This is chapter 4 review of our book study. This post will remain at the top of the blog for the week. Please proceed down for other posts.
“Christian women, you must be the brightest pattern of kindness and mercy which our selfish world contains, and add to temperance, patience, and godliness, Christian kindness and charity. Such a character cannot be unnoticed or unacknowledged…” Female Piety
This quote begins chapter 4 of the True Woman, and is such a powerful encouragement for Christian women to stand out as lights of love in a dark world. As discussed in Chapter 3 with the truth of our redemption, Susan Hunt now delves into how we can live as a reflection of our redemption.
“To reflect redemption, the true woman must grab the promises of God and integrate them into every aspect of her life.” pg 83
Being a true woman demands a life of continued growth in sanctification, the hard disciplines of repentence, faith, obedience, and forgiveness. Our goal is to reflect the image of the Redeemer, that which we were created to live for. To reflect His image to a dying and needy world!
A Pilgrim’s Mentality
We must have a pilgrim perspective to maintain a proper balance between living for eternity and also living purposefully for the good of others. We have to be aware of the tendency to become comfortable and attached to this world.
A Pilgrim’s Psalm
Psalm 84 should be our hearts cry:
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God….Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set theirs hearts on pilgrimage.”
Blessed are those who desire to be there! As pilgrims on journey to the great city of Zion, our true home, as believers, we are on a sacred journey! It must be an active and continual mindset to “set” our hearts on the truth that we are merely pilgrims passing through.
Psalms 84 continues…
“As they pass through the Valley of Baca (means ‘balsam tree’ or ‘to weep’), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”
What a beautiful picture of the pilgrims journey…it will carry them through sorrowful and parched places. It is an accepted fact that this indeed will be part of the journey.
“The point is that when a pilgrim passes through the dry places and the places of weeping in life, she will make them places of springs.” pg.87 This is a choice she must actively make. She is no longer living in bondage to her self-centered desires to feel sorry for herself, but she is actively seeking to see these dry places redemptively. Oh Lord, this is my heart’s cry! May I be able to evaluate every area of trial, season of dryness, as an opportunity to turn my dry place into an oasis for others!
“When she makes this pilgrim choice and turns her dry place into an oasis, then God’s grace rushes in, and her spring of obedience becomes pools of blessing for other weary travelers…every dry place has the potential to make the pilgrim even stronger until at last her quest is over and she reaches the celestial city.” pg. 87
This section stood out to me so powerfully, especially since I happened to be reading Psalm 84 this week in my devotions, so it was as if the Lord was speaking right to me!
A Pilgrim’s Progress
Sanctification is a work of God’s Spirit whereby we die to sin and live to righteousness. Our goal should be the cry of John the Baptist, “He must become greater; I must become less” (Jn. 3:30). In order for Jesus to occupy more space in my life, whereas I take up less space, I must die to myself and live to righteousness: repentance and faith. Sanctification is not an easy process. I find the moment I pray that I might grow in sanctification, God always brings a great pruning (as has been taking place over the last several weeks). Thankfully, He promises only to give as much as we can handle, and provides the means of grace to work through it, and sustains and upholds us. We must humbly approach this process, hold fast to God’s promises, and faithfully press on in the spiritual disciples of Bible study, prayer, fasting, worship, and fellowship. This is the path of obedience. It is a blessed path…a path where we are privileged to enjoy God’s special favor and grace (which is the meaning behind the word ‘blessed’).
May I conclude by encouraging you to read Colossians 3:12-14? How can we pursue love and reflecting our redemption today?
Discussion Questions:
1. How can we pursue a pilgrim’s mentality in whatever season of life we are in?
2. How can we view a “valley of weeping” (a trial, a difficult season) as an opportunity to reflect our redemption? How can we practically turn it into a oasis of blessing unto others?
Rebecca, this may be helpful to you. I was so glad to find I still had this page bookmarked: http://www.billbright.com/7steps/
Hey Lindsay!
fasting does not have to be abstaining from food. You can abstain from ANYTHING. As a medical professional, I would not recommend a food fast for ANY nursing or pregnant, nursing, and another one w/a serious health condition requiring medication.
Some examples could be:
TV/Favorite tv show
favorite drink/food
Internet
blogging-lol
Shopping—non essential shopping
Don’t get so caught up or legalistic thinking fasting has to be no food. Go before the Lord and ask Him what you can fast from.
I am excited to get some reading recommendations on fasting.
