I'm excited to share with you how Women of Grace came about and where it first began.
It is a story of Quiet Strength being worked through God's Wisdom, as He poured Himself into me.
In 1996 I began to seek a closer relationship with the Lord. I had been saved for many years, but I had no idea what it was to make Jesus Lord over my life, and I certainly had no idea of the power of the Holy Spirit. As I began to seek the Lord , a great desire to serve the Lord began to overwhelm me. I had such a heavy burden on my heart to be an instrument used by God. I was so drawn to read the Bible that I could not put it down. I would read and study at all hours of the day and night. I just couldn't get enough of God's Word.
The Lord began to give me [A Word] in my Spirit and as I would dwell and meditate on this word, I would read all scriptures pertaining to it, as the Holy Spirit led me through my Bible. I couldn't get enough of the Word and the pages came alive with such clear understanding.
Soon I began to have such a burden on my heart to share with other women what the Lord had given to me. The desire grew so great I thought I would just bust, but I had no direction. I didn't have any clear direction as to how, when or where I was to use or share what God had given to me. I believe with all my heart that God does place desires in our hearts for us to serve Him, but along with those desires, we must ask for [His wisdom and guidance] and wait [on His timing]. He gave me the vision of a board I was to construct showing the growth of a tree and then the studies came together. I found myself writing so fast, that I could hardly keep up.
The Lord led me through daily devotions of listing verses and thoughts under different headings and then He began to give me lessons and memory verses, which came together for twelve different lessons under Growing in Grace. A second series called [From Glory to Glory] came in the same manner over a span of four years. A third series called [At the Feet of Jesus] has just begun and in His time it will be written. Growing in Grace is learning to be rooted and grounded in Christ and to move on from our salvation, not forgetting, but growing and maturing in the depth of his love. It is amazing how these studies begin to reveal the rotten roots that have been planted in us and have gone undetected, until we are producing rotten fruit. They are true teachings of deliverance and freedom in Christ. From Glory to Glory is a Christian who is challenged to come up higher in their walk with the Lord, as they are used as a faithful servant for the Kingdom of God. At the Feet of Jesus will guide us through what it is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
As I devoted my time to study and prayer, God began doing a work in me. I was driven to complete these Bible studies and I had such an excitement to finish one and to move to the next. I never knew what the next one would be, but as I finished the one, it led into the next and just fell in place. None of the lessons were my great idea or plan. I had no earthly idea what I was doing. I had never taught before and the filling and leading of the Holy Spirit was something brand new to me.
About one third into Growing in Grace, Satan tried to take from me the word I believed I heard from God. He began to try to place doubt and fear in me. I also believe God used this time as a test, to see if I'd believe Him more than what was coming against my mind. Please hear this... We have to decide (it is our choice) if we are going to believe God and walk it out in faith. My flesh wanted to believe the lie that was coming against my mind. Fear was also trying to consume me, but I acted on and drew from what I knew way down deep and purposed in my heart. I chose to believe God.
For another six years the studies sat in a file. I still had no where to teach or share them, but the excitement was still there and I knew I had heard from the Lord.
I was given a vision of a board with a tree that showed the deep roots and how the roots were to be listed. There was also another root branching off the main root. That one was to be the rotten root, which every human is born with since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. One side of the tree was to have good fruit, labeled with their names and the other side, where the rotten root was, grew rotten fruit, labeled with their names. I'm sure many around me that knew me before, probably thought I had lost my mind. Here I am writing studies with no where to teach, and making boards that no one would see, and copying memory verses that no one would learn. A song had come to me during that time named [In His Time] and it became a confirmation to me that I must just wait upon the Lord, and so I did.
Ten years, a decade after the studies had been written, God opened a door and Women of Grace was born.
We have seen lives changed, friendships developed, deliverance from strongholds, and leaders raised up as God placed a call on their lives. What an exciting journey it is to surrender over to God's leading and walk in obedience and faithfulness. When you do, you can only hold on for the ride, as God's hand moves.
Now my excitement is ignited once again as the vision for reaching out beyond the walls of our study, to as many as can be reached, by the doors that have now opened through this website. To God be the Glory!
In Grace Alone... Sheila Davis ingracealone.com
Copyright 2007 Sheila Davis
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