When we’re weary from our work and worries, it can be difficult to feel strong. When we’re scared of the future or the past, we wonder if we will ever be brave. When we’re weak, we struggle to believe that we’re loved. The good news is, we don’t have to feel strong, brave, or loved because we are. May this week-long devotional help you embrace what is true about you.
Baker Publishing
Day 1
Fiercehearted Women
Scripture: Psalm 73:26
Do you ever get tired of life’s battles? Do you wrestle with fear or insecurity? Do you often feel unsure if you’re going to have victory?
I can relate to all the above. I also know what it’s like to come to a new place of feeling strong, brave, and loved.
By STRONG I don’t mean faking it and trying to hide our limp; I mean knowing we are women in a battle, beautiful warriors who cannot be overcome.
By BRAVE I don’t mean reckless or forceful; I mean having the courage to face whatever comes our way, to walk in holy confidence and be okay with what’s messy or uncertain.
By LOVED I don’t mean what we know in our heads; I mean living in the truth of who God is and who He says we are even when the lies we’re tempted to believe are hissing in our ears.
I believe that you don’t have to be defined by your circumstances. You don’t have to be defeated by your struggles. You don’t have to settle for less than God’s best in your life.
Wherever you are today, whatever you’re going through, I pray Jesus will meet you like He met me when it felt like I didn’t have any strength or courage left. I pray He’ll rescue your heart and renew your hope. I pray He’ll bring you to a new place of feeling strong, brave, and loved that’s beyond what might even feel possible right now.
We are beautifully dangerous women when we know deep down we’re loved. Because then we have the kind of courage that changes the world one heart at a time.
We are significant threats when we understand we have valuable gifts within us. Because then we actually dare to offer them.
We are wild warriors when we realize we are stronger and braver than we’ve yet to see. Because then we stop cowering and start swinging our swords.
So let’s stop beating ourselves up and instead start beating the real opponent. Let’s carry ourselves like beloved, strong daughters of a mighty King.
We are made for more than “I’m fine.”
We are fiercehearted women; this is our time.
God, You are our strength, the source of our identity, and our hope for the future. Help us hold on to the truth about who we are, no matter what we may face. Amen.
Day 2
Running Toward Grace
Scripture: Zechariah 4:6
I’m driving home from lunch with a new friend, replaying the conversation in my mind. Fear makes my breathing shallow, my heartbeat fast. What if she doesn’t like me? What if I came across all wrong? I often have moments like this when anxiety gets the best of me.
But this time I pray, “Jesus, help me. I don’t understand why I act this way. I want to be free.” A simple declaration comes to my heart: I am done running away. From now on, I am running toward.
I don’t even fully understand what this means, but I put on my tennis shoes and go for a run when I get home. I think of all I have run away from . . . how fear has chased me and people-pleasing has set my pace, how anxiety has nipped at my heels, how the lies have worn me out.
I am done.
I will no longer be a woman who’s defined by what she’s running from.
In the past, the strategy I’ve usually decided on in moments like these can be summed up in six words: be good, do more, try harder. But this strategy has been failing me. I think of a recent evening when I went to bed feeling worn and weary. Sometime past midnight, I woke up in the dark and the words of Zechariah 4:6 came to my heart.
I’d been worried because I thought the battle was completely up to me. And all the while I had the Lord of heaven’s armies willing to fight on my behalf. We are beloved daughters of God. We are more than conquerors. Nothing is too difficult for us because nothing is impossible for the God within us.
I speak these truths to my own soul with each step I take. I also declare this: I am going to run toward grace. I am going to run toward love. I am going to run toward boldness and freedom and holy confidence. I am going to run toward Jesus. I don’t know everything this new perspective means, what exactly I have done, but it feels like something dark and destructive challenged me to a race today.
And I won.
God, You are the One who gives us the courage to stop running away and instead run toward all You have for us. Be our strength in every step today. Amen.
Day 3
Never Defeated
Scripture: Nehemiah 8:10
A few years ago, I uttered a frustrated prayer in my car. “God, why does the enemy seem so determined to destroy my joy?” And it felt like I heard a whisper within my heart in response: “He’s not really after your joy. He’s after your strength.”
