I used to live in the shadows.
I wanted so desperately to please God and everyone around me that I eventually disappeared.
Where did this desire to please everyone come from? I often asked myself. Why do I care so much about what everyone thinks of me? Why am I afraid to be me? Why don’t I have a voice?
Because of fear, I forfeited my strength, my life, my voice, my power, and my beauty. I lost a sense of my true self, and with that loss so much of what God wanted for me was yet unrealized.
Courage awakens
In the midst of my fear, God continued to speak to me, encourage me, pick me up, and tell me, “It will be okay. Trust Me.” And with every opportunity He provided, I felt Him saying “It’s time you knew who you are. It’s time you stirred, provoked, incited, and awakened yourself.”
He put a love for Africa in my heart and with it, a desire to be courageous. Then, He began to open doors and build my bravery—and He took me to Africa so I could see the epitome of courage, the lion.
I traveled to South Africa to serve an organization called Acres of Love. It’s their mission to rescue abandoned HIV/AIDS babies in and around Johannesburg. The courage of the men and women I met there inspired my own.
Daughters of the King
There is no question who the king and queen of the jungle are. The lions live unopposed and unafraid of any other predator.
We—you and I—are daughters of the Lion of Judah, daughters of the King of the Most High. We can sleep unafraid and in the light. And when we rise up to do the will of God, we let the darkness know we are unopposed!
My journey out of the shadows isn’t over, but I no longer hide in the dark. I love the feel of sunshine on my face. God has given me the gift of courage and I am thankful.
Because of this gift, I want to be a woman of purpose, to live a life of purpose—to live generously and give of myself generously, something I couldn’t do before.
If God did work like this in me, He will do it for you too!
Come out from the shadows—and live.
