Arabah

Welcome to Day Seven of Challenge Week!

You all have worked so hard this week and you’ve greatly encouraged me! Thank you for being a part of this week’s challenge.

Today I’d like to give you time to process and compile.

Based on all your “ah-ha” moments, scriptures, tips, etc this week, take a few minutes and compile a personalized “statement of strength.” Make sure you stock it full of scriptures!

Keep this statement near your bed and for the next few weeks, review it first thing in the morning until it becomes a habit. Use your statement to practice dressing yourself with God’s strength and power.

{And share your statement with us! We would love to hear your statement or your story on how God has worked in your life this week! Share in the comments or on our facebook page.}

Much love to each one of you. I’ll see you very soon!

AJ

Welcome to Day Six of Group Challenge Week!

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve woken up in the morning and thought, “I. Am. So. Tired.” I drag myself out of bed barely able to think about all the demands of the day ahead. I feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and sapped of strength before the day even gets going.

This is a terrible way to start the day and can become a habit very quickly. The good news is that God has a different perspective He wants us to embrace as we begin our day. He never intended for us to consistently feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and depleted.

You know that Proverbs 31 woman, the woman so strong, capable, and energetic? Scripture tells us that she wakes up and “dresses herself with strength.”

God desires us to take everything we’ve learned this week and “dress” ourselves with it. Let’s learn how to do this so it can become our new morning routine!

She dresses.

“Dressing” is a skill, a learned practice. It is not a natural ability that you either have or you don’t. {Isn’t that great news?}

The Proverbs 31 woman had to learn how to dress, just like we must. The phrase here “to dress” implies “Preparing one’s self for something that requires readiness, strength, or endurance.”

Which pretty much describes living a godly life.

Sure, it would be easier if it came naturally…but once we realize it is something we learn, we are free to start practicing! Men and women and boys and girls of all ages can learn how to put on strength.

God calls us to be women who practice putting on His strength like we would our clothes. Morning after morning.

She dresses herself.

We can and should come to the place where we don’t expect others to make life easy for us.

As we learn to dress ourselves, we eliminate the “props” that hold us up and are instead stregthened by the Lord alone. When this happens, we stop making demands of our husband, children, friends, and church family. We stop emotional manipulation, tantrums, and the like and instead become the ones serving. Our *needs* aren’t substantial, even though our personal hardships may be. We have learned to withstand difficulty.

Now I know many women- even older women- who have never learned how to dress themselves with strength. They expect others around them to make their lives easier or more comfortable. They are “high maintenance” women.

Even if this describes us, the Bible has great news! No matter where we are on the spectrum, we can dress ourselves and be in a position to serve others. What tremendous freedom and joy!

She dresses herself with strength.

It is interesting to see what the virtuous woman clothes herself with: strength!

Ever wonder why that particular trait is pointed out? I think it is because God places us as women in situations where we are overwhelmed. The demands He places on us are beyond our abilities. Like the disciples in Mark 6:32-37, there are multitudes of people around us with needs and Jesus turns to us and says, “You feed them!”

Seriously?!

We can either sit there overwhelmed….or we can take up faith and clothe ourselves with strength. {Remember, strength is having a “can do” attitude.}

My friend, unless we have a good, solid understanding of how God equips, provides, and strengthens, we will either flatline or wear ourselves out serving in our own strength.

But when we understand that God graciously intends to include us in the fulfillment of His miraculous plans, we can begin clothing ourselves with the strength He provides (see I Peter 4:10-11).

Today ‘s a great day to start dressing!

It’s Day Five of our Group Challenge~ Welcome!

How strong are you?

One word for “strong” in the New Testament is “Ischys”. Ischys is simply “can do.”

Would your answer be any different if I asked if you are a “can do” kind of person?

This biblical definition of strong has more to do with attitude than it does ability. A “can do” person has the attitude of confidence, capability, and ability. This is not someone who is proud and self-sufficient but rather someone who is confident in God’s ability, grace, and provision.

The biblically grounded “can do” person understands God’s character and grace so thoroughly that she, like Paul, says with confidence, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Phil 3:14)

Ephesians 6:10 tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His strength. Our “can do” attitude is firmly rooted in the nature of God (He is all powerful and He is good) and in His gracious provision of strength towards us. We need not have great abilities, talents, and strengths…we only need faith in our great God!

Let’s briefly look at one man with a “can do” attitude. In Joshua 1:7 God instructed Joshua to “be strong!”

Do you think God was telling Joshua to go exercise so that he would be strong enough to take on the Canaanites? Of course not! God wanted Joshua to have a “can do” attitude. This had nothing to do with Israel’s power or advantage over the enemy. In fact, God frequently put His people in situations where they were completely outnumbered, disadvantaged, and under-resourced.

All of this to show that strength is not so much about ability as it is about  mindset…a mindset of faith in a powerful, involved, generous God. We are to have a “can do” attitude, believing and knowing that God will give us the ability to serve or fight or withstand or love or whatever He has called us to at any given moment.

I want us to see from Joshua’s example two reasons God Himself gave Joshua for having a “can do” attitude. And there is an assignment for today, too~ smile~ write these down on an index card and personalize them. When you get up in the mornings, put that index card to work!

Two reasons why we can have a “can do” attitude:

1. “Be strong…for you will lead these people to inherit the land.”  (Joshua 1:6)

We “can do” because we have a God-given Purpose.

Like Joshua, God has given us very specific, tailor-made purposes for our lives. God has spoken purpose, meaning, and significance over our lives! Our daily tasks are not insignifcant but are divine orders. Think about that!

When we realize that God is intimately involved in the affairs of this world and that He chooses to use ordinary men and women to accomplish His purposes, we are filled with a sense of meaning and purpose. If the mundane of life has robbed you of vision, spend some time asking God to restore your sense of purpose and meaning. You are fulfilling His divine plan!

2. ”Be strong…For I am with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

We “can do” because we have the Divine Presence.

The God who says He will never leave us or abandon us mid-stream is the One who calls us and walks through the day with us…wherever we go. He is there, in every moment. He never retreats, never leaves us on the frontlines alone.

We can have a “can do” attitude because of the very nature and character of God.

God cares deeply, He assists constantly, He is fully committed, He acts powerfully, and He never changes! Now that’s a reason for being a can do kind of person!

Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10