Week 1 Introduction - I AM WORN OUT

When I hear the words worn out - I think of my worn out blue jeans. You know the ones, they have been through everything and now they fit just right, rips, tears, stains and all. They have become just loose enough in all the right spots, just fit enough in the others, just comfy enough to accomplish anything I want to accomplish. These are the blue jeans that I opt for when I want to hike with the family, work in the garden, hang out at home. They are my stand bys. They have been with me for a few years now and they are just worn out, raggedy, no good jeans to everyone else - but to me they have become my friend - they are useful - they are not replaceable - they are a necessary part of my wardrobe. So it is with my worn out life. My worn out self. God views me like I do those faves hanging in my closet right now. He has been with me through the dirt in life, the good times in life, the ups and downs and even in my absolutely worn out state He still sees my usefulness and does not desire to throw me out. When others look in and they see a worn out heap of a woman, thrashed by circumstances, an emotional lump crying on the alter, a weary woman crying out for prayer God sees a precious daughter in the midst of battle that is brave beyond all things because she is choosing to trust His will to sustain her. When others see no usefulness in me, when they think I can not walk another mile - God sees the one who will be His testimony if I am brave enough not to climb into the give away pile and throw myself out. So your exhausted. The duties of your job, motherhood, being a wife, they have all stacked up. The laundry seems like is never done. There are endless stacks of paper on every open surface, the dust is more like a table cloth than a small spattering. Your longing is for just a few minutes in a hot bath. You feel that your prayers are more like heavy weights being lifted at night than free offerings and the well of your spiritual life seems empty - you have actually contemplated asking God why your fount of living water is not a free-flowing fountain but a trickling stream just deep enough to wet your dry spirit. This week we are going to delve deeply into the scriptures and learn what to do in this state of worn out time. In this barren dessert when we feel that we can not possibly pull ourselves one step further. The Man declares I AM WEARY, O God, I AM WEARY, O God, I AM WORN OUT. Proverbs 30:1 ESV

Introduction

We are about to embark on an adventure that will require great bravery. More so it will require us each to look deeply at what we have defined as brave. Thanks to Angela Thomas' new study offered by LifeWay we will all be able to study together about bravery and to be challenged to bravely confront some issues that are common to most women. Brave - hmmmmm..... That one word can evoke all types of images. What is true bravery? I would love to say it is standing boldly in the midst of battle every time and defeating the fierce enemy with one final and death giving blow. In fact when I think of brave one of my favorite fictional characters come to mind. The princess from Lord of the Rings as she rides to battle on a horse disguised in the armor of men. She boldly rides into battle swinging her sword determined to help her people win the greatest cause. Then the moment comes - (drum roll please) - she is face to face with the enemy, the foe, the dreaded thing that threatens to destroy all mankind. The enemy looks at her and states, "No mere man can defeat me!". And with one move she yanks the steal helmet from her head while raising her sword with the other hand and says (with a coy smile) "I am no mere man". Shock registers briefly on the enemy's face as she swings her sword and destroys the enemy. This woman is who I envision myself to be - who I aspire to be. I want more than anything to boldly ride into every battle and to triumphantly defeat the enemy. However, guess what this is not what God requires of me. In fact I am learning that sometimes true bravery is quite the opposite of what we have been taught bravery is. There are other women of history that have inspired this warrior spirit, this spirit of endurance, this spirit of bravery in me. Women like Amy Carmicheal, Corrie Ten Boom who followed her faith then was later imprisoned for it, Mary mother of Jesus who took the hardest road, Ruth who followed into the unknown, Rahab who believed despite the walls the crumbling around her. There are so many more that I can not list them all. As I discussed on Wednesday night this study came at a unique time in my life. Most of you know that in October 2010 after praying for many months over our pregnancy we lost our son Caleb Levi. I think this had been my greatest trial of faith since I began my Christian walk. For at this time I was required to lay my son at the alter and trust fully in Christ's provision of strength. Truly this became a time of great grief and a greater understanding of grace as I began to realize God's answer is not my answer but is always the answer I need. For in this trial by faith was refined and and tried and refined some more. In it I began to realize that bravery is not about the right words, the right walk or even being strong - it is about boldly approaching the throne then laying it all down for His will to be accomplished. God has called us to bravely approach life IN CHRIST! This is the key to all bravery this one simple phrase IN CHRIST and it makes all the difference in the world! In fact it says in the new testament that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church" (Matt 16:18). These words were spoken to Peter as Christ changed his name. The meaning - we can boldly face everything IN CHRIST, we are called to battle IN CHRIST, we will have victory IN CHRIST. Be prepared that victory too, must be redefined by us also. For our definition of victory is not God's. His definition is for us to be conformed to the image of Christ and that my sister's is his victory in our lives, when we live boldly IN CHRIST we are brave, courageous, victorious and triumphant. We lost our son Caleb Levi Riddle on October 26, 2010. We put his tiny body in the grave on November 5th. In that moment I realized my bravest moment had come and gone - it had been the night I surrendered my desires for this son, my dreams, my hopes to the absolute will of God. The greatest moment of bravery came when I allowed God to show me His purpose and will - and the victory? The victory was in discovering grace, discovering peace, discovering answered prayer in the midst of the one prayer that was not answered my way. Sometimes the bravest thing we do is to boldly approach the throne. So let us begin this week in this study to aspire to true bravery...to live life boldly IN CHRIST!