I Am Calling My Women Out of the Caves by Paulette Reed - Identity Network

I Am Calling My Women Out of the Caves

Paulette Reed

Identity Network

The Women 

Recently, one morning, I heard Holy Spirit say to me, "I am calling My women out of the caves." As I prayed into this word from heaven, the Lord showed me hundreds of women hiding in caves because of fear, failure, or fatigue. I then saw the women running from the caves with good news. It was clear that many had overextended their season in the caves and what was intended to be their secret place had become their hiding place. Today, God is calling you out of hiddenness and to the frontlines.

In the New Testament we find that Jesus had a group of female disciples who followed Him, whom Luke called "the women" (Luke 23:55; Acts 1:14). And since Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then of course female disciples are still following their Savior wherever He leads. As God releases the great company of women commanded to share the good news in Psalm 68:11, we will see thousands more following Christ out of love, adoration, and devotion to Him. Women are being released to step into a new boldness in the Lord.

Run for Your Life

A couple memorable cave experiences can be found in the book of 1 Kings. Remember that the murderess Jezebel was going to have the prophet Elijah killed but God provided protection and provision, as He still does for His people today. First Kings 18:4 says, "For when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water."

Unfortunately, the spirit of Jezebel is still active in the earth today. The body of Christ made great strides in overcoming this spirit several years ago; however, as we have relaxed following the victory, and as an Elijah company is arising, we are seeing this spirit frequently raise its ugly head once again. As we live out Acts 2:17, God pouring out His Spirit on all people, and as we prophesy, let's stay alert and remember that this spirit is out to kill the prophetic. We are never to tolerate it (Revelation 2:20).

Go!

One of the reasons that many women are in caves is because of hurts and rejections they have experienced throughout life. I can't even begin to count how many people have shared their stories of hurt and pain with me and while they were wounded many inadvertently made ungodly covenants as they ran into caves. The confession usually goes something like this: "I'm so hurt. I'm just going to love the Lord and worship Him in my secret place because I sure struggle with His people right now."

I do understand that hiding in a cave can make a person feel safe, but in actuality it's a false security and it does not line up with the Word of God. In the Great Commission we are commanded to go into the whole world, and 1 John 4:20 says that we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ: "If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." So, beloved, we must love our brothers and sisters as we go and serve Christ in them.

Let's rejoice in the fact that there is always a genuine safe place for all believers - it's in the shadow of the Almighty's wings. This true security is a supernatural act of protection, not an excuse to hide. We must learn to love and serve the bride of Christ even with all of her spots and wrinkles, for our gifts are not to be hidden for ourselves but they are to be given away to others. Come out, come out, wherever you are!

Developed in the Dark Room

It's wonderful to know that the character of Christ can be formed in us, even if we're in a cave season. We can learn a lot if we remain teachable and determined to become better and not bitter:

• We learn to stay in the safe place after slaying giants (1 Samuel 24:3).
• We learn to love (1 Samuel 24:10).
• We learn not to touch God's anointed (1 Samuel 24:10).
• We learn mercy and forgiveness (1 Samuel 24:10).
• We learn of the Lord's provision (1 Kings 18:4).
• We learn when to cry aloud to the Lord (Psalm 57:1).
• We learn that miracles can be birthed in caves (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:1-7).
• We learn humility (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:1-7).
• We learn to delight in hiddenness and live to glorify God (Isaiah 43:7).
• We learn to hear the Lord's still small voice (1 Kings 19:9-12).
• We learn there is a season to all things (1 Kings 19:13).
• 
  

What Are You Doing Here?

As the Lord releases a great company of women throughout the earth, let's take a look at 1 Kings 19:13-16 (NLT) to see what happened to Elijah as he was hiding in the cave. God asked Elijah a question as he stood at the mouth of the cave: 

The Lord said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  He replied again, "I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too." Then the LORD told him, "Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. Then anoint Jehu grandson of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet.

In unpacking these Scriptures, it's great to see that God didn't lose track of His elusive servant, though Elijah had been hiding in a cave for quite some time. God had been watching over him and supernaturally ministering to his needs. But the cave season was coming to an end. Elijah had been resting, giving time to get his heart and soul right, so that he could continue on in his destiny and now God calls him back to the mountain to take a stand.

His heart must have been pierced by such a searching question from the Almighty: "What are you doing here?" I believe the Lord is asking many of us that same piercing question today: "What are you doing here?" Or perhaps we need to ask ourselves, "Am I in the right place?" Are you sensing a nudge from the Lord that's making you uncomfortable? If so, let's remember that the Lord often comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. Our faith, spiritual gifts, and Christlike character grow by being stretched, not by lying dormant in a cave.

And then,  in the solitude of Mount Sinai, perhaps at the same "cleft of the rock" that Moses hid in thousands of years before as God's glory passed by (Exodus 33:22), God showed up to give direction to His prophetic servant. It is amazing that God told Elijah to go back on the same road and along the same path that led him to the cave. Oh, how different this trip would be! Elijah was no longer fatigued or frightened by Jezebel; rather, he left the cave anointed by God and ready to be a heavenly force to be reckoned with. I hear the Lord saying, "Go! Get your eyes off of yourself. Here are your new marching orders; love, serve, anoint, appoint, and raise up successors."

