When my granddaughter Sophia was born, something fierce awoke in me. For years as a female minister I’ve heard various church leaders saying things like, “Women are unfit to lead. They are easily deceived. They are gullible.” These kinds of words have limited the woman’s vital role in the church.
There was a time when I let these shaming words define and disqualify me. Though at times I had been unfit, I didn’t realize Jesus made me fit. He does not call the qualified but rather qualifies the called.
The church cannot step into all that God has for her without the involvement of women. As Pope Francis famously said, “The church cannot be herself without woman and her role.” Women are an essential part of God’s plan to expand His kingdom.
I would be angry if someone spoke limiting words over my granddaughter. When I look at her, I see nothing but God-ordained destiny. She is a daughter of promise. I want her to know that she isn’t a second-class citizen in God’s kingdom, but that she plays an irreplaceable role in the story He is orchestrating.
We all want something more for our daughters and those who come after us. To make that possible, we need to first let God enlarge our worlds. Don’t be content with crumbs when the King has invited you to take a seat at His table.
What words have been spoken over you that shame and limit you, causing you to shrink back and play a smaller role? I encourage you to lay them at the foot of the cross and exchange them for what He says about you—words of promise and purpose. You are a daughter commissioned by your King into a calling beyond compare.
Lisa Bevere is an international speaker, best-selling author, and co-founder of Messenger International. In her transparent style, Lisa shares God’s Word woven with personal experiences to empower lives with freedom and transformation. Her heart breaks over social injustice. As an advocate for change, she rallies others to be an answer to desperate problems near and far. Lisa begins her days with mochas and ends them laughing around the dinner table. Lisa lives in Colorado Springs with the love of her life, author and speaker John Bevere, and their family.
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