Immediately I thought of Nehemiah 8:10. Ah, yes, now it made sense. The enemy of my soul wasn’t simply out to make me have a bad day. Instead, he was trying to do something far more sinister: Make me ineffective in the Kingdom. Weaken my faith. Quiet my voice. Make sure I cower in fear rather than stand in faith.
We’ve all probably had well-meaning people say to us, “Just be joyful!”, like it’s an easy thing. As if the moment we decided to follow Jesus our lives would be cotton-candy happy forever, so we should just get with the program. But here’s the truth: Joy requires all-out war. Every day. For the rest of our lives.
Here’s the good news: We aren’t fighting alone. God is with us, for us, and on our side. He is even more committed to our victory than we are. We’re told to put on the armor of God, and there is only one offensive weapon in it: “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). We guard our joy with truth. When the lies come, we have to slash them with what God says instead.
Lie: You’re not doing enough. Truth: I only have to do what Jesus wants me to today, and he will enable me to do so (Philippians 4:13).
Lie: You’re letting people down. Truth: I’m not perfect, so sometimes I will let people down. What matters is being obedient to God (Galatians 1:10).
Lie: When are you going to get it together? Truth: I’m human, and as long as I’m on earth, I’ll still be in progress. But God is growing me each day (Philippians 1:6).
We’re not weaklings. We’re warriors. So let’s stand firm. Raise the sword of truth. Never surrender our joy. It’s time to fight like women who belong to the God who can never be defeated—which means we can’t be either.
God, we will live in the truth. We will guard our joy. We will listen to Your voice. You give us the strength to fight and to win. Amen.
Day 4
The Truest Thing of All
Scripture: 2 Chronicles 20:12
“Our God… We do not know what to do…. ” (2 Chronicles 20:12). Haven’t we all been in that place? The one where the answers don’t come. Where everyone is counting on us and we want to count the steps to the exit.
What will we put after the second pause in that sentence? Here are a few ways I’ve completed it.
“I do not know what to do . . . so I’m going to eat another brownie.”
“I do not know what to do . . . so I’m going to listen to the latest expert.”
“I do not know what to do . . . so I’m going to try harder to please everyone.”
We all have our favorites. And we can all probably learn from Jehoshaphat, who first spoke those words when a vast army was approaching. Because in that hard, scary moment, he said this: “Our God, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
When we face challenging circumstances, we think we must know what to do, but in reality, all we really need to know is Who is on our side. That’s what matters on the hard days. That’s what brings the victory.
After this declaration, Jehoshaphat did something we won’t find in any war instruction book or military briefing. He put the worshipers in front of the army. He led not with the generals but with the singers and the praisers, the choir members.
Truth is a powerful weapon. And the truest thing of all is who God is. His character is a fortress and battering ram, an all-out assault against evil. This means worship is absolutely undefeatable.
So if we are unsure about what to do today, if the enemy is coming and the battle is raging and maybe we have even been wounded—let us stand our ground and raise our voices. Let us speak the truth about who God is and what He has done. How big He is. How much He loves us. How He has always held the universe and our little part of it in His hands.
We cannot lose with Him. We cannot be overcome.
To be a worshiper is to be a warrior.
God, we praise You because You are powerful, wise, and kind. You are our strength, our hope, and the One who makes us fiercehearted women. Amen.
Day 5
Show Up Anyway
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:13
I drift tentatively through the door of a ministry event along with other women. We scan the room and look for seats. A place to belong. Isn’t that what everyone wants? Each spot at every table has a little plate with a miniature dessert on it. I choose a chocolate cupcake.
We talk and laugh, a speaker shares, and then it’s time for discussion questions. The first one: What makes you feel brave?
I can barely come up with an answer. I say something about thinking back on what God has already done in my life. But I feel as if I’ve left out something important and true. Alone in my room later that evening, I realize it’s this: I never feel brave. I can’t think of a single time brave showed up as an emotion in my world.
I know what it is to be brave. But in those times, what I feel first is fear. As I think about this, I realize maybe I’ve misunderstood what brave feels like. I thought it was a roar and a lunge. But maybe it is a whisper and a trembling step. I thought it was loud and bold. Perhaps it is quiet and almost invisible. I thought it meant the absence of all insecurity. Yet I’m wondering now if bravery is just faith dancing the two-step with doubt.
