‘Some of My Best Men Are Women’

General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, is known to have said, “Some of my best men are women!”

Isn’t that an interesting quote spoken by one of the most powerful Christian leaders of the 19th century?

“Some of my best men are women!” Just let those profound words soak into your heart for a minute and then let me stretch you just a bit farther …

I wonder if these words are not also in the heart and mind of God at this moment in history? I wonder if when the Father looks down from His bird’s eye view of all that is happening on the earth today, if He turns to His Son seated on His right side and with a twinkle in His eye echoes the words of William Booth, “Some of my best men are women”! And, I wonder if the Holy Spirit, who is most certainly eavesdropping on the conversation, raises His fist in the air in complete agreement with the Father. I wonder.

God is looking for a few good men and a few good women to make a difference in His kingdom at every juncture in history. Perhaps the Father who created all of us in His heart of love is not so concerned with the gender on our birth certificate as He is with the condition of our hearts.       

“I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;

And your sons and daughters will prophesy … 

… Even on the male and female servants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days” ( Joel 2:28-29).

Now, more, than ever, women need to understand their important role and their significance to the call and intent of God. God has a Holy Spirit that is meant to endue humanity, male and female, with power from on high. Men and women receive the same power in the same measure.

The power that both men and women receive from the same Holy Spirit gives to them the power to be courageous witnesses and to fulfill the God-given mandate that is particular to each generation.

What is it that God is calling you to do with the power of His Holy Spirit? The days of cowering in fear, hiding behind insignificance and wallowing in lack of opportunities are over. God is blowing doors wide open for women as never before. It is time for women to march forward in grand anticipation of all that God can do through one woman submitted to the call of God and filled with His Holy Spirit.

His Spirit, the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, has been poured out upon your life! What will you do with it? Don’t waste these days of power and of open doors! When Peter received the Holy Spirit, thousands of people were saved … when John received the Holy Spirit, lame men walked … when Paul received the Holy Spirit, prison walls fell down.

What will you do with the Holy Spirit that has been poured out on your life? I believe that God is looking at your life this very day, with a twinkle in His eye, and is reminding you that some of His very best men, indeed, are women!

Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written five books, No More Ordinary, Holy Estrogen!, The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart and Defiant Joy! Her most recent book, Refined: Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire, will be released on August 1. Her teaching DVD, The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart, won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming.