1. SHE KNOWS NOT TO LET 'FEARS' DICTATE HER RESPONSES AND REACTIONS.

Mary, the Mother of Jesus didn't let her fears get the best of her. "I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to YOUR Word" (Luke 1:38). She was a woman who only wanted God's will for her life. She could have feared the potential reaction of others in being a pregnant virgin. She could've shared her fears with her cousin Elizabeth when she visited her, but instead, they both rejoiced over this magnificent miracle of God!

Fears can take on many faces in life. Sometimes 'Fears' creep in when we are challenged. Sometimes a woman can become fearful when she feels threatened. Perhaps she is afraid of the influence another woman seems to be having in the realm of similar talents and gifts. Out of fear she begins to dislike, hate, and sow discord among other women, and encourage them to turn on this particular person who poses a threat. This type of stuff happens on the job, in families and in the church, unfortunately.

God has given each woman certain particulars that no one else has in that way. His desire and will for us is that we hone in on what ever that is and work it for His honor and glory. A woman of strength knows better than to let 'Fears' control her responses and reactions to others.

2. SHE KNOWS HOW TO HANDLE AUTHORITY!

Esther did the thing that was needed even when her very life depended on it. She stood in the gap for her people who were hated and rejected. She sacrificed and put her life on the line. She did not abuse her position of authority, as wife of the king. She had some power and she used it for God!

How many times have we seen women abuse the authority they were given? Some used it to advance themselves and for other selfish reasons, while others used it to exclude and keep out the other women. How we treat others says a lot about us!

Esther knew that her actions would affect all the others in the nation of Israel. Her uncle Mordecai told her that just because she had the position as Queen, didn't exempt her from the destruction against the Jews. Would to God that we as women understood that simple, yet profound thought! If we use power and authority granted to us to do evil, we too will suffer the consequences. NOBODY WINS!

3. SHE KNOWS THAT IT IS IMPERATIVE TO HAVE GOOD UNDERSTANDING!

A woman who had beauty and brains, with humility, was Abigail. She was able to encourage David in the moment of his fierce wrath to look beyond her husband, Nabal's, fooled hearted evil words. She had wisdom and discernment and spoke to David about his upcoming kingship and how not to spoil it exacting revenge on her husband.

It is better to be a wise and discerning person! These are attributes that money can't buy. A woman of good understanding will go far! David was no fool! He saw her worth and when her fool of a husband died, he married her!

4. SHE KNOWS HOW TO BE FOCUSED AND DEDICATED IN EVERYTHING SHE PUTS HER HANDS TO DO!

Dorcas used everything God had given to her. She didn't spend time looking at what other women were achieving. She took what God so graciously placed in her hands and went to work.

We accomplish nothing when we spend time gaping at the skills, talents, or gifts of others. We simply waste time! We rob ourselves of the blessings God is holding in His hand with our names on it. We are actually saying to God that He made a mistake or that He failed to give us anything useful! This is an out right offense to God. Be about your own business!

4. SHE KNOWS THAT THE KEY TO HER SUCCESS IS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OTHERS!

The Virtuous Woman knew how to meet the needs of her maids within her household. She was kind and caring. She recognized that she made the entire household stronger simply by providing for her maids. She also knew that to tare down another woman would essentially tare down the whole house, so she, instead, chose to strengthen the hands of her maids.

Ladies, when will we ever get this? To malign another woman, to hate on her, to speak evil against her, to plot and scheme against her, to get others to gang up against her, to curse her or to ostracize her is to tare down the whole house!!!!!

God seeks to honor women who honor Him! He seeks to bless and elevate women who know how to handle themselves and their stuff. Let's rise to the occasion and make God proud that He made us women!

TRUE COLORS...

Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), wanted to be seen as 'Big Givers', but what ended up showing through were their lies and greed. "And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much."
She lied to Peter, but actually, she lied to the Holy Spirit. She ended up loosing her life by dropping dead on the spot! That's how God feels about lying! The impression she wanted to give to others in the church body was that she and her hubby were big givers and worthy of being seen as above others, so to speak. Instead, their reputation was seen for who they really were...greedy liars!

Never try to impress people with anything. It never works! Eventually people will see you for who you really are. It never fails. It's better to just simply live your truth.

Potiphar's Wife (Gen. 39) didn't get what she wanted from Joseph, so she lied and said he tried to rape her. Here she is, the wife of a well to do man; she had everything she wanted, but apparently not what she needed. Perhaps her husband was away too much. When her plan failed, she felt insulted, offended and rejected. She was now out for revenge! How dare he, Joseph, refuse her, she thought. Power and control tactics are usually what some of us ladies resort to when all of our manipulations fail to work. It's a bad card to play!

Joseph suffered because of her lies, but she suffered even more because she wasn't going to get her needs fulfilled, especially concocting a lie like that. All men, even if some were attracted to her, would stay far, far, away. Her lie was going to slap her in the face in more ways than one. They would say, "She had someone locked up for trying to get with her, oh no....she's off limits!"

She proved to be low down and dirty and a woman with no moral compass. Joseph had such respect for his boss and his bosses' wife, but now he gets to see her for who she really was! A schemer, a manipulator, a liar, and a sexual predator! You just can't hide who you really are!

