will lead you to lead others in His direction and at His timing. Don’t put off what He’s telling you to do. Read Sarah’s thoughts below and choose to “be the woman” God’s calling you to be as a leader today!
Ever been to a women’s ministry fellowship or get-together? You stand by who you know, don’t you? You talk with who you always talk. You laugh and cut up with your friends and (possibly) are blissfully unaware of those around you who aren’t part of your group. Or maybe you are aware, and this makes you feel just a tad better, if not a tad guilty, because you know you’re part of something. You’re part of a bigger number. You’re not alone.
I’ve noticed something lately, though. We women love to say we have minds of our own, but we feel much better when everyone else thinks just like us.
Know what I mean?
We want to be right, but we want everyone else around us to think we’re right, too.
We want to stand out, but we also want our posse.
I got back on Twitter last month and realized this happens online too. There were several women on there that I respect and admire and have very loose connections with and so I started following all of them and trying to connect and comment and have conversations with. After three weeks of watching all of them have conversations with each other, compliment each other, retweet each other and take pictures with each other and never respond to one of my tweets, I realized I was the equivalent of a seventh grade girl standing at the edge of the lunch table with my tray in my hand, hoping against hope that one of the cool kids would ask me to sit down.
It was kind of silly. It was also kind of pathetic. I moved on.
Can you stand alone?
Standing alone doesn’t always feel very good. God may very well ask you to stand alone. No, you’re not destined to be friendless. You may have the best of friends, and still feel alone sometimes in what He’s leading you to do. You may feel separated in what He’s put on your heart to pursue.
The group isn’t going there. Your friends don’t have the same interest. Your women’s ministry leaders look at you a little funny when you share the vision God’s given you that you’re excited about.
So maybe you hang back. Maybe you think about giving up. Maybe you think about not starting at all.
But wait.
God hasn’t called you to be one of the girls.
God’s called you to be HIS girl.
This is something God and I have wrestled with a bit this past year.
See, in my heart of hearts, I sometimes want to be just one of the girls. But that’s not what He’s called me for. That’s not what He’s put me here to do. It’s true. Writing books can be lonely. Ministry can be lonely. Leadership can be lonely. Pursuing God can, in fact, be lonely. Though it doesn’t have to be.
1 Corinthians 7:23 reminds us that we were bought at a price – God did not put His only Son on a Cross so we could be more comfortable hanging back in a crowd. His gift of salvation came at a great cost, and He asks us to follow Him. 100 percent.
Can I just tell you something that God reminds me of every time I get to chat with a wife and encourage her in her marriage, or pray with a military wife online? Or, when I have a great conversation with one of the ladies on my Wives of Faith leadership team, who I do consider close friends even if they live states apart and we can’t exactly go have coffee together?
Pursuing God is totally worth it.
And when you do pursue Him, you’re not alone.
Check out the Psalmist’s words from Psalm 37:3-6…
“Trust in the Lord and do what is good;
dwell in the land and live securely.
Take delight in the Lord,
and He will give you
your heart’s desires.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in Him, and He will act,
making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.”
I want to take delight in what He’s laid on my heart to do. Don’t you? But worrying about what others think, or whether others will jump on board, kind of takes the delight away. Notice God doesn’t say for us to commit our way to the Lord with our friends – He just says “commit.” He just says “trust.” And then what does He say He will do?
He will act.
What are you waiting for?
If God has laid something on your heart to do, or someone to strike up a friendship with, or to start a ministry that will make a difference even if it’s just to one person…
What are you waiting for?
Others to join in?
Someone else to approve?
A committee to be formed?
A checklist to be completed?
A group to enthusiastically cheer you on?
Don’t.
Don’t wait on others to pursue what God’s directed you to do.
Be the woman…
- Be the woman God has called you to be. Embrace your talents, your passion, your desire to make a difference.
- Be the woman who says “Yes, Lord” when so many others don’t want to listen. Say yes, and don’t worry about who is saying no.
- Be the woman who feels afraid but steps forward despite her fear. We all struggle with fear sometimes. It’s what we do despite it that really counts.
How will you “Be the Woman” God’s called you to be this year?
Sara Horn is passionate about women knowing Jesus and becoming better wives and moms because of Him. A wife and mom herself, Sara is also an award-winning writer, author, speaker, and the founder of Wives of Faith, a military wives ministry (wivesoffaith.org). She’s devoted to her husband of 15 years, a U.S. Navy reservist, and crazy about their son, Caleb, who just entered middle school. Visit www.sarahorn.com. Her new book, My So-Called Life as a Submissive Wife, releases this August.
