For such a time as this

FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

Good Day~

This morning at Women of Passion we got into a lively discussion about how the Holy Spirit works in our lives, and how and when he shows himself to us. That opened the door for a couple women to share from a sacred place in their hearts, which was very edifying for all of us. Here is what I noticed: each softened her voice as she began, and I think we all knew we were standing on holy ground; the women had been in painful situations when they lifted up their arms in surrender, and cried out to God. And then they felt the presence of the Holy Spirit come over them; one said ‘It was like a little girl being hugged by her father.’ It was real, they knew it, and it changed things for them forever.

We continued to unpack the notion of how we might see the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Yesterday, I commented that “he empowers us to do the things God calls us to do”. Maybe we do not see his power too much in our daily lives because everything we set out to do we can easily do in our own strength; everything we plan or purpose to do is manageable all by ourselves. Note to self: are my plans so mundane as to be lifeless almost?

If you want to see the power of the Holy Spirit come alive in your life, you should first ask God to use you. He might lead you to do something you could never accomplish in your own strength. After all, as a follower of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has made his home in you, so he is only limited by you!
Can I tell you that the world needs a Spirit-empowered you to live that way?
Note to self: risk something for God.

As a tag-line to the name of my ministry, PastorWoman, I have alongside it: “for such a time as this”. ‘Sounds pithy, but it is so much more than that. It was spoken of a Jewish beauty queen who lived about 500 years before Christ was born. I take you to Persia, when King Xerxes I, son of Darius the Great, became angry with his queen, banished her, and chose a new wife—the lovely Esther.

Haman, one of the king’s top officials, despised the Jewish people and plotted to destroy them. He would have been successful. . . but the new queen’s cousin, Mordecai, asked Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the lives of her people, the children of Israel, who lived in Persia. Esther took a huge risk in going to the king, (because it was forbidden to go before the king unless invited), and because of it, the Jewish people were spared. Mordecai asked Esther, ‘Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’ (Esther 4.14) Esther showed incredible courage in refusing to be held back by tradition, regulation or her own fear. Can anyone doubt that God raised Esther up ‘for such a time as this’? I do not think so.

So, my friend, you have been placed where you are ‘for such a time as this’. There is only one you in your unique setting—home, family, neighborhood, workplace, gym, even your kid’s athletic circles!

I had an interesting impromptu conversation with a man the other night. Our sons play on the same baseball team, and we had taken all the boys bowling on a rainy night. The conversation came around to what I do, (okay, so I probably made it come around), and he talked about what he does. (He does it very well, I might add, as he is a very accomplished, successful businessman.) And then, he said something about knowing ‘there must be something more’. . . oh, man, he totally set the table for me! “Yes, there is something more!” I screamed inside myself, and calmly said, ‘like, what are you thinking?’ And soon, we were talking about purpose, and God’s purposes for us, and how we can know them. . . I submit to you that a conversation in a very loud bowling alley could not have gotten much better.

For such a time as this . . . you should find out what God has purposed for you to do and be… and then…you should risk jumping in and serving God with all of your heart in that purpose. For such a time as this . . . you should love like you have never loved before, leaving nothing on the table. For such a time as this . . . you should ask the Holy Spirit to fill you to overflowing! For such a time as this, you should study God’s Word, and learn his heart toward you, and the ways you can give his heart away.

For such a time as this . . .
Christine

podcast:www.pastorwoman.com