Last week we talked about 3 disempowering life and business beliefs
Remember that, sis?
As we stand at the beginning of a new year, I think it’s important that we discuss how to make it a success
If you’re anything like me, you’ve entered this year with a set of goals and things that you would like to achieve
Here are 4 lessons that we can learn from the widow in 2nd Kings 4:1-7 about how we can do that:
Last week, we talked about the fact that lack of faith decreases our capacity to succeed
Remember that, sis?
The most obvious way that lack of faith shows up is through unbelief or lack of faith in God
which, according to The Parable of the sower, usually happens because of “the cares of the world” (Matthew 13:22)
But another way that it shows up is through a lack of belief in ourselves
For example-
When the woman approached Elisha to appeal to him for (divine) help in her situation (2nd Kings 4:1-7), I don’t think that she expected to be the answer to her own question or the solution to her own problem
Why?
Because she came to him talking more about the problem than what she might have or be able to do to solve it
In fact, it was not until Elisha asked her what she had in her house, that she even took inventory of what she had at all (2nd Kings 4:1-2)
As soon as she did take stock of what she had (a jar of oil), this precipitated the action that she took to activate her miracle
i.e. borrowing vessels from her neighbours, filling them up and selling them to the point that she could pay off her debts and “live on the rest” with her sons (2nd Kings 4:3-7)
So often, as modern women, we do the same thing
Cue edge snatching moment…
Last week, we talked about how to increase our capacity to succeed and the vital role that faith plays in allowing us to do this
Because:
Faith increases our capacity to receive from God,
The bigger your life, business or visibility goals- the bigger your faith will need to be
If that’s true, it follows that lack of faith decreases our capacity to succeed.
The most obvious way that lack of faith shows up is through unbelief or lack of faith in God.
According to The Parable of the sower, this usually happens because of “the cares of the world” (Matthew 13:22).
For the widow in 2nd Kings 4:1-7, it would have been easy- even expected- for her to lose faith in God
I mean, not only had her husband died- he left her with huge debt and creditors ready to make her sons slaves if she was unable to pay it off!
But she didn’t…
When you hear the word “faith,” sis, what comes to mind?
Is it the many sayings and adages about it?
Like:
Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1)
Faith is the currency of heaven
Faith is the bridge between your current circumstances and your future
Whilst I don’t dispute them, there is another side to the nature of faith…
Not only does girls’ socialisation impact their ability to promote themselves and be visible, it can have negative repercussions for them when they do
For example according to The Harvard Business Review article, "Nice Girls Don’t Ask”:
“Women who assertively pursue their own ambitions and promote their own interests may be labelled as bitchy or pushy”
This means that “They frequently see their work devalued and find themselves ostracised or excluded…”
“More typically [these responses] are a product of society’s ingrained expectations about how women should act”
Meaning that women can be impacted by societal expectations and gender norms:
Internally (in terms of what they are taught to believe that they can be, do or have and therefore go towards)
Externally (in terms of what other people believe that they can be, do or have and are therefore give them access to)
The answer?
Through their video, “If Cinderella were a Guy,” Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo (of Rebelgirls.co) highlight the fact that women are impacted by misogyny as early as childhood
Which, to summarise a previous post, is because of:
A lack of representation of well-rounded female main characters in children's books and TV shows
Linear representations of main female characters (e.g. as damsels in need of rescue by men)
This then gives way to confidence issues by the time most girls reach primary or elementary school
(More so than boys)
Which manifests into issues such as imposter syndrome by the time that these girls become women
According to Cate Luzio’s Forbes article, “A Missing Factor in Women’s Leadership: Confidence“:
“The constant second guessing and self-reflection on what we [as women] can or cannot do and our fear of self-promotion has a significant impact on our ability to advance our careers”
She also adds that “although there are various factors missing in women’s leadership, [she] would argue that confidence is one of the most pressing”
One of the things that I love about Mahlah and her 4 sisters (Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah), though, is their show of confidence
For example
Last week we discussed how legalistic religious beliefs within the church can stop women from walking in their purpose and fully showing up
Click here if you missed that, sis
This is important because it plays into culture
(which is the behaviours and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic or age group)
especially in terms of how girls are socialised which, in turn, has knock-on effects on our ability to show up, be visible and therefore make impact as women
For, as one of my favourite authors, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche said:
“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller, we say to girls, ‘You can have ambition, but not too much.’ ‘You should aim to be successful, but not too successful…’”
which is why, according to research, women feel less at ease with promoting themselves than men- which in turn means that they're less likely to do it.
However…
Mahlah and her 4 sisters (Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah) teach us that the best way to overcome this is to:
In August 2017 I wrote an article called “Lessons from 5 Rebel Girls of the Bible”
Which you can access here, sis
Among those that got an honourable mention were Mahlah and her 4 sisters- Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah
To summarise Numbers 27:1-11, they were the daughters of Zelophehad and when he died they advocated for themselves regarding their inheritance
by standing
“before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: 'Our father died in the wilderness...and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers'"
Causing God to instruct Moses to give it to them
Like it literally says that, when Moses brought their case before the Lord, He spoke to him saying:
“The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them."
Which shows that God is an advocate of women's rights, equality and leadership- despite what we may have traditionally been taught
