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As unfortunate as it sounds, women suffer more in a world that subconsciously favors men. Yet, despite unfavorable circumstances, women universally outlive men. Reasons accounting for this remain unexplainable, but relevant tales have given the population great sources of hope and empowerment.
Such stories highlight the bravery and strength of women, but intricately woven into their narratives are statements of finding strength through faith.
In almost every story of women’s triumph, a significant portion is dedicated to God and His transformative will. The common statement revolves around how finding God helped them find their purpose, thus strengthening their will to continue and thrive through difficulties. Tales like these are a testament to how finding strength through faith is consequential in success in life.
A Story of Strength In Faith
In her book So You Want to Be A First Lady, author Tish Barnhardt depicts the harsh reality that women experience in the hands of an unfair world. It follows a First Lady as she navigates through the ups and downs of her position and relationship with a powerful yet often overbearing man.
The role of a first lady may be coveted and immensely valued by the eyes of most women, but the truth behind its luxury is something nobody would wish to experience.
Cruelty and suffering co-exist in the First Lady’s life, and although she’s forced to isolate and suffer in silence, she finds strength in faith to stand up against her perpetrator. Tish Barnhardt’s tale about finding strength through faith: women’s stories of hope shows a glimpse of the horrors women experience and how faith helps them find the resolve to stand up and leave.
It notes that it’s never easy for them to take that self-beneficial leap, but strengthening their faith reminds them how God values them. This emphasizes their worth, empowering them to escape the chains that tie them down in their suffering.
Women’s Stories of Finding Strength Through Faith
This story by Tish is a testament that strength isn’t something most people muster by themselves. Instead, they receive it when they surrender to God and His will. Just like the first lady in So You Want to Be a First Lady, numerous women have suffered and continue to suffer today.
If you’re interested in reading the story, grab a copy of So You Want to Be a First Lady now!
Yet, they’re granted the strength to overcome these obstacles by faith. Let’s take a look at some stories showcasing how a strong belief in God can help move mountains and overturn the strongest men.
Deborah
Even from Biblical times, the world has already been shown how finding strength through faith empowers women to overcome the impossible. Deborah is among the greatest testament to this.
Despite being a woman, often belittled because of her soft nature, Deborah was a military leader who led the Israelites against the Canaanites. Aside from the bravery sheathing herself from danger, she had her faith guiding her to achieving what could’ve only been expected from men back then. A fearless woman of God, Deborah was more than an influential military leader, she was also among the first symbols of what finding strength through faith could do in women.
Liz Hodnett
Liz is the first modern woman we’ll be featuring today. While Liz may live a normal life compared to Deborah, who leads an army, the problems she has lived through are of relative weight.
Liz Hodnett showed the power of finding strength through faith when she overcame severe challenges in life. From obesity to homelessness and unexpected motherhood despite abusive relationships, Liz lived a grim life. Like anybody else, she had also gone through a phase of hopelessness, but she found peace and power through her faith. In her story, she shares how, through God’s guidance, she realized her self-worth despite living in grave circumstances.
Her story doesn’t romanticize poverty. Instead, it reminds people to hang in there and believe that, through God’s mercy, better days will come.
Jennifer Slattery
Our next story is similar to Tish’s So You Want to Be a First Lady. Although Jennifer isn’t in a similar position as Tish’s protagonist, she suffered a similar path at the hands of her alcoholic husband.
Jennifer describes her life as having two separate sides: one, everything was happy, and the other was the exact opposite. She narrated how agonizing the latter side was, with her living in fear for not only her life but also her sons under the same roof as her drunkard husband. For 18 years, she was paralyzed by this fear. She only managed to break free upon finding guidance from God.
Through the support of friends and her church family, Jennifer found grace and freedom in God. She believed these were His way of helping her through her grim reality.
Fatima
In Nigeria, Fatima was a victim of an unimaginable incident. At 15, three of her father’s friends abducted and raped her. This caused her to carry a baby at such a young age. This event changed her life not only because of what it caused but primarily because of how traumatizing it was.
Anybody, especially at Fatima’s age, would’ve succumbed to the pain and horrors of what she experienced. However, Fatima found the strength to continue even stronger because of her faith and those who served under His name.
Like Fatima, Jennifer, and Liz, many suffering women find the strength to hold on to life because of their faith. Finding strength through faith has long been a catalyst of transformation for women and men all over the world.
Faith has not only served as a source of motivation to help. It has also as a lifeline for those struggling to overcome challenges in life.
