“My identity must be anchored to the truth of who God is and who He is to me…the closer I align my truth to His Truth, the more closely I identify with God–and the more my identity really is in Him…when my identity is tied to my circumstances I become extremely insecure because circumstances are unpredictable and ever-changing.”
~Lysa TerKeurst, Uninvited, pg. 17

Hey ladies! It has taken me longer than anticipated to finish writing out part 2–thank you for being patient! Did you read Part 1? If not, let me encourage you to head on over and do that! 🙂

Now, let’s talk CONFIDENCE sisters! Not confidence in ourselves the way the world sees it (my stuff, my abilities, my physical strength, my popularity, my income…), but confidence in what GOD can do THROUGH us–His daughters, His warriors. We know by now that the first step in being a Confident Christian woman, is an active prayer life. The next step, is knowing our purpose. Who am I? Why am I here? Where should my focus be? What is my goal? How do I know God’s will over me?

What is my purpose? In a nutshell: to glorify God, ALWAYS. When we look at they life of Jesus–our ultimate example of righteousness and after whom we mold our lives–we see time and time again His work was for the Father.

John 4:34
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work…”
^{Hebrews 5:8-9
8} Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹ And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

Jesus learned obedience to the Father’s will, glory, & purpose.  Our lives should be no different as followers of Christ. But to make it more clear, let’s look at what Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-16:

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.“

So, not only are we ourselves to glorify the Father, but we are to act in such a way that OTHERS will see our example and be motivated to praise God as well. That is our mission, sisters.

Well what else? How can we go about this daily endeavor of glorifying God and motivating others to do the same? A HUGE way we can do this, is by raising up Godly souls–no matter the cost.
Do your children (nieces and nephews, grandchildren, students, or friends’ children) know your priorities? Do they see you making worldly sacrifices for spiritual gain? Will they one day know, that you are someone they can come to for answers about the Bible? What about putting biblical concepts into daily practice—can they come to you for wisdom and advice on that?
These are all questions worth asking ourselves, to help us see if our lives are aligned with our purpose. Having children has taught me so much about God as MY Father and you know what? Satan’s biggest threat and the Kingdom’s greatest asset, is a Godly family.  Let’s make sure we are on the RIGHT side of the spiritual battle taking place, by purposefully raising Godly children.
“But, Rachel, how do I do that? My kids have to make their own choices…”
I hear you. And yes, when they become adults they WILL make their own choices while you have to sit back and watch–offering advice and wisdom when you see fit. But while your kids are in your care, God is holding a responsibility on your shoulders that you must take seriously.
Three ways to do that:
1) BE the person you want them to emulate. Be the example. Teach with your words (and HIS WORD), and your actions.
2) Teach them to worship the God who created them, NOT to worship you. Your children are going to idolize you to some degree.  And some day, the way they see you will either HELP or HINDER the relationship they build with God. Therefore, do everything in your power to take glory off of yourself and place it on the Father where it is due. (Check out Matthew 10:34-39.) Finally
3) Ask yourself this question: am I making it easier or harder for my children to idolize the things of this world?

Alright sisters! Do you have a handle on your purpose now? I hope so, but to further illustrate I want to discuss what our purpose is NOT.
1) My purpose is NOT to save souls. Yes, you read that correctly. Stay with me, though. Saving souls is GOD’S job! It has ALWAYS been God’s job. MY job, is to PLANT and WATER.

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁷ So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸ He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. ⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. ~1 Corinthians 3

When we are out fulfilling our purpose (Glorifying God and Motivating others to do the same by being Salt & Light), we can misguidedly think saving souls is our doing. When we get puffed up over the number of people we bring to Christ (or perhaps discouraged because we aren’t bringing MORE people to the water), then we are putting too much focus on ourselves.
Sisters, we are not serving others or living out His example in our lives for our own recognition, are we? No. We are but EMPTY VESSELS (2 Corinthians 4:7-18), ready and willing to be used BY GOD for HIS PURPOSES. Will souls be saved in that process? ABSOLUTELY! Because that is God’s ultimate will—“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
So sisters, let’s focus on planting seeds of the Gospel into the hearts of all who will listen, and water seeds others have planted by words of encouragement, kindness, and displaying Christ-like behavior towards all. And when that planting and watering comes to fruition, let’s give God ALL the glory!

Keep an eye out for part 3–Peace! Also, I want you to consider another Bible Marking topic by Kathy Pollard entitled “My Purpose.” This study will walk you through the scriptures as you define your purpose from God’s perspective. You will be blessed by it, so please consider grabbing your Bible and taking a few minutes to complete it.

Thank you for taking the time to dive into this with me today. I’d love your feedback; feel free to comment! 🙂