I was thirteen going on fourteen and dying for my birthday to arrive. I had asked my parents for my very own weight bench and I couldn’t wait to start lifting those weights.
Yes, I know that’s a little weird. What thirteen year old girl wants a weight bench for her birthday?
I knew that increasing my strength would make me a better basketball player and that’s exactly what I wanted. I wanted to be strong so that I could be successful.
As I’ve grown older my desire to be strong has only increased.
Don’t worry, I’m not into bodybuilding or anything like that. In fact, my weight bench is long gone and was replaced with running clothes and elliptical machines.
When I say that my desire to be strong has increased, I’m talking about being emotionally and spiritually strong.
I’ve realized that being a serious Christ follower requires strength like none other.
Our culture is not pushing us as Christian girls towards true strength. If anything, they are encouraging us to be wimpy women. We are being fed the messages day in and day out to believe in ourselves, to follow our feelings and to live for our own desires.
Following the culture’s advice is easy. It doesn’t require strength of any kind.
Way too often I’ve bought into that mindset and wimped out. I’ve allowed the culture to shape my views and given into my emotions and whims.
If you want to be a strong girl, you must learn to obey God’s Word even when you don’t feel like it.
We have enough wimpy girls in the Christian community. Way too many of us have given up on God’s truths when it’s hard or takes sacrifice. We’ve given into peer pressure, allowed the culture to shape our views and followed our emotions.
If you want to join the ranks of strong girls, here are some ideas.
It takes a strong girl to…
- Get up every morning and spend time with God even when she’s tired.
- Make the effort to dress modestly even when modest clothing is hard to find.
- Control her words and choose to refrain from gossip.
- Overcome her feelings and choose to give up a guy if she knows he isn’t God’s best for her.
- Give up TV shows, movies and music that don’t pass the Philippians 4:8 test.
- Respect her parents even when she thinks they are being totally unreasonable.
- Intentionally invest in and spend time with her siblings, despite if they annoy her.
- Choose to forgive someone who has sinned against her.
- Intentionally hold back and allow the young men around her to lead.
- Keep her mouth shut and avoid saying everything that comes to her mind.
Do you see how hard it is to be a strong girl?
That list is brief compared to everything that goes into being a strong Christian girl. It’s not easy and it takes a lot of courage, strength and focus on God.
If you desire to reject wimpy womanhood and embrace true strength, let me know by leaving your name in the comments section below.
I’d also love to hear how you would finish this sentence, “It takes a strong girl to…” I shared my list of ten, now it’s your turn.
Photo Credit: www.flickr.com | N06/16032219281
