Hear Me Roar
These words are not mine. I declare His power through my voice. All glory and honor to the One whom deserves it. I am to listen just as much as I write.
I am aware that some of you may not be spiritual in any sense of the word, but stick with me. I am going to be using the Word, but I’m going to show you how it applies to your every day life too. I promise if you just listen for a minute, I can prove to you that this principle isn’t just about believing in Someone you cannot see, it’s about wanting a better life for yourself. Young or old, fat or skinny, black or white, this application may have the power to set you free.
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25
While many of you know, Proverbs 31 is the scripture I quote the most. I even have verse 31 tattooed on me, contrary to popular beliefs of society. But that’s besides the point. I had the scripture engraved on my body permanently before I even knew truly what it meant to be a woman. And frankly, without reading the context that preceded it. While the famous Proverbs 31 woman is perfect in a sense, we are not called to be a woman who lives her literal life, but looks to her for the betterment of our souls.
Too often the world tells us to shoot the gun before the bullets are loaded. You can’t be a woman of power and still live the life the world calls for you. If you don’t come to the battlefield with ammo, you can’t expect to defend yourself.
There has been a lot of talk these days of the “Lioness.” As Lisa Bevere teaches in her book, “Lioness Arising,” every Lioness looks different. We are all equipped with different pieces of armor and qualities that fit as perfect as a puzzle piece. The problem is, we are too busy fighting against one another for the same cause that this one cause will never be defeated. We are defeating one another; and more importantly, we are defeating ourselves.
Now, whether you believe in Satan or simply “bad” in the world, let me paint you a picture. Bad, more commonly known as evil, or the Devil, is yelling in your ear. It’s just one of your ears, but he is desperate for your attention. Why shouldn’t he be? He’s jealous at the power you already have within you to beat him to the ground.
…Did that sink in?
You were born with power and fight within in. But here’s the catch, you have to grab it.
Good, on the other hand, or God, more commonly known, is in your other ear. But He doesn’t need to yell, He whispers. God doesn’t need you to want Him. He wants you to want Him and He wants you to need Him. There is no reason for Him to yell. He’s already conquered the world, but He can’t conquer your heart without you being willing to let Him in.
I was baptized at a very young age. Because at the time, I knew the general idea, but I didn’t read the context.
I was known as the goody-too-shoe from a very young age. No matter how liberal of a setting I was placed in, I never let bad creep in because I knew better. Funny how things change in a short time. In high school I became the most insecure little girl you’ve ever met. Never felt pretty enough, skinny enough, good enough, popular enough. By the time I was 16 years old, I was done. It was over, I was done, I couldn’t do it anymore. I became suicidal.
Now, at this point you may be saying, “yeah, you and 85% of the world.”
I want you to sit back and let this next statement sink in for a minute.
When is it going to become a problem for this type of testimony to be cliché and just a “phase”
Better yet, let me ask you my loves,
When are YOU going to stand up and say it is not okay for this to be normal?
So there I was, a young girl ready to say “It Is Finished.” Here I stand today, a woman, saying “Its not finished till God says it is.”
You want to know why this happened to me? One, because I allowed it. But two, because while I was busy blocking out the social norms of drinking, alcohol, drugs and sex, I let lies creep in my ears. One by one from the time I was young, I listened. I compromised and let them sink in. And one by one, they were slowly killing me. Almost literally.
I graduated high school and moved on to my college years where I turned independence into freedom. Bad idea. One by one, I set a bar of compromise that sent me on a downward spiral QUICK. Each new compromise I made doubled the next one. When you compromise, you don’t set the bar back down and start over again, you just keep raisin it till you are tired and weak and laying on the ground to try to pull the rope down as far as you can get it to suck the last little bit of bad that you can out of it before actually jumping off the cliff. Some may call this rock bottom. Ever been there? I know I have. For me it was more of a slap in the face.
You’re probably wondering where in the world I’m going with this, so lets tie this all up.
Today, May 1, 2012, I am sitting in my dorm room able to confidently call myself…a Woman. I still have so much further to go and my journey will never end till the day I die, but its time to move forward.
I want you to picture this in your mind. Read the scenario, then close your eyes and picture yourself doing it, then tell me how it felt. Because I’m going to be straight with you, it hasn’t been an easy process and it certainly wasn’t an overnight package deal, but it set me free.
Scenario: You look down and realize you’re wearing the same white gown as every other woman in front of and beside you and your bare feet are on top of a gravel road. Now turn around, and look your past in the face. Every fear you’ve ever had, every lie you’ve ever been told, every guy that made you feel 2 feet tall, every father that abandoned you, every mother that never told you she loved you, every person that told you that you couldn’t, every friend that died too soon, every family member that died and took a piece of your heart with them, every church that turned you away, every drug that almost killed you, every sip of alcohol you thought you needed, every cigarette you couldn’t live without, every part of your body you wanted to change, every pill you were told to take, every test you failed, every homecoming ballot you never made, every girl that said they were better….
You ready?
Scream. One time. So loud the world can hear you. Better yet, so loud, God can hear you. Let it break you to your knees. Let it raise your arms when you feel like you can’t. Let it make you breathe so heavy you have to bow your head.
Now get up. Turn around. Look down again.
Now this part is scary…but I want this for you. I want this for me. Ready?
Fight for it. I want you to want bloody feet. I want you to run on that gravel, I want you to smile every step you take. I want you to push the ones ahead of you when they want to stop.
I want you to conquer every rock that has ever been thrown at you.
You want to know what a woman clothed in strength and dignity looks like? She doesn’t just turn her back on the things of the past. Because even though we pray for those things to never enter our lives again, the truth is they’re always going to be right under your feet. She turns her back, and walks over top of them with her eyes directly ahead of her, never looking down, laughing with joy at the things she has coming for her. The things that she is fighting to see.
This may sound gruesome, but I urge you to see something beautiful here.
No matter where you’re from, no matter your color, your background, your family history, your testimony, how bad you’ve gotten…
At some point we are all broken to our knees.
We are not broken to stay broken, we are broken only with that which we are entrusted.
Think about your past now. Everything you’ve done that you wish you could’ve done differently. You were given that because Someone knew you were strong enough to handle it. Shoot, I’m honored! He must think pretty freaking highly of me, amen?
We do not fall to our knees to stay on our knees, but to press on stronger than we ever thought we could.
Ladies, it’s time to let out the biggest Roar this world has ever heard.
Life was never promised to be easy, but it was promised to be worth it.
Strap up your helmets, tape up your hands, its time to fight.
When you need a push, I’ll be right behind you. When I need a push, I expect the same.
But the best thing of all, when we are weak, He is strong.
Let me hear it…
ROAR.
