Part Two: Woman, Get Up!

I laid there with my face resting on the ground. The earth beneath me softened from the waters that ran down the mountain. A cloud descended and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”

The cloud disappeared and the Son of God was sitting with me. He was the rock sent to support me. He stood up to face me and extended his hand.

 “Get up,” he said, “Do not be afraid.” (Mathew 17:5-7)

WHEN THE SON TELLS YOU TO GET UP

I wasn’t afraid, we knew each other well. I learned to trust Him before, I knew I could again. Yeshua knew why I had fallen—he watched me take the emotional beat downs. He was there when I was cut with sharp words, tripped by temptations, and made choices that stranded me in the desert. He grieved because His beloved had died inside. He came to bring me back to life.

More than anything, Yeshua wanted me healed and restored. I threw myself at his feet and began to cry. I wept for my inner-child, I wept for the woman I had become. I wept for my own children, and I wept for the women they would become. Yeshua heard the anxious thoughts trying to enter my head and I heard His thoughts push them out, “Don’t be afraid; only believe.” (Mark 5:36)

I did. I believed He came to restore everything the enemy had stolen from me and bring me back to life.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)

Yeshua took me by the hand and said, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” I turned away from the pain of my childhood and towards the One who remembered my adolescent rage. The One who called me to come forward when the sins of my parents kept thrusting me back. He began to break the generational curses off me.

The valley was lush and teeming with life. It was easy to get distracted. I wanted to explore every twist and bend, find new friends, and have new adventures. Sometimes I lost focus. But Yeshua was with me every step of the way, leading me, and filling me with His words. He wouldn't let me wander out too far and protected me from temptations that could lead me astray. He taught me how to walk with Him.

He guided me toward a stream of living waters. "Woman," He said, "Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst." Like the woman at the well, I couldn't wait to tell everyone about the man who knew everything I did. (Jn 4:1-42) 

I spent twelve years in the valley drinking from the Word of God.

He didn’t promise I would never fall again. Instead, He reminded me that He wouldn't leave me when I did. And I did fall, on several occasions—we all do. But with every fall came a lesson, with every Gospel revelation came a new season. The Word of God would extend his hand and say:

• Get up, little girl — He called me to break the generational curses in my family (Mark 5:42)

• Get up and come forward — He healed me so I could testify before others (Luke 6:8)

• Get up and pray — He woke me up to pray so I would not fall into temptation (Luke 22:46)

• Get up and walk — He made me well so that I could walk with Purpose (John 5:8)

• Get up, let’s go — He showed me by example how to obey the Father (John 14:31)

When the Son of God said, “Get up, let’s go,” I looked ahead past the valley, but I couldn’t see what was ahead. The mountains were too high, and the river was too deep. I followed Him anyway. "Woman," He said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

As we walked alongside the river together, I thanked Him for all that he had done to heal and restore me. He led me by the hand into the shallows, and let me go. Then He called me to go deeper. I walked out into the waters thinking about how my Father God freed me, and how the Son of God saved me. The older version of me went down under the water; a new creation rose up.

This would be one of many valleys in my life. I had to be careful not to forget where the Lord had brought me from. I prayed that I would remember how the Lord led me through the wilderness and that I would remain humble as I continued forward. I prayed that I would remain obedient to his teaching so that I could safely enjoy the good lands ahead of me. He brought me to a place with brooks and deep streams where I lacked nothing. I prayed He would help me to never forget. (Deuteronomy 8)

I lifted my face towards the radiance of the sun shining down on me. I appreciated the solid ground beneath me and the stability it provided. It was time for this renewed woman to start a new journey. Yeshua gently instructed me to continue seeking the Kingdom of God by the Power of the Holy Spirit. (John 3:5)

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God"

As my season in that valley came to an end, I thought about the young Concubine and Tamar, and I remembered how powerless they felt when they tried to escape the hands that reached up from the grave to steal, kill, and destroy them. I thought about all the women still stuck in their deserts.

The Concubine, from Bethlehem, lived in a land with no king; She inherited death. (Judges 19:1-28)

The daughter of King David, born in Bethlehem; She inherited a father that abandoned her. (2 Sam 13) God, through the Branch of David, brought the King of Kings out of Bethlehem—so that we may LIVE, because our Father never abandons us.

God sent us the Word of God, the One who gave us power, and made the grave powerless over us!

Through Him, we inherit a Kingdom. And He's sending us out to testify!

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)