So WOMAN came from man, but she's made in the image of GOD. That's quite an interesting concept, isn't it? Woman is distinctly female, yet has inseparable qualities of both MAN AND GOD within her. THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MOMENT! Wow, we are soooo fearfully and wonderfully made. Can you just get inside the mind of God for a moment when He was dreaming about creating woman – what an absolute genius mind God has… man is wonderful, and man is made in the image of God too, but we are truly made with both male and female qualities – quite unique. We are the female counterpart to the Godhead because we mirror – or we're supposed to mirror all the qualities of Holy Spirit. Gentle, kind, loving, tender, yet absolutely the voice of authority in our sphere of influence. And ever since woman was created, God has been trying to get woman to let the man out of her. When I say "man," I'm referring to the voice of male authority that is found in Christ. It's the GOD-MAN in us.
God wants to see us live the reality of His word that says we are made in HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS. That means we need to look like God. We need to sound like God. When we speak, the devil shouldn't be able to tell the difference between us or Jesus when we're walking in the dominion, the power, the authority, and the confidence of knowing who we were made to be. Holy Spirit is the one that creates, He is the one who impregnates and conceives the dream of God. He is the very womb of God. He is the one that gives birth. He hovers over those He loves like a mother hen; He is the one that comforts, encourages, lifts up and nurtures those He loves. Do you see how you, dear woman, are made in the image of God?
You are Mary – who was impregnated with the dream of God. You are Hannah, that travailed to see the birth of the promise. You are Ruth, who knew the importance of devoted loyalty even in the face of personal sacrifice. You are Tamar and Rachel, that wrestled with God and others, not dissuaded by circumstances but spurred on by injustice, that brings forth a promise named Breakthrough and generations of great fruitfulness. You are Deborah, that wars for the justice of God and compels others to rise up and do what's right – to fight the good fight of faith. And you are Esther…a woman who has come into the Kingdom of God for such a time of this. A woman who will lay down her life to confront the enemy and decree life to those that have been targeted for the enemy's destruction. A woman that knows what it means to wear the robes of royalty with gratitude, confidence and humility, and to know what it is to be an extension of the King's scepter of authority. Every woman that I mentioned is a different picture of who God is, and what the CHRIST in US yearns to do. So ladies, let Him out. This is who you really are!
YOU ARE THE DREAM OF GOD.
Don't be afraid to dream big, to be a woman of influence. God has spoken words of destiny over you and He wants His dream for you to come to pass! Do you believe that? Do you know He's had conversations about you in heaven that you know nothing about? He's spoken to the Godhead; He's spoken to the angels. He has words of destiny that are waiting to be fulfilled!
But some of us need divine surgery on our hearts in order to see that happen. You see, sometimes we have a filter on our ears, and it affects how we hear. Sometimes we have a filter on what we see, and it affects our perception. If you have unresolved offense or unforgiveness, everything is affected because of the filter. If you've got insecurities or fears, you've got a filter. And the enemy uses those filters – whatever they are – to manipulate your hearing so that he can manipulate your belief system. When he manipulates your belief system, it transfers over to your actions. It has a ripple effect. It's not just good that gets passed on, offense gets passed on, too. That's why the Bible warns us to beware of anyone that has a root of bitterness, lest it defile the hearts of those affected by those that are offended. Offense poisons others and multiplies greatly. The Bible admonishes us to be "wise women," and compares the wise woman to the foolish woman in Prov. 14:1. The foolish woman tears down her house through negative speech and unloving actions. We want to be the wise woman that heals through love. A wise woman promotes wholeness and health in her family with sound speech, love and wisdom of God. Let me encourage you today to examine your own heart for places where you need the Lord's healing. There may be areas where you think you're ok, but if you haven't really forgiven someone that offended you, if you haven't renounced that "filter" or dealt with the root of your issues, the enemy has an open door to continue to spin his web of lies. That's how he keeps that blind spot there, 'cause that's where he has a hook in you. And, that blind spot may seem like not that big of a deal to you, but it might be enough to keep you from your next door of opportunity, or walking into your inheritance as a child of God. We may not even know it's there, but GOD knows when we're got a blind spot and it's affecting us in some way. Do you know why they call them blind spots? Because YOU can't see them. YOU ARE BLIND TO YOUR BLIND SPOTS. You have to trust HOLY SPIRIT to do the assessment for you.
Our assessment of where we are at spiritually or emotionally, or even our assessment of our own maturity level is absolutely irrelevant. It means nothing, because our own opinions and the way we judge ourselves is not equal to God's standard of holiness or purity. We will automatically judge ourselves to be in a higher state of maturity or spirituality than what we really are. God's word is our standard, not our biased assessment of ourselves or others, and not our personal opinions. Sometimes there are things that are too painful to admit. Things that we're too ashamed to confess to ourselves, much less to God. Listen, I know what it's like to have such shame you can't even hardly face yourself, much less confess it to another human being. I've been the drunk and the drug addict. I've been the person who couldn't keep a job, or the mom who risked having her kid taken away. I've been the adulterous woman looking for love in all the wrong place. I know what it feels like to lose everything and have to start over – sometimes from my own sin, and other times because I simply said yes to God. I know what it's like when everyone abandons you, and you're standing by yourself on the curb, wondering where God is in your life. I know what it's like to hate God and shake my fist and say, "HOW CAN I TRUST YOU?" when all my dreams were shattered and lying in pieces. And I know the shame of it all when the devil tells your story in such a way so that what others see is the worst possible picture. Please know that what you've done is not who you are. Never forget that you are made in the image of God. You are a child of God. The redeemed, His bride. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. You are destiny. Royalty. Never let the devil or anyone else tell you otherwise!
