Mary Ellen Breitwiser - Woman to woman: candid conversations from me to you

Copyright 2006 Joyce Meyer

All rights reserved.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Amplified Bible (AMP). The Amplified Bible, Old Testament. Copyright 1965, 1987 by The Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament, copyright 1954, 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked The Message are taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Warner Faith

Hachette Book Group

237 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Visit our Web site at www.HachetteBookGroup.com

First eBook Edition: February 2006

Warner Faith and the W logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group.

ISBN: 978-0-446-54879-3

A s a busy woman in todays fast-paced, high-pressure world, Im sure that you know about the frustration that comes from all the demands on your time. Sometimes it seems that life gets unorganized and out of control in spite of your best efforts to properly prioritize your activities and manage your time. The challenges of career, finances, marriage, raising children, and other urgent demands limit your personal privacy and crowd out your quality time with God.

I know because Ive been there. I may look like I have it all together today when I step on the platform to minister to others, but you should have seen what I was like during the years while God was preparing me for the ministry. I lived with frustration and pressure, experiencing all the same challenges that you may be dealing with right now.

Then God gave me revelation about the unique woman He had created me to be. He assured me that the Holy Spirit was walking alongside me, transforming me into an anointed and effective woman of God who is equipped to make a difference for the kingdom of heaven.

If you are struggling with the myriad challenges that you face in todays busy world and feel that you are not as far along in becoming the godly woman you want to be, dont despair. God isnt through with you yet. He wants you to realize that you are a unique woman, and that He has a unique plan for your life.

A good way to discover this plan is by starting each day by declaring, This is the day the Lord has made. [I] will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24 Then spend some intimate time with the Lord, focusing on Him and renewing your commitment to seek and follow His will.

What I have experienced and enjoyed will work for you too. I believe the heartwarming stories I share in these pages will help you remember that the Holy Spirit is walking alongside you each day helping you to accomplish Gods will for your life.

You must always remember that you are a rare, one-of-a-kind, valuable woman of God with a unique sphere of influence. God wants to bring you freedom from the daily frustrations and challenges of being a woman and help you become all that you can be. Then He wants to empower you to use your unique abilities to share His love in your little corner of the world.

Looking for Contentment in All the Wrong Places

W omen of God should be peaceful, joyful, thankful, and content. In Philippians 4:11, Paul said that he had learned how to be content. Well, I dont know about you, but I spent many years, even as a believer, before I learned contentment, and I believe there are many other women who struggle as I did trying to find it. You may be one of them.

I knew how to be satisfied if I was getting my own wayif everything was working exactly as I had planned, but how often does that happen? Very rarely, in my experience. I knew absolutely nothing about how to handle even the ordinary trials that come along in most every womans life. I didnt know how to adapt to other people and things.

I found out that a woman who can only be satisfied when there are no disturbances in life will spend much of her time being discontented. I finally desired stability enough that I was willing to learn whatever it took to have it. I wanted to be satisfied no matter what was going on around me.

The Amplified Bible defines the word content as (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am in (v. 11). I appreciate this definition because it does not say that I must be satisfied to the point where I dont ever want change, but I can be satisfied to the point that I am not anxious or disturbed. I desperately wanted and now enjoy that kind of peace. How about you?

I am going to share with you four things that I think lead to feelings of discontentment, especially among women. The number one problem is greed Have you ever known someone who just could not be content no matter how much they had? I was once like this myself. Of course, I didnt think of it at the time as being greedy. I just always wanted more than I had.

Hebrews 13:5 says, Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] Wow! That is powerful!

This Scripture lets us know that we can and should be satisfied where we are, while we are getting to where we are going. Gods ways are progressive. He has a wonderful plan for our lives and it unfolds progressively. We dont have to wait until we have the end result to enjoy where we are and be satisfied. We can find our satisfaction in Him while we are on our way to the fulfillment of our hopes and dreams.

I also believe that fear causes many of us to be unhappy and discontented. We are afraid we will not get what we desire. At one time, I had a misconceived notion that I had to pray my fearful feelings away and continue praying for God to deliver me until those feelings were all gone. I have since learned that I dont have to submit to those fearful feelings. I learned that I could do the things God wanted me to do, and I could wait on His perfect timing to bring to me those things that He knew were best for me. If I hadnt learned that lesson, I wouldnt be teaching and preaching today.

We can find our satisfaction in Him while we are on our way to the fulfillment of our hopes and dreams.

Once we learn to trust God and step out even though were afraid, God will provide the courage and boldness we need to overcome our fear. Just remember that there are no failures in Christ. If you make a mistake, God will just lift you up, teach you something from it, and send you on your way. You have not failed until you stop trying.

Lack of trust in God is another cause of discontentment. Simple trust in God brings us into a place of rest. Romans 15:13 says, May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope. Joy and peace are found in believing. Simple, childlike faith brings us the kingdom, which is righteousness, peace, and joy.