“Energy and insights of justice to those who guide and decide, strength and prowess to those who guard and protect” (Is. 28:6, MSG, emphasis added).
A few years ago, a study of the lioness led me to the concept of prowess.
Lionesses are the only large cats who hunt as one. They are highly skilled huntresses, and their coordinated effort is breathtaking. For this reason, the lioness is considered the height of hunting prowess.
According to my laptop’s Encarta thesaurus, prowess encompasses the terms ability, skill, expertise, competence, dexterity, aptitude and proficiency. In addition I love this double-edged definition from Webster’s College Dictionary: “1. Exceptional ability, skill or strength; 2. Exceptional valor or bravery.”
Like the lioness, you too have prowess. There is exceptional ability, strength or valor waiting to be realized in your life. It may be in hiding, waiting to be encouraged to develop, but never doubt that it is there.
God hides talents and abilities deep within each of us. Our quest is to unearth and hone them. Prowess might say, “I don’t know or do everything, but what I know, I choose to do well.”
“(S)o we, being many, are one body in Christ, and all are parts of one another. We have diverse gifts according to the grace that is given to us: if prophecy, according to the proportion of faith” (Rom. 12:5-6, MEV).
You are called to be a marvelously functioning part of Christ’s body, which in my opinion is another expression of prowess! God is inviting one and all to take their positions—everyone in their place, everyone in their strength.
What is it that you do well? What is it that makes your heart beat faster? This week, ask the Holy Spirit to show you what it looks like to hone the skills He’s given you. May we never be content with living small lives!
Adapted from Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere. You can click here to learn more about that message. Lisa 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.