Lot's wife (Gen. 19:26 ; Luke 17:32) had all the benefits of his good position down in Sodom. She enjoyed all the luxuries that her rich husband could give her. She raised two daughters and she ran a household. I could imagine what the furnishings in her home looked like. I could also imagine what her dinners and get togethers looked like as well as the line up in her social calendar.

Ms. Lot may have looked like the woman who had it all together, but that was just what it appeared to be. When destruction came, she couldn't tare herself away from all of what she possessed in Sodom. She was suffering the loss of all the things her heart was set on. She was grieved and devastated when she was told not to look back. Well....she did just that! She looked back and it cost her the most valuable thing of all, her life!

We see the affects of her so called, 'Child Raising'. Her daughters were just as carnal as she was! In their desperation for children, they schemed and slept with their father. No godly convictions there!

Ms. Lot proved to be a mess and her daughters too! 

​It's best to live in your truth! Don't try to give off impressions that are false because 'True Colors' will always come shinning through!


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Job 10:1; 19:13-19
"My soul is weary of my life;"

"He has removed my brothers from me and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
My relatives have failed, my close friends have forgotten me, my maid servants count me as a stranger.

I call my servant, but he gives me no answer, my breath is offensive to my wife, even young children despise me, all my close friends abhor me, and those whom I love have turned against me."

It doesn't get any worse than that, in my opinion. Job was weary and tired of life and the hand it dealt him. I do understand. 

​Have you ever been weary? I mean really weary? Have you felt like things can't get any worse? Have you ever been so down and out and alone all at the same time?

Scripture doesn't tell us how long Job's trial and crisis lasted, but it lasted long enough to create the emotional trauma it caused, especially for Ms. Job. She had reached the point where she was repulsed by the person closest to her, her husband, Job.

Life can get that hard for some of us. Life can wear us down and make us weary. Doing 'Life' is hard and what makes it harder is when the Christians around you add to your burdens by tearing you down. All the people who should of had something supportive and encouraging to say bailed on you or they tried to psychoanalyze your situation.

Job was a man like any other. He was perplexed about his situation. He was in pain. He was alone. He was hated, scorned and rejected. He was sorely misunderstood and ostracized by the very people that should have had his back. 

Job endured, and the one thought that he settled in with was the thought, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10). 

Job was holding on by this one thread, his faith in God, a God he didn't understand, a God whose promises he held on to, and a God who was carrying him, and holding him, when he other wise would have let go. I don't know about you, but I probably would have let go. I have never experienced the things that Job did, and I have experienced times when I wanted to throw in the towel and just let go. Life can sometimes be that hard.

Sometimes in those moments all we can do is throw ourselves on the God who understands it all. Sometimes all we need to utter is, "HELP" and "HELP MY UNBELIEF"! God hears, He is always there for us. He is very near in those times.

​The Lord is the man of sorrows acquainted with grief, abandonment, heartache, being misunderstood, lied on, cursed at, mocked, abused, loneliness, hatred, pain, afflictions, loss and death. He's the only one capable of understanding it all, down to the minutest detail.

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2 Samuel 4:4

GOD IS A KIND GOD!

"And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezeel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth."

Wow! Just think; this child was too young to understand what had just happened and how it was about to affect his entire life. First, his father, Jonathan dies in battle against the Philistines along with his grandfather, Saul, and all his uncles. Apparently, his mother was gone also.

The nurse maid, who was responsible for Mephibosheth, knew that she had to take him and run fast before this five year old is also killed. In the process of trying to do something good and heroic, she drops him and his poor legs probably got broken and damaged. Talk about adding to an already bad situation, it's the unthinkable!

David, in 2 Samuel 9:4, is now king, and he is looking to show kindness to the house of Saul. He is told about Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, and he meets with him. Long story short, Mephibosheth comes under David's blessing and kindness and is provided for and cared for from that point on. Mephibosheth humbly falls on his face referring to himself as a 'dead dog'. 

I can't imagine the things this young man experienced in being handicapped during those times. I'm sure that he met with evil comments and insults as well as ostracizing. He probably was considered less than and treated exactly that way. No young ladies were looking his way either, although, he eventually has a son of his own.

David is the type of Christ who is the restorer of all that is lost. David restores all of what was lost from Saul's house and gives it to Mephibosheth. God is the restorer of the years that the locust has eaten. I know this from personal experience! He continues to bless and restore to me all that I had lost from the day of my birth!

The Lord is kind and compassionate. He was there when the nurse dropped Mephibosheth. He was there when he could no longer walk. He was there when he had to be taken into the home of Machir. He was there in the face of this loving, caring and truly committed nurse maid. He showed up big time through David and his heart of kindness. God came out and blessed Mephibosheth and brought relief and comfort emotionally and mentally. Mephibosheth, himself was really taken a back by this single act of kindness.

​We all have a handicap of some sort. The locusts of our time have also eaten up some stuff too. Just remember this: God is a restorer and a blesser. If there were any mouths against you, He can and will 'Shut Them Up'! Trust God and watch Him work!