Exchanging Grave Clothes for Bridal Armor

John 11:44-45 tells us of the raising of Lazarus from the dead: "The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go.' Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him."

This is a season where God is exchanging your grave clothes for the armor of God.  I declare to you today. "Come forth now, with boldness, with purity of devotion and passion after God. Exchange the grave clothes that held you in bondage for pure, white linens, the righteous acts of God's holy people, and declare the good news of the kingdom of God so that many will believe in Him!"

Just think what would have happened if Jesus had stayed in the cave. Thank goodness He arose from the dead and walked out of the tomb in resurrection power. In Romans 8:11 the apostle Paul makes it clear that the Holy Spirit, the agent of Jesus's resurrection, lives within every believer: "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." I speak life to dreams, marriages, businesses and families today. Come forth! You shall live and not die!

Psalm 57:1 is a beautiful tribute regarding David as he fled from Saul and hid in the cave, and it's valid for you and me today: "Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by." Destruction has passed you by, beloved, and you are commanded to arise and shine. The Lord has softened your heart and given you a breastplate of righteousness. You're a radiant bride, soft on the inside and tough as nails on the outside. A heavenly, royal wedding gown covers the armor as you march in the great army of women. God is calling His women out of the caves.

Paulette Reed

www.propheticarrow.org

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What We've Gotten Wrong About Women in Ministry

CHARLOTTE GAMBILL, charismamagazine

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God made women to fit, so why do so many see them as a misfit for ministry? (istockphoto.com/airportrait )

Recently I sat watching as my young son's frustration grew. When I went over to see what the problem was, Noah was trying to put a puzzle together and battling a particular piece he could not get to fit. It seemed to belong, but he couldn’t find its place. He was about to disregard the piece as a misfit, so I gently told him, “Try again, Noah, only this time turn it around.”

Within seconds, it clicked into place. What had seemed useless became useful. The piece had always had a place; it just needed turning around.  

As a woman in ministry, I have often felt the role of women can present the same dilemmas this puzzle piece presented my son. The church around the world has had a jarring response to this issue. Some have viewed the "women piece" as a misfit, while others keep turning this topic around in discussion and thought, trying to find where it fits.  

God didn’t create Eve as a random piece. He made her to fit Adam both naturally and spiritually; they were a perfect fit. They were called to rule and tend the garden together. Eve was called to be Adam’s helpmate, his partner:

“Male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Gen. 1:27-28).

God knew it required them both to make this picture complete. He wanted Adam’s strengths to fit with Eve’s and for them to be used across the whole garden. He didn’t ask Adam to divide the garden into sections, so as to contain Eve’s influence as a woman. He didn’t separate all the female animals for Eve to feed and nurture so her authority would be gender-specific. God created a power team and entrusted them both to outwork that empowerment together.

So why is it still so awkward in some places to allow both men and women to function together in this way? Why do we divide what God united so beautifully?

For years I have led in my local church alongside incredibly gifted men. I have not seen them as my competition nor my enemy. I have seen them as I believe God wants me to see them: as gifted leaders I am called to lead alongside. My husband and I have found our fit in our home, and we don’t feel we have to change that in God’s home, where we also pastor, teach, train, preach and lead the house together. The house we are building has the voice of a mom and a dad. I don’t just speak on Mother's Day or at women’s events. I speak to our house, to the men and the women, to the young and the old.

Though it has not always been this way.

My personal journey as a woman in ministry has been to experience the diverse and sometimes dysfunctional ways this "piece" has been handled. I grew up with a huge passion for God’s house and from the age of 14 was dedicated to playing my part to the full. The only problem was that at that time, the church I was a part of saw women in ministry as a misfitting piece. I remember being told I could speak to women about women’s issues but not to the church. I was required to wear a head covering if I was going to speak to the wider body, and while I submitted to my leadership at the time, I was left feeling like a burden when all I wanted to be was a blessing.

My desire as a woman was to help, not hinder, and therefore I had to persevere to keep trying to play my part even when I was told my part was not that necessary. Over time, the church I belonged to changed, and as it adapted, my "piece" became more accepted.  

Today I have the privilege to speak and teach across the globe, and as a woman I can see the church embracing more this piece of the picture—yet we still have work to do. We have to ask, Why are we trying to make fit what God has already perfectly made to fit? My prayer is that the church across the globe will harness the power of women and let it add color, depth, insight and beauty to every aspect of God’s house. 

I pray that where the issue of women in leadership has become overcomplicated, we will be willing to "turn the piece around" like my son did, see it differently, and discover the wonderful fit God created each of us to be. God did not make any misfits; there is place for us all. My simple prayer is that every piece will take its place so we can get this picture finished, complete in all its beauty, just as our Creator intended. 

Charlotte Gambill is an international speaker and author best known for her practical and passionate application of God’s Word. She is the author of Turnaround God and will be touring with Natalie Grant on the Dare to Be Tour in 2014. Her messages of life and purpose are rallying a generation to embrace the broken and become ambassadors of hope. Charlotte and her husband, Steve, lead Life Church in England. They have two children, Hope Cherish and Noah Brave.