Coming from a diverse African culture, there are many traditions which some communities have upheld to date, not willing to let go. There are people who still practice FGM, wife inheritance, polygamy and women not being entitled to any inheritance.Most of them hardly go to school because such communities don’t advocate girl child education If you come from such communities you can attest, making it and being able to overcome the challenges, which tend to withhold you, takes a lot of boldness and resilience to rise above such standards. I have seen with my own naked eyes women being mistreated, disrespected and devalued just because of bogus traditions and lack of knowledge by most women, who embrace such cultures. Parents giving off their young daughter to early marriage, at the age of 10 in the name of fulfilling their customs. It’s purely ignorance, which is the most powerful enemy to mankind; such a girl should be in school and not a wife to a 50 year old man. This has caused a lot of anguish to young girls and they end up losing their innocence at a very young age. A mother at 10, forced in such an arrangement, with no proper knowledge of what marriage really is, ends up not knowing the real reason of getting married. Am using such illustrations to really get your attention, to where am going.
These situations happen to innocent people, who God created with a purpose but due to culture and lack of knowledge, most of them end up not fulfilling their God given purpose.
Their legacy is easily speculated as being born, getting married, having children and later on, they exit the world with great gifts still within them.My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.Because you have rejected knowledge Hosea 4:6a
Looking at Zelophehad’s daughters in Numbers. 26:33; Numbers. 27:1-7; Numbers. 36:1-12; 1 Chronicles. 7:15; Joshua. 17:1-6 they were such bold and confident ladies, despite of a barrier which represented itself as ‘gender’, did not stop them from asking for what was rightfully theirs. They refused to be confined by the limitations of their culture and they were not easily silenced. They were God-ordained troublemakers, who would soon make history. Women in Israel did not ask for rights. Yet the daughters of Zelophehad risked their reputation by approaching the leader of their nation and asking for something revolutionary. What is most remarkable is that Moses took their request seriously and sought God about it and God had a surprising reply:“‘The daughters of Zelophehad are right in their statements. You shall surely give them a hereditary possession among their father’s brothers, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them’” Numbers. 27:7
Addressing women coming from back grounds which don’t value women, it’s a high time you know God values you and He is not asleep in changing any situation. We as God’s daughters, must understand who we are, how our heavenly Father views us and what He has commissioned us to do for His kingdom. You may have been told that women have only second-class status in the church, or that your role is limited because of your gender. You may have even been told that women are less valuable to God, or less useful. But the Bible contradicts this view. Honey! Put a value on yourself and pursue what God has placed in your heart to do. Nothing should stop you as a daughter of the most high God.
You might be denied your earthly inheritance but nobody can take away your spiritual inheritance, which cannot be compared with the earthly inheritance.
It all begins with your mind; who do you want to be, what do you want to accomplish, where do you want to go and above all are you willing to share about God’s grace over your life? God is calling on women of faith to arise and claim land for Him. He is looking for women who have a giant-killing mentality. Women who can still work in the nursery or the kitchen (as can men, since all of us are called to be servants). But they can also disciple new believers, counsel the addicted, heal the sick, perform miracles, cast out devils, own and run successful businesses, feed the poor, hold a political office and transform nations for Christ. There is so much territory to be claimed. Don’t sit and wallow because of a barrier in your life which you found existing before you were born. If the daughters of Zelophehad conquered the barrier of gender, which disqualified them from inheritance, you too can also rise above any barrier you might be facing. Some of you have come from broken homes, others from communities with harsh rules towards women but knowing your real identity in Christ should make you overcome such barriers. Claim your portion as a daughter of the most high God today!!!!
How to break through barriers:-
1.Stop making excuses:
We use barriers as an escape clause for dealing with pain and discomfort. When it’s all said and done, it really doesn’t matter if we try several times or fail, we eventually learn how to walk into our breakthroughs. The worst you can do is give up.
2.Claim your strengths:
Narrow your focus on discovering your strengths and continue to develop them. Look for your strengths and try to capitalize on them and do not waste time trying to develop your weaknesses.
3.Have a will to move forward:
Barriers provide strong minds with a burning desire to fight back. How you handle your fears will ultimately determine where you go and what you do with your life. A desire to fight back keeps you in control. The key is to acknowledge your fear by confronting it face to face. This tactic robs fear of it’s power.
4.Develop a strong mind set:
Strong minds use the same strengths that made them successful in the past to get them through, tough times in the future.
5.Provide triumph in achievement:
Without obstacles, there is no greatness in your achievement. Barriers provide the struggle that makes the triumph worthwhile
6.Stretch Yourself
Every aspect of physical and emotional growth arrives outside of your comfort zone. Have the courage to move forward. Stretch yourself even if it means feeling uncomfortable. Barriers are things to push against to grow stronger
7.Embrace life:
Sometimes things must change so you can change. Sometimes mistakes must be made so wisdom can be earned. Sometimes rejecting barriers and obstacles is to reject life itself.
8.Refine your character:
Character development happens every day. much of our character is formed and developed without our awareness. By breaking through barriers with intention, we take more control of how our character develops and not let it be guided as much by our environment and the people around us.
9.Draw out strengths and qualities:
When you invest in yourself, you can never lose, and over time you will change the course of your life.Barriers draw out strength and qualities that would lay dormant , as a result you attain wisdom, and knowledge from of your experiences.
10.Develop a positive attitude:
People who maintain a positive attitude see the world as a place packed with endless opportunities, especially when breaking through barriers that threaten to keep their world small. The only difference between an obstacle and an opportunity is our attitude toward it
11.Build up your confidence:
Lack of confidence holds many people back, simply because they don’t think they’re ready. Opportunities and barriers are two sides of the same coin: they force us to stretch ourselves and our comfort zones, which means we may not always feel confident at first. Confidence is the difference between feeling unstoppable and being too scared to move forward.
Nobody has the right or ability to fully determine the capacity and potential you possess.God equipped you well for your assignment.
