God had a special word for ladies last night. I preached on the passage about the woman who had been bent over double for eighteen long years and Jesus healed her. I felt a deep burden for the pressures women face in this society to look and act a certain way.
We looked at how Satan can use so many things to oppress women. He can use a father or mother who have a critical spirit. Their words can wound women not just in childhood but all the way through adulthood as well. The wounds are reinforced with each new criticism. No matter what a woman may try to do in this situation through improving themselves, getting an education, or becoming successful in their career it is never enough to satisfy critical parents. Wounded daughters cannot straighten themselves up.
Women have also been hurt and used by men they date and marry. The deceit of the enemy makes women think they have no self worth unless they have a boyfriend or husband. They may not even be good boyfriends or husbands so they settle for anything thinking this will bring the self worth they have craved. Women have been used by men to gratify their selfish and often times sinful desires. Women try to please and create the fairy tale "they lived happily ever after" ending. What they often receive is more disappointment and more criticism. Instead of the fairly tale these women often find themselves living in a nightmare they cannot escape. When they end up in divorce court the enemy only uses this to reinforce feelings of failure and not being able to measure up to other women.
Add to these the pressures reinforced by the media that a woman has to look a certain way and be a certain size to match up. So a lady who works a full time job, comes home to a dirty house, and labors to get dinner on the table, finally takes a look in the mirror. What does she see. Not the perfect woman from a fashion magazine. She looks in the mirror at a frazzled woman just trying to keep up. Satan uses this moment to bend her over a little more and to convince her she will never measure up. Never mind that the woman in the fashion magazine has been airbrushed to hide the flaws in her face and body. The picture in the magazine has been doctored. It is not the real thing.
Women feel the pressure to change their hair color, to have cosmetic surgery, to work out incessantly all so they can measure up to a fantasy. I once saw a rather unattractive woman with acne in a true life example of how photographers and magazine employees can take someone unpleasant to look at and with a little magic make them into a glamor star. Step by step the picture took on a new look as flaws were covered and other features highlighted. The final product looked nothing life real life. That is what women compete with everyday. Only they forget or do not know those fashion magazines pictures are not real.
When the invitation came after the message I felt the Lord wanted women to minister to women. God moved in a very tender way. Women got up to go pray for other women. Women came to the altar in tears while other women knelt behind them in prayer.
I challenged all the women to say together, "I am a daughter of the King." That is how we ended the night. I know God moved in many women's hearts. One lady told me afterward that I needed to preach that message to our teenage girls. This is something I will prayerfully consider in the future.
We had another really good night but true revival has not come. We are scheduled to meet tomorrow night and if there is no true breakthrough and God does not lead us to continue our revival meetings will come to an end.
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