If this is so, then what makes me act brave is also what scares me silly.
This lets me breathe a sigh of relief because it means I don’t have to wait to be filled with confidence before I can do anything. I can just show up anyway. If that’s so, then I have more courage than I thought. And more answers than I realize, including the one I wish I’d had at the round table with those lovely folks. If I could go back to that moment, I’d say, “I’m not sure what makes me brave, but I know Who does. And I know what being brave makes us—strong, fierce, and a force to be reckoned with in this world.”
God, You give us so much more than just emotion; You give us Your presence, power, truth, and help. Even when we’re afraid, we can show up and be brave because we belong to You. Amen.
Day 6
Good News for Broken People
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9
I often work in coffee shops, where conversations swirl around me as thick as the scent of espresso. Most of the time I’m able to tune them out, but sometimes one makes my head snap up from my laptop. I’ve heard scandalous confessions of love, details of doctor’s appointments, and workplace complaints of all sorts. This morning I found myself the recipient of some unsolicited wisdom.
A young man and his mentor sat next to me talking about faith. Apparently they’ve been meeting for a while, because the young man asked, “When am I going to be ready to help someone else?”
The mentor paused and then answered, “I think you’re asking the wrong question. Because as long as you ask, ‘Am I ready?’ you’ll always be able to find a reason you’re not. A flaw. A struggle. Something you think you need to learn more about. The better question to ask is, ‘Have I received something?’ If so, then you have something to share. When is the best time to start passing it on? Yesterday.”
I looked over for a second just to be sure he wasn’t talking to me. Because I have wondered this as well. Haven’t we all? Here is a secret of faith I’m learning: We never feel qualified. We never feel like professionals. We never feel like we’ve got it together enough to really make a difference. And maybe this is a good thing. Because the only folks who seem to have believed otherwise were the Pharisees.
God is not looking for perfect examples. He’s looking for ordinary people who will love each other. He’s calling the messy, the broken, and the incomplete. This is good news for all of us. It means Jesus will give to us and then He’ll give through us. We’re simply asked to be willing and brave enough to do it as we are and not as we’d like to be.
God, You show Your power in the most unexpected ways and people. Where we see weaknesses, You see opportunities. Thank You that we don’t have to be perfect to be used by You; we only need to be willing. Amen.
Day 7
Embrace Your Story
Scripture: Philippians 1:6
We, fiercehearted women, are all living a story today. A story crafted and told by the Author of heaven. The star-scatterer. The mountain-mover. The water-walker. It is a story of being brave and strong and loved. A story of, most of all, love.
In the day-to-day, it doesn’t feel like a story. It feels like dishes in the sink. Reports on the desk. Another mile behind the steering wheel of the car. But this doesn’t change what’s real. Beneath the surface of all that ordinary still shines the glory.
Sometimes the plot is confusing. Or strange. Or sad. Sometimes we want to cut out a chapter with sharp scissors. Sometimes we want to be the editors with the red ink. Sometimes we want to skip right to the end just to make sure it says, “And they lived happily ever after.”
But this is not our role. It is not for us to say, “This is what happens next” or “I’m changing the ending.” Instead, we are to trust, to wait, to be in the middle of the mystery. There is so much we do not know, that we will not know, but we can be certain of this: the Author is good and we are loved.
Yes, even when the unexpected sentence comes. When we face that dark-as-night period. When the syllables jumble together and we scratch our heads. Even in those places, between those lines, there is a God at work who has always been speaking, always been creating beauty out of the broken.
Jesus is not done with history. He is not finished with the part of it that is our story either. Whatever scene we find ourselves in today, it is not the final page. Hold on, there is a turning coming. There is more than this, more than here and now. We have not yet seen the there and then.
We are overcomers. We are warriors. And whatever the future brings, our God is still holding the pen. He is the only one who gets to write, “The End.”
God, You are the Author of our lives. You are writing a powerful story of grace in and through us. Help us be fiercehearted women for You every day, on every page of our lives. We love You. Amen.