2 Lies Christian Women Believe Today
Tarah Avery
Have you ever felt that you couldn’t live up to the image of what a Christian woman is supposed to be?
You see those women who are just pouring out their life on the altar of service for Jesus, involved in everything they can think of at their church and in their community. The women who seem to have everything figured out. They have the most amazing marriage, beautiful kids who are well mannered, a gorgeous home, no matter its size. They make you feel like you just can’t measure up.
They somehow seem more “spiritual” than you.
Have you been there before?
As if women don’t face enough pressure already, I wonder if the messages we are getting as women in the Church are actually causing us more harm than good.
These are the 2 major messages – or lies – I have noticed that women are hearing from the Church,
Get your act together.
Be more disciplined, be more faithful, be more humble, and on and on. All the pressure ends up back on us.
When we try to live as if nothing is wrong, everything is A-OK, we can tend to brush any struggles under the rug, we are lying, not only to ourselves but to others. It is hard to watch a loved one pretend all is right when it’s not.
It’s OK not to have your act together all the time. You don’t need to be perfect. No one is. It’s fine to have a bad day and not have it all figured out. Like that old saying, “Life is a marathon, not a sprint.”
It isn’t about you.
Just serve, just obey, just submit, just set your desires aside, because that’s what holy women do…wrong!
This way can sound biblical and holy because it exalts Jesus. Truthfully, it can end up crushing us. We were made to feel wanted and captivating. We want to feel needed and loved by others.
Dear one, he made you, he desires you, he wants to hear all about you – your dreams, your desires, your fears. You are important and you matter.
If you are hurting, allow the pain to come. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn.” Blessed! When you take the time to digest what is happening in your life, to reflect and evaluate, to cry, to go to counseling, to ask for help, to tell people you’re hurting, you will be blessed!
I have experienced the power of God’s healing in miraculous ways, when I just take the time to mourn, to process, to tell him that I am not ok, and to ask other people for help.
Jesus longs to restore you. He wants a relationship with you because you matter so much to him! And he is waiting for you to reach out to him.
He is your healer, your comforter, and your courage to accept the things of the past and move on – as painful at that process may be.
I know as Christian women we can get in the habit of serving until it becomes our job. What was once something we did out of a passion for Jesus and people has now become just something mundane, a job.
Maybe it’s time for you to step back from serving so that you can focus on you. Remember, you are important. And God loves you.
It is not shameful to discover who God made you to be. In fact, I believe it’s healthy. Allow yourself a season to discover what you like, what you dream, where you want to go in life. It might be time for you to put the service aside for a season.
How can you ever become fully yourself if you are not free to do so? Maybe you subconsciously believe you can’t because it’s selfish, that others should come before you. There is truth in that, but if you find yourself worshiping your service of God instead of worshiping God himself through a relationship with him, it is time to switch gears.
First and foremost he wants your heart, not your service.
Have you ever believed one of these lies? Or maybe both? Which do you feel you’ve struggled with most?
All my Love,