All my past experiences with fasting have range from uninspiring to horrible. Save one, more recently, which gave me hope enough hope to continue pursuing it’s practice. More reading on the topic will help.
With regards to creating an oasis in the dessert. I’m seeing a connection between the “gift of tears” over personal sin that the Puritans sought so fervently, the brokenness Hunt speaks about in reference to Mary’s willingness to break the flask that the oil might be released and how those two heart attitudes increase our ability to be conduits of the Water of Life, that is Jesus, in places of dryness. My mind sees fountains in the tears and brokenness in the tears Then it wanders to repentance and humility, then how humility allows us to speak the truth in love which will help hurting people receive truth; the way dry earth receives water.
As excited as I am to be gaining a greater understanding about the Spiritual Disciplines that are means of grace to us, I am more deeply struck by the realization that being will always produce doing, but doing cannot create being, regardless of how practically applied the methodology may be.
For years I’ve been begging the older women (Sono, Dorrie, Gay, Aletha, Linda McW. . .) to tell me what to do and how to do it. They would speak in cryptic riddles about a cross and grace; always something about repentance and the power of the H.S. “No!” I would say in to myself, “Just tell me what to do!”
I think I’m starting to see that they were guiding me toward the inside-out approach, while I was obsessing with formulas, schedules and to-do lists. They were trying to help me see something infinitely more practical. The power of God.
Oh, God! Create in me a clean heart. Give me the gift of tears and cause me to will and and to do your good pleasure.
Thank you for the interesting thoughts of fasting. I have never fasted before but Lindsay´s report about the wonderful experiences with fasting make me curious. Thanks also for recommending interesting books that address this topic! I hope you all have a nice day!
Excellent idea, Lindsay, to continue the discussion on Chapter 4 through this week as well! I was quite convicted by the book, and then by Madeleine’s question. I have fasted regularly in the past, but have fallen away from that discipline. Madeleine’s question prompted me to go to my bookshelf, where there are two favorite books I haven’t looked at in a long time.
The first is A Hunger for God, Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer by John Piper. I just happened to open it to page 109, to a section entitled, “The Rediscovery of Fasting in Our Own Day.” John Piper says, “There is in our own day a growing sense among many that the rediscovery of fasting as a penitential heart-cry to God for revival might be the means God would use to awaken and reform his church.”
The other is Celebration of Discipline, The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard Foster. In this book, Foster says that Jesus fasted Himself, and clearly expected His followers to fast after He was gone. However, Foster warns, “At times there is such stress upon the blessings and benefits of fasting that we would be tempted to believe that with a little fast we could have the world, including God, eating out of our hands.”
Foster also has directions on how to accustom the body to fasting so that one can fast up to forty days, and how to come off an extended fast. These are very general instructions — others may have resources that offer more complete ones.
Thank you, Madeleine, for this question. It has prompted me to consider not when, but how I will begin seeking more of God through the discipline of fasting again.
Thanks for sharing Marliss! The John Piper book is the very one I was thinking on this topic. I have not read it yet, but have heard wonderful things about it. I know Donald Whitney in his book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, addresses the topic as well. I love his books!
I have been curious how to maintain this discipline as a pregnant or nursing mom. I would imagine I could fast a meal a day without hurting my supply. Anyone else have experience with this?
In the past, our family used to fast either one meal or one day a week, and it was such a rewarding/refreshing time to spend with the Lord. Fasting really draws you nearer to the Lord, as every thought is turned to dependence upon Him, when you are weak (with hunger!). I found it was very fruitful for my prayer life as well. Every time I would feel hunger pains, I would focus on praying.
Maybe we can challenge one another to pursue this fruitful discipline!
Thank you for sharing so many interesting thoughts and personal insights!
I have one practical question concerning p.89
“We must go through the basic spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, fasting, worship and fellowship.”
Do you study the discipline of fasting? And if you do – how do you practice it?
Blessings, Madeleine
Thank you, Mama Edmonds, for your openness and honesty in your post, and your words of wisdom. What you quoted on pg. 89, “We cannot die to what we have not recognized, and our hearts are ‘deceitful above all things’ (Jeremiah 17:9) and its application to sanctification spoke strongly to me as well.
We have the freedom, because we have been redeemed, to turn from our self-centered perspective. And because God loves us, He will take us through the dry and sorrowful places to gently show us the strongholds and idols of our hearts, the lies we believe because they are comfortable, or because they keep us from taking responsibility for our own sin.
