Driven by implacably intelligent marketers, advertisements are better than ever at telling us, women especially, what we do not have and what we need more of. Thirsty? Have a Coke. Hungry? Eat a Snickers. However, this is not a new phenomenon brought on by 21st century, money-hungry businessmen. Sadly, it has been part of human culture since the dawn of man. The rich outdo the poor, the smart outdo the dumb, and so on. The pressure to perform better than anyone else wears down humanity as a whole. Not to mention how women tend to be the harshest critics of women, even though we’re all on the same team. This, unfortunately, leads many of us to live lackluster lives. I mean, why try when someone else will outshine even your greatest efforts?
Recently I have been feeling the weight of this epidemic in my spiritual walk with Christ. And it sucks. I love Him more than anything in the world, yet I cannot seem to silence the voices in my head telling me I have too little time, money, and energy to really devote towards building up His kingdom. Even worse, those voices remind me that even if I had one of those three vital elements, I’d most likely fail because I’m not truly good at being a selfless woman of God. Like most ladies, this mindset leads us to fall away for a while and focus on the things we can manage (or at least things we think we can).
After “doing-my-own-thing” for a couple weeks, I sat down, Bible in hand, and prayed God would revitalize my heart for Him. By His grace, the first lines of scripture my eyes read were Luke 21:1-4:
“While Jesus was in the temple, He watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
Many spiritually weakened women are neglecting the pivotal truth within these four short verses. God could care less about our resources. Rather, He wants what little we have. Between work, school, and family, many of us feel unable to devote immense amounts of time, money, and energy to our relationship with God. However, God does require that whatever excess we do have, we give it to Him. Ten minutes in the car, He wants your prayers. Two dollars in quarters, He wants your offering. Although many believe that what they have to offer have is insignificant, that’s not up for us to decide. We don’t have the right to let our circumstances inhibit us from reaching up to our loving Father for help. Rather, we have the responsibility to accept His presence despite our internal doubts about our outward abilities.
