Motivation Monday - Why You Need To Hold Your Position
“As we raise our hands for equal value, strength and presence of the female voice in kingdom conversations and in every sphere of influence including the church in our nation, we encourage you to raise yours.
And when you don’t have the strength to raise your hand, let us carry you.
”
Last month the Gather Board of Directors met for its’ annual strategic retreat to set a direction for the year ahead. One year ago, as we met, we felt the leading of God to digitalize our conferences and offer more online connecting, equipping and mobilizing opportunities. And we had the energy for it. We had no idea that one year later we would have hosted anchor programs:
DevelopHer Internship
Gather Collective: a membership platform for a company of women coming together for mutual encouragement and increased leadership impact
the launch of our inaugural Gather Voices Communication Cohort
our very first every hybrid virtual AND live national Gather Rise BELIEVE Conference
All of these offerings affirm our commitment to stay in our lane of developing female leaders and equipping the female church to raise and release her voice for the flourishing of the church in our nation.
Fast forward to one year later, to our new, new normal. We are discerning a different obedience. We are discerning, as a movement, a call to hold our position and light a steady, unwavering candle flame, as the wind of a world full of storm warnings and catastrophic forecasts blows all around.
Our board describes the Gather movement as a flame that we are to keep lit, a kindled and tended fire that needs to keep burning, so others across the nation can see it and be encouraged to stay the course.
While the new normal of last year brought with it a sense of initial optimism and adventure for what seemed like a short walk, the new, new normal of now, brings a sense of malaise and weariness. The short walk has turned into a pilgrimage that none of us were prepared to embark on. And weary, as we are, we are now called to rise and remain steady in the face of more chaos, uncertainty, and forces that threaten our safety.
Are you feeling it? I certainly am. And any external circumstance, such as grieving significant loss, or the inability to gather with family or friends, adds to the trauma many of us are experiencing. God sees all and may not be asking for more from you because He already knows you are carrying so much.
It is in these moments that God does His best work.
Limited resources do not limit God, they reveal God.
Maybe what God is asking of you is not more of anything.
Maybe He’s asking you to simply hold your position.
Daughters of this nation, we are with you.
As we boldly hold our position this year, we encourage you to hold yours.
As we raise our hands for equal value, strength and presence of the female voice in kingdom conversations and in every sphere of influence including the church in our nation, we encourage you to raise yours.
And when you don’t have the strength to raise your hand, let us carry you.
None of asked for this normal, but here it is here and so is God. Now is when we have an opportunity to witness His revelation to us that He is not only warrior that fights for us, He is also the Good Shepherd that carries us when we are too weary to move forward in our own strength.
You cannot be weak when you rely on a God who makes you strong. But you can be weary.
As we believe God for a Genesis year, we believe that He and only He can give us the genesis renewal and peace we desperately need Him to shape from the chaos of our lives, and the chaos of the world.
Psalm 62:5-8
“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honour come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times, Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.”
This is a year to hold your position.
Stay focused on what is in your hand, and what God has given you to carry.
Do not let the amplified voices of a world in need take you off your course.
Instead, commit what you can’t control to prayer.
And in that way you can hold the ground for others in their time of need.
And for those who are around you that may be falling, or in danger of burning out, you can be a crucible that holds the space for them, and a light that keeps their flickering flames aglow.
Let the light of God shine in the darkness, through your flame. Let it be a beacon of hope for those in the nations who need to see that God is not only around, but in you. Not only in this new, new normal, but for all that will come next. Let us believe together that this will indeed be a Genesis year, as we wait for the new to come from the chaos of the old.
Psalm 51:7
”Lord, shape a Genesis {new} week out of the chaos of my life.”
I believe in you.
Cathie