Hey Woman! What Purpose are You Pursuing?
Hope swelled in my heart as I watched the 2017 Wonder Woman movie directed by Patty Jenkins. A young girl named Diana grows up on an island filled with brave, strong, female warriors. She wants to be a warrior too, but her mother holds her back to protect her. Diana asks her aunt to train her in secret, and when her mother discovers their secret she relents, but tells Diana’s aunt, “You will train her harder than any Amazon before her. Five times harder. Ten times harder. Until she is better than even you, but she must never know the truth about who she is or how she came to be.”
Years later, war comes to Diana’s island, and she is compelled to find and destroy Aries, the god of war; the source of anger and destruction. Her mother warns to stay on their island, but Diana is resolute in her decision. “I’m going mother.” Worried, her mother replies, “If you choose to leave, you may never return.” To which Diana responds, “Who will I be if I stay?” She knows who she is and cannot ignore her passion.
If you watch the movie, her mother is afraid of losing her, and the human race doesn’t understand her, but she feels her purpose inside and cannot contain the drive to fulfill it. She never gives up on her mission even though she questioned, doubted and misunderstood.
I know Wonder Woman is a character in a movie, but I resonate with her passion to pursue who she was created to become and to fulfill her mission. So for a few weeks, this Seeds blog will be focusing on women; who we were created to be and who we are becoming. We will talk about God’s original design for us, and how sin and this world distracts us from knowing ourselves. Ive spent the past four years on a biblical discovery of who I am as a daughter of the King as well as who I am as a woman in ministry. I will share this journey with you.
Diana was trained hard to become a warrior but her aunt and her mother kept her identity a secret. I believe many women (including myself) haven’t been taught who we are in Christ or why we are significant to the Kingdom of God. Since I was eleven, I have gone to church, prayed, studied, and served, but as an adult still felt less valued by God Because I am a woman. He didn’t make me feel this way, but my beliefs about him and myself did. Sometimes I ’ve wondered why he didn’t give me different passions and gifts because mine seemed more suitable for a man in the church. But in my studies, I have come to appreciate both who God designed me to be as well who I am becoming.
In Wonder Woman, Diana knew who she was and possessed determination to fulfill her mission. Do we find courage and purpose in who God created us to be, or are we confused? Where does our purpose originate; In ourselves, our church, our dreams, our work, our husbands, our children, or in our Christ? Do we know our purpose and mission, or are we fighting a confused battle in a lost world? God has given us gifts and purpose, but we will never see their potential until we understand why we were created. Our identity carries the confidence we need to step into our calling.
When one of my heroes, Amy Carmichael felt called to be a missionary in India, people discouraged her to go because she was a single woman. “She wondered why following God wasn’t easier and why other Christians found it so hard to understand what she wanted to do. But other Christians’ not understanding wasn’t going to stop her. God had told her to go.” (Amy Carmichael, Rescuer of Precious Gems, Janet and Geoff Benge).
So, woman of God, I need to ask you. Do you know what purpose you are pursuing, or are you running a race with no real finish line? If this is the message you need in your life right now, make sure you subscribe to this blog AND listen to the Women Season of my Overcoming Monday Podcast on iTunes, Spotify or on my website www.sharieking.com.
I pray you move forward in your faith until next time.
© 2018 by Sharie King. All rights reserved.
