Gwendolyn Harmon's Blog: Learning Ladyhood, page 19

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Recently, I heard someone quote Esther’s famous statement, “if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16) and was struck afresh by Esther’s readiness to die in the cause of her people’s survival. But I was also struck by something else: we all hope to be able to rise to the occasion and willingly put our own lives at risk, but what about when it isn’t a time of life-or-death crisis or dire need?

The truth is, we may never be called to lay down our lives to prevent genocide or even to save the life of ano...

Follow Christ

“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24

Perhaps you’ve read this verse and wondered, as I have; “So, what does it really mean to follow Christ?”

As this verse indicates, self-denial and unconditional acceptance of the will of God are crucial aspects to following Christ, but they seem here to pave the way for the actual act of following. Thus the question remains, what does it mean to follow Christ? The answer is found in the next ...

Take up Your Cross

Last Saturday, I was reading through the last chapters of John, when I was brought to a halt at the beginning of chapter 13. The description of Christ’s response to the awareness of His coming death struck me, and I had to go back and read the verses again.

None of us truly knows when we will die, or what suffering we may endure beforehand, and yet, we know that death will indeed come, and that it may come with suffering. What can we learn from Christ’s response? After all,

“Christ also suffered...

Deny Yourself

Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24

It’s that time of year again. The cold and rain of winter have begun to give way (at least periodically) to the bright, warm rays of spring-almost-turned-summer, the birds once again fill the air with their symphony of chirps and trills, and bright new flowers and leaves have burst out of their winter dormancy. As much as I love the rain, the sporadic appea...

Our Eternal God

As a Bible college student, one of the most valuable classes I took was Basic Theology. We read through Charles Ryrie’s book of the same name, looking systematically at each doctrinal topic and thinking through the Scriptural basis of each, pondering the practical effects of the truths presented.

Perhaps the most encouraging and convicting part of that class was the study of God’s attributes. Now, all these years later, I find myself very often using the truths of who God is and how He is to hel...

Wait and See

When I began writing in earnest as a 28-year-old, reveling in the freedom of having *finally* finished college, I did so with the understanding that God wanted me to be an open book. I knew then that everything God taught me, every truth I struggled to embrace and live out, all of it was to be writing material. So, here I am, writing—about a cardboard box.

It isn’t a box you would find very remarkable. It’s plain, brown, and rectangular, with a shipping label plastered across one of the broader ...

When God Says No

“No” is a word we do not like to hear, especially from God. Whether through Scripture itself, a closed door, Biblical counsel from a godly friend or even just the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, every Christian will at some point receive a “no” in response to a specific prayer.

Amy Carmichael’s first experience with prayer as a child resulted in a no. Through it, she learned a valuable lesson. As she wrestled with the question “does prayer even work?” the Lord impressed another question upo...

Strength from Sitting Still

It always hits me in the middle of a busy week. I groggily roll over to turn off yet another alarm and drag myself awake, recognizing a familiar feeling. Whether from a cold, allergies, or just the weather, my face feels as if it may explode any moment. Once again, the fatal combination of not enough water, not enough sleep, and too much coffee have struck. Reaching for the ibuprofen bottle, I wonder, Why now, Lord? You know all the things I need to do this week.

One of the things I hate the mos...

Strength from Stillness

It always hits me in the middle of a busy week. I groggily roll over to turn off yet another alarm and drag myself awake, recognizing a familiar feeling. Whether from a cold, allergies, or just the weather, my face feels as if it may explode any moment. Once again, the fatal combination of not enough water, not enough sleep, and too much coffee have struck. Reaching for the ibuprofen bottle, I wonder, Why now, Lord? You know all the things I need to do this week.

One of the things I hate the mos...

Old Wounds, New Growth

Almost a year and a half ago, an ice storm hit my area. The power was out in our neighborhood for days, and some of our near neighbors went without power for over a week. Worse than that, as the ice began to melt, large branches and entire trees began to splinter and fall, causing damage to fences, cars, and homes across the area.

Our own house had a near miss as the top of one of our cedars broke off, falling towards our house. God mercifully spared us: a branch from another tree “happened” to ...