Being a Woman - Who is Spirit Filled

We were chatting about how tough Christian life can be at times. Girl’s Nights had been very insightful for all of us but the challenges have also made life a bit difficult at times. Tamara looked across the table at me thoughtfully and said with a pained expression on her face,

“So you are saying that it doesn’t get any easier? Why does everything seem so hard all the time? I thought becoming a Christian would make things better but I still have this weight on me. No matter how hard I try and no matter what I do, it just won’t go away.”

She looked around the table at us girls with what I perceived to be the question,

“You’ve got to be joking! I can’t possibly endure any more than I already am!”

I sensed her desperation and I knew that she had been working really hard on all the challenges that have come her way since she had become a Christian. I have never know anyone to be so passionate about doing things God’s way and every time she had learned something about God’s way I saw her apply it whole heartedly to her life. Her passion for Jesus was undeniable but so was her frustration with life struggles this particular evening. 

It was then that we ditched the Girl’s Nights notes for the evening and got chatting about the Holy Spirit. You see, without the Holy Spirit helping us, everything will seem like hard work. Even trying to work through all the suggestions in this book will leave you breathless and make you feel defeated if you are trying to do it alone. Do you feel like that right now? Do you feel like you are trying your best with your life but that nothing ever seems to be good enough? Do you feel like you can’t go on? Well that is how Tamara felt too on this particular Girl’s Night. Here is what she said,

“I feel emotionally exhausted with life's struggles. From finance and debt to insecurity and addictions. This leaves me tired - making my daily tasks so difficult. I feel like I am constantly in battle with myself. It feels like I have an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. Why does the devil not leave me alone? I was under the perception that if I became a Christian life would get easier... It seems so much harder and I just want to be free.”

After having a little chat, I mentioned to the girls that we were not designed to do life alone. When Jesus went to heaven, He asked God to sent His Holy Spirit to help us. The Holy Spirit give us loads of gifts which help us to lead a much better life. Having the Holy Spirit in us also means that He will bear much fruit in and through us. The Holy Spirit also teaches us all things and helps us in our weaknesses . We went on to discuss that unless we are filled with the Holy Spirit and rely on Him for help, everything that life throws at us will feel very difficult. 

After discussing the gifts and fruit of the spirit we went on to discuss the power of speaking in tongues. This is often an evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit and it is a fantastic power that God has given us. When we pray in tongues, we are praying the perfect will of God for our lives , which is incredible if you think about it. When we pray in tongues, we edify ourselves, which means that we build ourselves up. This word edify comes from the Greek word oikodomeō which means to be a house builder, that is, construct or (figuratively) confirm. Therefore, if you think about it, when we pray in tongues we are actually building ourselves, making ourselves stronger so that we can face whatever we need to face. 

Speaking in tongues is an incredible gift from God and I can’t imagine doing life without using this gift. The other gifts are equally important too but to speak in tongues is something really special in my opinion. And so as we chatted it became obvious that we needed to pray for all the girls at Girl’s Night to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to speak in tongues. It was a precious evening together as the Holy Spirit came and filled us and refreshed us. What started out as a night filled with dread as some of the girls realised that life wasn’t going to get any easier, turned into a night of extreme joy and celebration. Tamara found the strength she needed to carry on with her Christian journey and this time it wasn’t her own strength but it was the power of the Holy Spirit that had come to live inside of her. This is how Tamara described her experience,

“While we were praying for the Holy Spirit to fill us all my thoughts disappeared and I was filled with a warm feeling inside. I felt so peaceful. I had never felt so peaceful in all my life. My tongue started moving and I wanted to say things that made no sense at all. Even though it didn’t make sense I allowed them to come out. I could have sat there for hours.

We continued to pray and the energy in the kitchen where we were meeting was out of this world. I felt so blessed and honoured that God was so close to me. He was speaking to me. God is so amazing and He was speaking to a dirty sinner like me. I felt truly blessed for the first time in my life.

On my drive home I felt so alive and happy. I told myself that I wanted this feeling to last forever. I was addicted to the Holy Spirit and just wanted more.”

Tamara’s story is so beautiful. She came to Girl’s Night heavy with the burdens of life and left free and full of the Holy Spirit.

Girls, please don’t try and do it alone! The Holy Spirit is a precious gift from heaven that was sent for us so that we could lead a great life. These notes are guidelines to help you on your way but without the Holy Spirit they are quite meaningless. God did not design us to try to be good girls, He designed us to be Daddy’s girls. The more we rely on our Daddy in heaven, the more we trust Him and the more we rely on His Holy Spirit, they happier we will be in this life here on earth.

The Being a Woman book and worksheets are available here.