And it can be excruciating, to be given a glimpse of our own hearts. We set ourselves up, sometimes unknowingly, as not as sinful as another, but God does not let us stay there for long if we are truly Christ-followers. And what desperation, despair, and brokenness can follow that little glimpse. I love the quote from Elizabeth Prentiss on pg. 93: “… [M]y intellect is of no use to me when my heart is breaking. I must get down on my knees and own that I am less than nothing, seek God, not joy; consent to suffer, not cry for relief. And how transcendently good He is when He brings me down to that low place and there shows me that that self-renouncing, self-despairing spot is just the one where He will stoop to meet me!”
When one can turn from weeping in brokenness over one’s own sin to weeping in joy and gratitude for the goodness and mercy of God, there is nothing sweeter. Earlier in that same quote Elizabeth Prentiss says, “Who is so fitted to sing praises to Christ as he who has learned Him in hours of bereavement, disappointment and despair?”
To answer the first discussion question, Psalm 23 is such a familiar psalm and is quoted so often at funeral services and so forth, that it is in danger of losing its impact through its very familiarity. But it was crucial in my salvation experience many years ago and now in my current season of trial, it has become even more precious, especially the last verse, “Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Besides Psalm 84, Psalm 23 strikes me as sort of the quintessential pilgrim psalm. We are but strangers and pilgrims on the earth, dear sisters, but the goodness and mercy of God is always with us. Sometimes it doesn’t feel good, or that He is merciful, but He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. And that promise is true no matter where we are on the pilgrim path.
In answer to the second question, Elizabeth Prentiss says on pg. 92, “How soon our dear Lord presses our experiences into His own service! How many lessons He teaches us in order to make us sons (or daughters) of consolation!” and II Cor. 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble , with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” God brings others in a similar situation into our lives. This can happen much sooner than we expect or want it to, or think we are prepared for it, but God’s timing is perfect. Sometimes we find ourselves being comforted as we comfort them.
The most practical thing we can do to turn our experiences into an oasis of comfort for others is to be open to God’s leading. God will make sure that the lessons He teaches us are not in vain.
I think the greatest way the Lord has dealt with my sanctification process or pilgrim mentality,is teaching me to deal with offenses. Now, I’ll be honest, I’m not one to be offended easily. I used to say “if you want to offend me you’ll have to hit me over the head with a bat”. But looking back I can see that I had built a wall of protection around myself not allowing myself to care. If my sister criticized me, “that’s your problem” I thought to myself. If my husband was insensitive, internal anger would be my emotion of choice instead of being vulnerable with my hurt. When my children, teenagers, or grown adult kids speak in a dishonoring way I often excused it with “they’re tired, hungry or upset about something else” instead of taking the time to correct and instruct. Basically I was taking my offenses and doing with them whatever I felt like doing at the moment instead of letting down my defenses and dealing with my hurt in a biblical manner. On page 89 of “The True Woman” by Susan Hunt, she writes “We cannot die to what we have not recognized, and our hearts are “deceitful above all things” (Jer.17:9)”. That’s why the Puritans prayed for the gift of tears, to feel the weight of our sin and the weight of other’s sin as well. When I read that it made me tear up because that has been such a sanctifying process for me. I have to allow myself to go to the “valley of weeping” as Jesus did as He sacrificially hung on the cross for the sins of His chosen ones. The beautiful thing is that He is there in the valley with us, convicting, comforting and leading us to the other side. Then we can experience the “reflection of our redemption”. I admit that I have not had to extend forgiveness to an offense as great as the woman who shares about being raped at the beginning of the chapter, but God so graciously allows me to be offended in ways that purify and conforms me more to His image. And as the last sentence of the chapter states “It will be especially lustrous when she releases one who is indebted to her by forgiving that individual even as God has forgiven her”. God, thank you for your continued work in my heart.
I’m not sure how to answer these questions in relation to the book you are studying (I don’t have a copy). But I have recently gone through the trial of losing my little brother to suicide.
It has been a dreadful experience on one hand, but on the other,it has caused me to focus on the eternal. It has also allowed me to experience the joy of turning to the Lord for comfort. The experience also allows me to empathize with those around me experiencing loss, hopefully offering words of encouragement and hope in the Lord of our salvation.
What an encouraging post! Female Piety is one of my fravourite books – bringing out the true purpose of a Christian lady. I have enjoyed reading through some of the previous posts in you website, here.
Blessings…