I cleaned up, chatting with the ladies who stayed to help, and all of us had the same excitement, the same urgency: more women needed to hear this message. The message that they matter. That each and every one of us has a marked thing before us to do. Now. Not five years from now. Each of us has a race to run. So we need to
"lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2).
We need not compare ourselves to others or others' callings, but simply do that which we were given to do: chase toddlers, be the head of a company, type 90 wpm, save lives, deliver babies, start non-profits, carpool our teens, love our neighbor...the list goes on and on because the key to it all is this: "fix your eyes on Jesus." Repent and believe.
What is IF? It's a question I got a year ago and a question I am still getting today. IF isn't about numbers or speaker lists. It is about Jesus. It is about making much of Him. Their first year they succeeded in hosting their conference world-wide through IF:Locals practically seamlessly because their heart's desire was for women to hear what God had to say to them: Repent and believe.
So all I can do to answer this question: What is IF? is to answer this one: What has IF meant to me?
I found out about IF through an acquaintance I met in Alaska in September of 2013. I was following her on social media and she was in Austin one weekend as a leader learning about something that was coming in February: the IF:Gathering. I didn't know much more than you. All I knew was that they were asking women to ask this question: IF God is real, then what? What does it matter? How does it shape and change our lives if God is really real and really who He says He is? They were there to bring women together to engage in the conversation of faith. I was hooked. I started following them, gaining as much information as I could. Their gathering in Austin sold out in record time. They opened it up to streaming locally and I knew that I knew that I was supposed to host an IF:Local, even if I was the only one watching.
As the Lord would have it, I wasn't alone. There were a handful of us sitting, eating, listening, discussing. This is the impact IF had on me in 2014. We were invited just as we were. Perfection was not necessary. Hungry, broken, I sat and listened. I heard that God does not base your future on your past. He is redeeming, renewing, reshaping each of us every day. I heard women talk about our call to be obedient, to believe God's word and encourage one another, to not shrink back, but allow healing to move us forward to heal and free others. Serving God isn't about to-do lists or a "hero complex," but is all about Jesus. "What we do is the natural consequence of the divine company we keep." (paraphrase of Sarah Bessey). I was encouraged to listen to truth and bind the lies in His name. I was challenged to consider what was right before me to be done faithfully. I wasn't needing to look overseas, necessarily, or in need of a book deal or thousands of followers or finding anything that would necessarily uproot my life, but I was needing to consider what passions were stirring right there, right then. I was reminded to affirm others and allow myself to be affirmed. I was challenged to say "Yes" first and then listen, be surrendered to my King and commit myself to the glory of God.
I could type and type and type and talk and talk and talk about everything the Lord showed me through the IF:Gathering in 2014, and has shown me through IF:Table and IF:Equip since, but this post is already crazy long. I was being set free from the bondage I had wrapped myself up in. I have a voice. I can use it to magnify Him at home, in the church, with friends, family, strangers. God was reawakening my heart and He used His vessels at IF to continue that reawakening.
But what about IF 2015? Why should you go? One word. Believe. We are studying the life of Joshua this year with these as the session themes: We have a call to believe. Why don't we believe? How do we believe? What could happen if we believe?
IF you believe God, then what?
Whether you are sold out for Christ, actively serving Him every day, or struggling each moment to keep faith in Him, or asking if you have ever truly believed or want to believe, then there is a seat for you to sit under the teaching of wise women who have fought the fight, are running their race, and who are ready and open to hear from the Lord and share His truth with you. Be challenged, encouraged, inspired. Rest in the presence of God and be reminded that He delights in YOU.
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| This beautiful print by Jenn Sparkle is available through the IF:Gathering Shoppe. |
"Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her." Luke 1:45
Yesterday this theme verse from IF 2015 sat on my desk staring at me as I failed and failed and failed again with my daughter. I asked over and over "and what might those promises be, God?" This morning I read Psalm 107:9 "For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul He has filled with what is good." Yesterday I read Psalm 92:14a "They will still yield fruit in old age" which means more to me today in light of yesterday than it did in the thick of yesterday. He has promised to bring fruit through me and satisfy and fill me if I remain faithful and righteous in His calling. Moment to moment may feel empty and tired, but His promises are to fill and use me.
I am excited to hear more from the Lord in the days and weeks to come. On February 6 & 7 I am excited to hear from Him through speakers and worship directed by His Spirit challenging me to ask what could happen if I truly believed in God's promises for me. But more than anything, I am excited to live 2015 fully believing God's promises to me. Join me?
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