Expect the Unexpected ~ Blog

 This morning in worship, the Father kept reminding me of His extreme intervention at times through history. Now, before I go on, I want to say He does not go against the will of men or women. What He does is remember. He may not answer their prayers right away or even the way they wanted or when they wanted, but in the situations He kept bringing to my memory this morning, those being used had prayed for His intervention or a blessing, had moved on and forgotten their cries to the Lord for help and intervention. 

Beloved, God isn't moved by our tears, although scripture does tell us that He is touched by the feelings of our infirmities. What really moves Him is faith. It's believing He can do it. It's believing He loves you enough to do it. If He saw you praying for something in faith, He has not forgotten that, so today I want to speak to the ladies out there and tell them it's time to expect the unexpected.

Although I do not personally have this issue, the Lord reminded me this morning of the times we are in. There are women out there who still believe the old lies that women should be silent in church or that women shouldn't be in ministry. I won't get into all of that again, as I have written about it several times throughout my blogging, but we are in a time and season like we've never been in before, where the Lord is saying, 'All hands on deck. ' Get over it. Get into the Word for yourself and ask the Holy Spirit what is truth. Religion would love to keep you out of ministry, and often it uses men in ministry or even a husband to sit on you and say no. Ladies, God is saying YES!

If you read through the genealogy, you find that there are definitely women in there. Women were always a part of God's plan. How can we look at the history of the Bible without the birth of our Savior? Did God use a man? No, He called a young woman who would be a part of the biggest miracle this earth has ever seen to this day. I feel the need to expound upon this a bit because many believe the resurrection was a miracle, and of course, it was because of what Jesus accomplished, but truthfully, before He resurrected, it had been done before. Jesus had already shown us that resurrection was possible through a little girl and even His friend Lazarus. 

However, imagine you are God, and you decide it's time to go to earth and spend some time with your children, and you have to put yourself inside the body of a human woman and stay in there, separated from your Heavenly throne for 9 months. You created everything, but now you are relying on Your own creation to carry you, protect you, and feed you, then to give birth to you. Once born, You rely on both Your mother & stepfather for everything. You have to learn to walk, run, read, work, etc. This is the one and only miracle that did not happen twice. There is only one immaculate conception. To me, this is just amazing. It was not a man who was chosen in this. Yes, Joseph was used, and he did a terrific job at being a stepfather to Jesus, but without Mary, there would be no Jesus. Without Mary, there would be no salvation. I am not lifting her up as Religion does. She was a woman but highly favored, and I believe that in this time you must realize that you are highly favored as well.

Can you even imagine being the Creator of everything, the King of the World, and deciding to come through a birth canal just like everyone else to spend time with your creation, and then having to go through all that pain and suffering when the fullness of time came, and you had to go to the Cross? It brings me to tears to even think of it. This is how much your Father in Heaven loves each of you individually. We read through scripture too quickly or have read a story over and over, and it loses its impact in our hearts. I pray that through this Christmas season, you did not hear the Christmas story as if it was a bore in some way. No matter how many times we see or hear the story of the birth of Jesus, we must allow it to change us, and I believe we would if we truly saw it as the miracle that it was.

Let's look at just a few names of Mighty Women of God...

• Deborah
• Jael
• Anna
• Esther
• Naomi & Ruth
• Lois & Eunice
• Junia
• Abigail
• Martha & Mary
• Mary (mother of Jesus)
• Mary Magdalene

I realize that I am not really thinking of every woman that could be added, but there are some powerful stories of women who raised people correctly, stood up to evil, and humbled themselves before God, wanting His Kingdom to come, no matter the cost to themselves.

The Lord told me this morning that many of you are wondering how God can use you in this time. Maybe you are single and don't know what to do or how He can use you. Maybe you are married to a man who is not yet saved or has no interest in ministry and does not encourage you to do anything for the Lord either. Maybe you are in a church that frowns on women teaching, preaching, or prophesying, and YOU HAVEN'T LEFT YET! Maybe you are in a family where many of the men have gone into ministry, are pastoring or even prophesying, and yet they never even consider that God could use you to do the same so you are never called upon.

Ladies, it's time to shake it off. Get rid of the fear of men and don't allow religion to control you anymore. Jesus is not a religion. The religious leaders killed Jesus. Jesus didn't come to earth to work with the Pharisees or Sadducees. No, He chose people who were the furthest from what already existed on earth. Yes, He chose 12 men, but we know that many women also followed Him. His choices back then do not reflect us today. In the time before his death and resurrection, He was sent to fulfill the law. Once He resurrected, everything changed.

Galatians 3:28 NIV

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

We are all one in Christ now. Women have the exact same opportunities that men have. We must rise up and take Him at His word. He reminded me of the extreme actions He had to take in the days when Jesus was to be born on earth. Yes, He was going to use Mary and Joseph, but He also had plans to use Zechariah and Elizabeth to give birth to the forerunner John, who became John the Baptist. Zechariah was literally a Priest, and yet, so that their prayers could be answered for a son and so that John would be born months before Jesus, Zechariah was visited by an angel, and the angel had to make him mute so that he would not destroy the plans of God with his doubt and his mouth.

Luke 1:18-20 NIV

18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” 19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

Can we not see the extreme that God went to here? Beloved, if necessary, so that you will bring forth what He wants to birth through you, He will go to this extreme in your life as well. Is there someone you need silenced?

The Lord also reminded me of one of my favorite women in the Bible, named Abigail. She has a truly difficult husband, and yet she is a wonderful woman who fears the Lord. 

1 Samuel 25:3 NIV

 3 His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings—he was a Calebite.

The Bible clearly tells us that Abigail was intelligent and beautiful, yet it does not have anything nice to say about her husband, Nabal. The story of David going to Nabal to ask for food for his men who had been protecting Nabal and his flocks is in 1 Samuel. Nabal decides he doesn't owe David anything and refuses but Abigail knows better. She hears from one of the servants what has happened and in her wisdom she puts together the food that David asked for and quickly goes after David realizing that if David and his men come back Nabal will not be the only one who is killed because of David's anger. It is Abigail who talks David out of doing what he feels in his anger needs to be done.

1 Samuel 25:23-27 NIV

23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. 25 Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. 26 And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal. 27 And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you.

This to me is just one of many stories where the Lord works all things together for the good for those who love Him. Abigail's husband Nabal ends up dying and David comes back and asks Abigail to become his wife.

1 Samuel 25:36-38 NIV

36 When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until daybreak. 37 Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. 38 About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

&

1 Samuel 25:39b-40 NIV

Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife. 40 His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.”

What is my point? My point is the Lord has done some really extreme things in the past to free people up. He has done some really extreme things even in the New Testament like the story of Annanias and Saphira but I've asked the Lord even about this and He said Saphira was given the opportunity to tell the truth. Note that they were not judged as one flesh. They were not judged together. Beloved, we are individuals. He sees you as an individual. Your relationship with Jesus is intimate and individual. God will not judge you for your spouses choices and decisions unless you go along with them. 

And finally Beloved I hear the Lord saying before I formed you in the belly I knew you and I called you to be a prophet to the nations. You may be an Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Evangelist or Teacher. You may be a Missionary, a worship leader or something that you are ignoring because the men in your life Lord it over you. Rise up women of faith. Listen to the Holy Spirit and not to man. You are loved and you are needed in this time.