Lysa TerKeurst | 2010 July

Thursday, July 29

Words you didn’t even know you had

Today is the fourth and last devotion preparing the hearts of those coming to She Speaks.

But, like I stated Monday, whether you are coming to the conference or not, I pray these posts have stirred your heart and prepared your mind for whatever God is about to place right in front of you.

What is the very best preparation for She Speaks? I bet if you asked people coming to the conference, you’d get as many answers as women planning to attend. There’s just so much to do.

But, let’s pause for just a minute in the midst of fingers flying over computer keys, phone calls to arrange child care, outfit borrowing or buying, nail painting, hair dying, and urgent prayer requests being sent to friends and family.

Yes, let’s pause.

And consider.

Psalm 45:1 says, “My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer,” (NIV).

Oh sisters, please don’t shortchange your spiritual preparation.

…God needs to woo you into the special secret places.

…He desires to sit with you and pour some timely wisdom into the dry places of your heart.

…He longs to shore up those cracks and crevices within your emotions.

…God wants to entrust you with the perfect words, the right message, and the pliable attitude necessary to make this conference all it can be.

But God won’t make us stop and pause and consider. We have to make the choice. And if we do, we’ll be prepared in the perfect way God knows we’ll need to be.

Let your heart be stirred by a noble theme… as you recite your verses for the king. Your tongue will then surprise you in the best kind of way as it communicates words you didn’t even know you had.

Rejection from man doesn’t mean rejection from God

A few months back I wrote a post about finally getting a phone call I’d been waiting over 15 years to receive. It was the slightest crack in the doorway of a dream.

I was hesitantly excited. When you have wanted something for a long time and it comes close enough to possibly be a reality, it’s thrilling and terrifying all at the same time. Suddenly, your heart shifts from neutral into this vulnerable place where acceptance commingles with rejection. And you are all too aware, things could go either way.

So, I packaged up a CD of one of my talks sent it off through the crack in the doorway of my dream. And I let my mind prematurely celebrate.

Then I waited.

And waited.

And nothing.

Feeling like a foolish girl who’d bought a prom dress before actually being asked to the dance, I sheepishly called to inquire whether or not the CD had been received. I was told it had been and if I hadn’t heard anything yet, I should assume it was a “no.”

Ouch.

That’s when you go sit on your back deck, close your eyes, and decide whether to let the tears slip quietly down your cheeks or blink them back in an act of courageous defiance.

Rejection stinks.

I mean it really stinks.

It stunk when Saxon Palmer didn’t ask me to couple skate in the 5th grade. It stunk when when my Dad left our family. It stunk when I thought I was getting engaged at the very dinner my college love broke up with me. It stunk when each of my book proposals for years were declined by publishers. And it stunk when I sat on my deck and processed this situation.

Sometimes things like this just simply stink and there’s no cheery rainbow or pot of gold around the next corner. The music doesn’t crescendo as the hero in the story swoops you onto the side of his horse and the two of you ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after.

Sometimes it just is what it is. And that’s that.

But God’s girls have a beautiful promise tucked in our pocket that lets us smile even when tears puddle in the corner of our eyes. Even when there’s no rainbow, pot of gold, or galloping prince- we have the promise of redemption.

On the other side of every death there will always be a resurrection of some sort. Maybe not a resurrection of our circumstances. And maybe not a resurrection of things lining up like we thought they should. But there will be a resurrection. Jesus has insured that.

Nothing in this world can permanently strip hope from our lives when we know, “we do not follow cleverly invented stories about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” but we follow the reality of the Risen One (2 Peter 1:16). He is our resurrection.

He is our hope.

He is that beautiful reminder that rejection from man never means rejection from God.

And He is the one who is weaving a story into our life that will one day make sense.

Be sure to join in tomorrow for the last post of this series called, “Words You Didn’t Even Know You Had.”

Competing and Comparing

I remember the first time I went to a conference filled with potential speakers and writers. I had been so excited. At home, I felt handpicked by God to attend this conference. I felt chosen, worthy and empowered.

Then I got to the conference with hundreds of others who were also chosen, worthy and empowered and suddenly I did not feel handpicked any longer. I felt insecure.

I remember hearing women talk about their proposals, their messages, their ministry experiences and suddenly everything in my world felt woefully small and insignificant. Even my outfit felt dated, my backside big, and my voice painfully hollow. I could feel my personality shutting down and my heart sinking to places no God loving woman should go.

Satan is a cruel manipulator who desires for God’s girls to get ensnared and distracted by competing and comparing. The more we look around and jockey for a position that’s better than the girl standing next to us, the less we remember God’s assignment for us. And that’s exactly what the enemy wants.

Our calling is never to one up the next girl. It is to raise up the name of Jesus and live his truths in an authentic way. Period. Nothing else.

So, what is a Jesus girl to do when she finds herself sucked into the comparison trap?

After many tears shed beside my hotel bed and much prayer, I willed my hurting little feet to walk back down to the conference and get intentional about being blessing focused. I determined with each and every interaction for the rest of the conference I would seek to receive and give a blessing.

As women talked to me, I looked for some blessing of truth, challenge, or revelation I could glean from this other person. Even if the person was self-focused and not caring a bit about giving me anything, I chose to see my interaction with her as blessed reminder to not act that way myself.

I also sought to give a blessing to every woman with whom I interacted. It’s amazing when you intentionally look for good in others how much you can quickly find.

By the end of the conference I was so full of blessings, I could honestly say to the Lord, “Whatever your will. Whether I receive a contract or not. Whether I stand and share my message in front of 5 or 5000. Whatever your will, I only want your plans.”

The less we compare and compete they more we’ll be able to embrace Jesus’ attitude of blessing and feel amazingly complete. And isn’t that what we’re all after in the first place?

Be sure to join in tomorrow as we uncover how rejection from man doesn’t mean rejection from God.