Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives. Isaiah 61:1
These past weeks I have been studying, praying, and preparing, for my workshop which I will be leading at our Women's Retreat. I have done many workshops, but this one seems the most challenging of them all. I had to write a description of my workshop for the program here it is:
Sistah Soldier.. Basic Training 101 Empowering Women For Spiritual warfare.
Commanding Officer: Jesus Christ
Platoon Leader: Holy Spirit
Training Instructor: Me
A Sistah Soldier: Does not give-up, she will not turn around, she is a soldier in God’s Army, marching heaven bound.
♥ What does it take to become a Sistah soldier.
♥ What does the Lord require of her
♥ What does she need to be equipped for the battle.
♥ How can she reclaim what rightfully belongs to her, that the enemy has stolen, and held captive for so long.
Together we will find answers to these questions and more.
Empowering you to face each battle with courage and strength.
To make a difference wherever he places you.
A special award awaits those completing their Sistah Soldier basic training 101.
I know this workshop will be intense, no holding back, I promised the Lord that much. He took me deep into revelations and the holy spirit directed me into places that only he could lead me. The hidden secrets in dark places, I felt his words so deep within as I read his word, telling me this is what was he had been preparing me for. He said you've been trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire. Now is the time, your time as my servant, for you have been faithful in the little things.
Behold I release you now fully in the spirit of my might and my power to go forth in boldness. This has always been your desire, your soul cries. I heard you and you never gave up on these desires, you never gave up on me, but most important of all you never gave up on you. Go in my strength, have your prayer warriors interceding on your behalf, you are worthy because you are my soldier.
Maybe you are wondering why these words spoke so deeply to my spirit, it's because my desire and passion has always been to minister to women. The Lord paved the way for me to be able to fulfill this desire by allowing me to be involved with some of most broken women I would ever meet. Women of all ages, in prison, homeless, on the streets, those with addictions, battling mental illnesses, abused physically, emotionally, mentally, leaving so many of them feeling so unworthy, ashamed, and with no self confidence at all.
You see when I asked the Lord to use me to help women, I had no idea he would lead me to minister to these precious women first. I saw myself ministering to women in a nice church setting, or sitting in a lovely living room sipping tea, and being involved with women in ministry committees. But God had other plans and I said okay Lord have your way in my life, send me and I will go.
God knows where we are needed to do his will, and sometimes it will be in places we may not want to be at, or go to, it may be with people we may not feel comfortable being around. I discovered after all these years what the Lord was trying to make me see. These women did not wake up one morning and decide to become addicts, to live on the streets, to be abused, end up in prison, to battle a mental illness, and so forth.
These were once little girls, teenagers, women who once lived normal lives, sure majority came from broken homes, or grew up in a bad environment. But many of them also came from good homes, grew up in a good neighborhood. They lived in the suburbs, had a family, kids, husbands, and the house with a picket fence. Some were involved in their church committees and functions, and yes some were wives, and daughters of pastors. They were also young women who came from respected families, and very well educated.
What changed their lives? well spiritual warfare is real, the enemy is real, he does not discriminate, his mission is to steal, kill and destroy. No one is immune, it knows no boundaries, color, culture, or age, this spiritual battle cannot be fought with earthly weapons. We as women must be equipped and always ready to face the enemy, we must be prepared at all times, for we wrestle not against flesh but the spirit of adversity that comes against us all.
So what is it that God has been preparing me for? To represent him once again in a room full of woman, the only difference is that some of these women will not be from a broken environment. There will be women who may have never experienced such brokenness as the others, or may have never lived in such an environment.
But they too have had their share of struggles and issues in life, and I get to share a message of hope with them all. The Lord also prepared me awhile back, because today women very close to my heart are now struggling in these broken places, and I am able to be a support for them today.
My point is that we are all God's creations, he loves us all, he does not discriminate as well. Let's not be so quick to judge, or look down on that sistah who in on the streets, who is homeless, addicted, or experiencing depression or other mental disorders. She is someone's daughter child, sister, mother, and wife, but most of all she is a child and daughter of the king.
We need to remember whatever backgrounds we all come from good, or bad, we are all fighting a battle of our own. Let us pray for one another, and unite, as sistah soldiers for the Lord. Coming together in one accord. The battle is not mind or yours, we must stand together and fight the fight, with Jesus Christ the Lord.
I am planning on doing a number of posts regarding spiritual battle.
Next weekend I will be at the retreat, and will share more with you on Sistah Soldiers Basic Training 101, when I get back on Sunday. Pray my strength in the Lord to do what he has prepared me to accomplish for him for such a time as this.
God Bless: Sistah Soldier Lorie: Reporting For Duty!