God wants to go deep. We can't expect to go into our future carrying around all our baggage from the past. You can't restore others until you are restored. Women are life givers. They are by nature, restorers. If you have become anything less, then you are denying the very person you were created to be! I want you to think about the attributes of the Holy Spirit that I described. Life-giver, nurturer, comforter, encourager, protector, mediator, peace maker and so much more. Women are the key to families being healed, which is why the enemy has tried so very hard to destroy them and keep them from entering into their destiny. Women are the key to healing their children and their children's destinies, because if a woman is walking in peace, joy and the love of the Lord – everybody around her is going to get a touch. You have the ability to turn your husband in a new direction, and with it, turn the destiny of your entire family and generations to come – in a new direction, but you can't do it by force or manipulation. YOU WERE CREATED TO INFLUENCE, but God wants your influence to come from Him the way He created you to be, not the ways the enemy wants to manipulate our behavior. If you want to be even more of a life giver than what you already are, then you have to start walking in an even greater anointing.
The first step is walk in the reality of who God created you to be – and not the identity the enemy has tried to put on you. He has done everything possible to conform people to some twisted, misunderstood, rejected piece of work and signed his name to his handiwork, but TODAY is the day when the tables turn and you can get the upper hand over the enemy.There is a quote from a little book called the Prayer of Jabez that has stuck with me. The author was giving this illustration of a great man of God and wondered what made him so different from other men. Then he walked down the hall and overheard this man praying. He said, "Ahhh…Now I know. Great men pray different." I'm telling you, to reach a place of influence…to see the power of God move the mountains and be big in your life, you have to get to a place where you pray different. You have to have ears to hear and CATCH certain phrases, certain key words, and you capture them and take them into your own prayers. You don't just read an article and walk away, you glean from everything you can get and take it into prayer. You don't just hear a message and leave thinking, wow, that was a great message. You have a personal responsibility every time you hear an anointed word. Your life becomes the message. We are living epistles read of all men. Our lives become the prophetic message to those around us –what sign are you wearing? What do others read out of your life? The Holy Spirit inside of the believer is a healer, a reconciler, a restorer. He is the one who encourages us to forgive, be gracious, be victorious. The God inside of us always, always seeks to encourage, lift people up, and NUDGE us, even PUSH us towards mending relationships, loving and forgiving everyone, all the time. 70x7 is what Jesus told Peter. We can't just talk about God. The question is, "CAN OTHERS SEE CHRIST IN YOU?" Remember, woman of God, YOU ARE MADE IN HIS IMAGE. God wants us to wear a sign that makes others stop and ask us for directions.
The Bible tells us to overcome evil with good and that love never fails. Sometimes the greatest test of your integrity is the test of loving others in the midst of offense. When you pray out of a pure motive - a heart moved by compassion and selfless, sacrificial love - This is true greatness, and this is the GOD that lives inside us. This is what He wants to create in us; the capacity to LOVE GREATLY – but until he empties us of ourselves, we cannot be filled. He wants to take the filters off. The ones that the enemy uses to make our love grow cold. The ones the enemy uses to distort what we think we're hearing or perceiving. God wants to rip the veil off the blind spots and give you clarity, He wants to deal with our uncleannesses and restore us. He wants to take every deficiency and fill it with power, authority and anointing to take back our families and our inheritance. No way can the devil have my family! No way can he have my husband! No way can he have my health, my finances, my future, or any promise God has said belongs to me. It's time to put our foot down on the devil's head and take it all back. It's time for recovery! It's time for every daughter of Eve to walk into her rightful inheritance and fulfill her destiny. You are a beautiful, incredible woman of destiny and God is calling you up and out of the ashes of your yesterdays. Put on the robes of royalty. Dare to believe, because God is restoring HIS DREAM IN YOU!
Father,
I thank You that I am made in the image and likeness of God. I thank You that You put your greatness inside of me! Lord, I renounce all bitterness, unforgiveness and offense. I do not want them to hinder my future. I choose to forgive (Name those people you need to forgive) and I ask that You bless them in any way You see fit. Bless their families with healing. Bless them with health. Bless their finances. Help me to release them to you. Lord, if I have any blind spots, show them to me so that the enemy cannot exploit them. I give You permission, Holy Spirit, in advance of any situation that may arise - that You have permission to change my responses so that they honor You. I submit myself to You, Lord Jesus, and your Holy Spirit. You may change my heart, change my words and responses, so that the enemy cannot receive any glory. I thank You for helping me be an agent of healing and reconciliation. Fill me with Your love, grace and mercy so that it can be used for the good of healing others and leading them to You. In Jesus name, amen.
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