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“Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!”
Psalms 31:24 (ESV)

Words matter.

I won last place.

Words, enthusiastically written to my grandmother, about the first school race I competed in at age eight.

Words, which ended up searing into my very soul, as my family jokingly shared that story – time and time again.

Somewhere deep in my spirit, I began to buy into the lie – I would never be good enough. What better proof than my own family laughing at me for winning last place?

Fast-forward thirty-five years. An offhand comment from a friend brings the lie to the surface. The story of being mocked by my family tumbles out of my mouth as “proof” that I am not good enough. My friend looks at me with a puzzled look on her face and says “Are you sure they weren’t admiring your optimism and perseverance? “

Suddenly, my “proof” disappears. The lie is brought to the surface, to be replaced with God’s truth.

Lies keep us in bondage.

They make us fearful. Bringing the lies into the light of God’s truth sets us free. We become free to follow Christ wherever He leads, whatever our circumstances. We become free to be aligned with His will, for His purposes, which are perfect, pleasing, and acceptable.

What lies do you believe? Is it one of these?

I’m not good enough.

No one cares.

If only I had done things differently.

I can’t do this because my husband is gone.

I don’t have a purpose anymore.

And the list goes on…

Replace lies with God’s truth.

Throughout my journey, these lies can sometimes creep into my thinking. When they do, I try to replace them with God’s truth. There is a lot at stake here. What’s at stake is not just my well-being but also my part, my purpose for the Kingdom of God. I have been created to be a part of the body of Christ and as a part of the body I have a purpose to fulfill. Christ died on the Cross so that my life could be a testimony of God’s grace. My life and my purpose did not end when my husband passed away. The same is true for each and every one of us.

Dressing in God’s Armor.

As widows, we face so many challenges. It feels endless. And no doubt there is a spiritual war being waged against us. Ephesians 6:10-18, tells us to put on the armor of God to fight the spiritual battles. It is critical that we do so. Each and every day. The belt of truth is the first thing that needs to be put on as it holds everything together. If we don’t put on the belt of truth we are susceptible to listening and believing the enemies lies. Not putting on the belt of truth which holds all the armor together makes us defenseless and very vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks. God has equipped us but we must choose to put it on. Putting on the armor of God will give us the courage to fulfill our purpose for His Kingdom.

Having the courage to fulfill our purpose.

Dictionary.com defines courage as “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc. without fear.” There is no doubt we are facing one of the most difficult situations you can face on this earth, the loss of our loved one. We need courage to respond to the challenges we face each and every day. We need courage to survive. But God wants us to do more than survive; He wants us to be everything He intended. By dressing in the armor of God daily to fulfill our purpose, we will continue to grow in courage,

Not made to fight alone.

We are one part of the body of Christ, not made to work alone. Being in community with other believers is essential. Hopefully, you are connected to your local church. But here you also have an opportunity to be strengthened by being in community with other widows focused on following Christ in this particular journey. Ways you can become apart of our community include: Following our Facebook page, joining one of our AWM Hope™ Infusions zoom calls or come join us for our next AWM Hope™ Conference. We want to be in community with you so that we can encourage one another to glorify God with our lives!