Over the years, I’ve had interviews with various women about the notion of being called by God to serve Him in ministry. What has been quite fascinating and true of every woman (including me) is that they had no idea that God wanted to utilize their lives in the way that they had come to appreciate and embrace. Often times, they confessed, it took years to come to the place of accepting such responsibilities.
What has also been true is that most women (including me) were reluctant to accept God’s calling, primarily because of the resistance they experienced by those who believe they know God better and hear Him more clearly than the very ones who have come to love and listen to God’s leading to the best of their abilities.
No matter the situation, no one likes to be doubted, male or female. No one likes to be rejected. No one likes to be disrespected. Whenever a woman gains the courage to announce to the world that she believes God wants her to do a special work (that will promote the ways and the messages of Jesus), the last thing she wants to hear is that those who she loves and trusts the most stand to refute that she has heard from God correctly. It’s a painful and commonplace response.
This week on my podcast, I talked with Sharnelle, an ordained minister. I have to say, it was hard to hear her detailed account of the day she told her beloved pastor that she believed God called her to preach. She explained that she knew he would probably not welcome her as a preacher in his church, but what followed was more than she could bear. Listen here for what happened next.
Even if a person does not agree when a woman declares God has called her into ministry service, it is never appropriate to use deprecating words to admonish her. Such harsh words can potentially break the spirit of the one receiving the message. Love doesn’t operate in this manner.
With every conversation I have with someone about the topic of women in leadership, I realize more and more why I felt compelled to write my book, Eve, Where Are You? It is a liberating and revitalizing appeal to women reminding them of their worth and their duty to respond to God no matter what may follow. I am honored to carry this message to women and to broadcast it wherever I go that there are no limits to who we are or what we can become.
With the Kingdom of God in heart and mind,
Dr. Nicole
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Photo by J. ALEXworks