Women’s Day

By: Claudene Sebolai

Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the Lord]; for your light has come, And the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you. For in fact, darkness will cover the earth. And deep darkness will cover the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you [Jerusalem]. And His glory and brilliance will be seen on you. Isaiah 60:1-2 (Amplified)

The verb “step up” implies action. The dictionary definition for “step up” means to increase something, to come forward, to improve one’s performance or to take on more responsibility. In other words, one cannot “step up” whilst remaining inactive or unproductive.

In Isaiah 60, God is presenting Israel with a challenge to step up. The prophecy opens up with a very powerful word “arise”. In my own words, this one word is a call to wake up, stand up and step up! Waking up in this context refers to the realization that your present situation; be it physically, emotionally, mentally, psychologically, financially etc., is no longer satisfactory. In other words, you cannot accept that where you are now is all there is to life. Waking up creates a hunger for standing up. You cannot step up unless you stand up from an unacceptable present.

ARISE [FROM SPIRITUAL DEPRESSION TO A NEW LIFE], SHINE [BE RADIANT WITH THE GLORY AND BRILLIANCE OF THE LORD]; FOR YOUR LIGHT HAS COME, AND THE GLORY AND BRILLIANCE OF THE LORD HAS RISEN UPON YOU.

When God calls us to “arise” it is always to a better version of ourselves, to a place that is larger than what we used to, to a dimension that is deeper than our mind can comprehend. It is a call to wake up to our true existence; our God given potential. Even when you feel that your situation is hopeless, dead and dry. He is the same God that commissioned Ezekiel the prophet to prophesy to a valley of dry bones and speak life to what was once dead and dry (Ezekiel 37). When Ezekiel prophesied in obedience to God’s word, the very dry bones became a vast army. If dry bones could respond to God’s call to step up, how much more should we? Arise!

I too, at one point in my life felt like all hope was gone. I could not imagine a life better than the one I was living. I was living in extreme poverty; unemployed, and eventually resorted to alcohol and drug abuse. Before the age of 21 I felt like life was literally sucked out of me. BUT GOD CALLED ME TO ARISE! Encountering Jesus woke me up to new possibilities. He called me to arise out of my situation, and it required me to stand up from where I was. I had to stand up from a victim mentality, and step up to what God had created me to be. When I decided to step up everything about me stepped up with me. My vocabulary stepped up, my mentality stepped up, my vision for the future stepped up, my finances stepped up, my creativity and productivity stepped up. My territory was enlarged, my sphere of influence increased and my quality of association expanded. Arise!

Would you answer the call of God to “arise?” Arise from the ashes of

disappointment; arise from the pain of the past; arise from the fear of rejection; arise from the prisons of oppression; arise from depression and suicide ideation; arise from inactivity and unproductivity; arise from dry and lonely places! Life will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it! Life may defeat you, burn you, insult you, injure you, abandon you, reject you, disappoint you and betray you… but it shall not and cannot destroy you! Why? Because the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in you! Tap into that power and step up; rise again as Jesus rose again! Determine in your mind to wake up to who you truly are; stand up from where you currently are and step up to where God is calling you to. You are strong and fierce and full of fire. ARISE!

Happy women’s day Queens.

RUNNING RAMPANT DURING LOCKDOWN

“It is crucial for pastors and governments to intensify their efforts as they call into account the perpetrators of gender based violence”. By Elizabeth Petersen

A recent newspaper article revealed a dramatic increase of between 500 -1000 gender based violence calls per day to the crisis line during the Covid19 Lockdown in SA. What we are seeing during this particular time of crisis is the tip of the iceberg as most women who find themselves in abusive intimate relationships are usually confined and closely monitored by their abusive partners. For women of Faith it is even more difficult because of certain teachings in the church that prohibits her from seeking help outside of her faith community. This exacerbates her confinement. It is important to note that while Covid19 Lockdown is necessary to curb the spread of the pandemic, it intensifies the personal crisis for women and their families who are living with their abusers. Going to

church and participating in church activities often serve as a very important coping mechanism for women of faith in abusive relationships. During Covid19 Lockdown this option is not available to her.

While offering assistance to women who are victimized during this time, it is absolutely crucial for pastors and governments to intensify their efforts as they call men to account for the violence and oppressive behaviour that they exert on women and their families. We must be careful about blaming men’s violence and oppression of women on Covid19 Lockdown. Faith leaders must use this time to reach out to individuals and families who are vulnerable to and afflicted by GBV. Check in with the perpetrator and hold him accountable. This is a great time for men who struggle with abusive behaviour

and oppressive tendencies to reach out to GBV counselling services. We must recognize that these men are very capable of implementing any strategy that they put their minds and hearts to. Too often the church has been making excuses for the men and the church neglected to be salt and light to abusive men. Too often the church has offered quick forgiveness in the hope that the problem will disappear. Unfortunately the problem of intimate partner abuse does not just disappear. It travels with the abuser from one relationship to another until such time that it is confronted and dealt with. It does not matter how much the woman submit or respect her abusive husband, he will find something to justify why he punishes her. In many instances there is no physical violence but intense emotional, sexual, financial

and spiritual trauma that women of faith experience in their intimate relationships.

