True Womanhood: Part 6

This is the sixth installment of a series of posts I will be writing on the book Voices of the True Woman Movement: A Call to the Counter-Revolution by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  I received a complimentary copy from Revive Our Hearts ministry just for sharing my thoughts on each chapter.

Chapter 6: "Choosing Faith in Season of Change" by Karen Loritts

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  Ready?  I am a very fearful person.  I'll bet a lot of people don't know that about me, but just ask my parents, my husband, and my best friend.  They could give you an earful about my fear of going new places, meeting new people, trying new activities, and experiencing new things.

I don't know why I'm like this, and I wish I wasn't.  For one thing, I know it's sin, but even beyond that, fear keeps me from living life to the fullest... arms wide open.

Okay, let's go back to the fact that it's sin.  Do you realize that having fear is not just having fear?  Fear brings friends with it, as Karen Loritts points out in this chapter.  Fear brings with it a variety of nasty things, such as doubt, an inability to think rationally, paralysis, disappointment, despair, and emptiness.

As I went over her list of "fear buddies" I could put a checkmark next to all ten.  I remember a night when my heart was so gripped with fear about a situation. I became angry and yelled at my friend when she was trying to speak truth to me.  My thoughts were so held captive by the object of my fear, that I couldn't even think straight, and all she could do was walk away from me.  Later as I considered how I must have looked to her, I knew I must have had a wild look in my eyes.  At least, that's how it felt in retrospect.

Yeah, that's me.  Quite the picture of Jesus, aren't I?  Um... no.

Alright, so if I truly want to look like Jesus and be a true woman of God, I know I'm going to have to do something about my fear.  I must fight it, and God's Word is the only effective weapon. 

Do you know what the Word tells me?  God is in control.  He loves me.  He is working good for me.  He is being glorified through me.  If I believe God's Word and surrender to Him in light of all of those truths, then I can fight my fears.  I will see the fearful thing from His perspective.

This is something I work at all the time.  I'm not sure if the fight gets any easier, but at least I think I recognize my fear more quickly and work to take wrong thoughts captive. 

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.  - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV)

A true woman will bring her thoughts under submission to Christ, and when she does, there will be less fear and more peace.  That's where I want to live.

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