The Bible is clear in John 10:10 where Jesus said that “the thief came to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Pastors are encouraged to strengthen their pastoral care capabilities by acquainting themselves and their ministry team leaders with the much needed knowledge about interventions with men who abuse their intimate partners. It is important for pastors and counsellors to understand that there is a fundamental difference between a marital problem and intimate partner abuse. It can be extremely dangerous to apply couple counselling without understanding this this fundamental difference.

SAFFI (South African Faith and Family Institute) offers various opportunities for training and technical support to faith leaders and churches to make their places of worship true sanctuaries of hope and healing to individuals and families who are confronted with intimate partner abuse. We assist pastors / faith leaders and churches to critically reflect on their existing intervention policies, procedures and approaches to intimate partner abuse situations; and we help them develop denomination specific resources to assist the people in their respective congregations. We also assist by reviewing how churches address clergy sexual misconduct and we assist by ensuring that proper procedures are followed to get help for the clergy person and everyone that is affected by the situation. For more information on SAFFI you can reach us on our Facebook page or website, www.saffi.org.za

“THE BIBLE IS CLEAR IN JOHN 10:10 WHERE JESUS SAID THAT “THE THIEF CAME TO STEAL, AND TO KILL AND TO DESTROY. I HAVE COME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE, AND THAT THEY MAY HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY.”

FINDING CHRIST AGAIN!

Jade Wyngaardt’s story, written by Chevãn Van Rooi

In June of 2016, I was diagnosed with grade 3 breast cancer in my left breast. I was 27 years old at the time and had two children. The diagnosis came at the time I had started a business, and was doing well. However, I was far from God, I had turned away from Jesus Christ.

SUPPORT SYSTEM

As with any difficult time that that we may go through in our lives, having a good support system is important. Since my diagnosis until this very day, my husband, George, has been my greatest support. And even though I had turned my back on God, my brothers and sisters in Christ at Faith Mission of Prophecy in Mitchells Plain didn’t turn their backs on me. I was energised by their unwavering faith and support extended to me. I knew I was not alone.

THE TEST

The Friday before I was admitted to hospital for my mastectomy I wasn’t feeling well. I decided to take a pregnancy test. The result turned out to be positive. Now I was pregnant and had breast cancer, a hormone-sensitive cancer. I had to disclose this information to my doctors. They informed me that the pregnancy had serious implications on my then-current-treatment plan. So I signed a termination of pregnancy, without my husband or church’s input or knowledge. George was devastated when he had found out what I had decided upon. He wasn’t happywith losing a family member, but I made the decision based on the doctors’ reports and the fact that we already had two children, young children who needed me to live.

THE PLAN

With the input of my doctors, I had a very militant plan of action to tackle my plight: doctors were to remove the left cancerous breast, then an elective right breast removal, as well as the termination of the pregnancy, followed by the reconstruction process.

On the day of my surgery there was a delay. There was another cancer patient who needed more urgent surgery. As a result, my militant strategy was deemed incompatible with God’s plan. It turned out that I could have only my left breast removed, along with the cancer that had spread to the left armpit –no elective right breast removal, no abortion, not then at least. I was to go to Groote Schuur’s abortion clinic the Tuesday following my operation.

At the abortion clinic, I was sitting in the corridor, waiting. At the same time I was battling with God. I even hoped that there would be no heartbeat. A large part of me didn’t want to go through with the abortion, I began to feel what my husband was feeling all along. When I got into the doctor’s room, she did the dating scan, standard procedure.

Unlike in usually termination situations, the doctor asked me if I wanted to know anything about my pregnancy. I said yes. Despite the cancer treatment, there were healthy heartbeats, and no deformities. Yes, I was pregnant with twins. Immediately, I decided against the abortion.

I left the clinic and went home to give my husband the good news. He jumped up out of bed, out of his mourning state. He was overjoyed and shouted “I knew it!” –he had a dream that he hadn’t disclosed to me.

Because of a list of speculated risks, the doctors weren’t happy with my decision to not terminate. However, I chose to fight for my babies. A new oncologist joined the team of experts and reported then-new findings, that it was possible to be pregnant and undergo chemotherapy without bringing harm to the babies.

Today I can boast in the Lord Jesus Christ, closer to Him than before, I am cancer free and delivered two healthy twin babies, our miracle twins. I’m a mother of four beautiful children. Indeed God’s gift of infinite and relentless love, and grace carried us through. He is our Keeper.