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Feeling the pressure? Pastor Sheryl Brady encourages
women on the front line
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Article By Pastor Sheryl Brady// Special to EEW Magazine
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Posted December 21, 2017
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Pastor Sheryl Brady (Credit: Sheryl Brady Ministries)
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In 1966, the legendary singer James Brown released one of his most well known songs titled “It’
s a Man’s World.” At the time of its release and for many years to come, his words were indeed
true of the American society at large. Men have predominately been the front-runners for
decades—holding the top jobs and grossing the highest salaries compared to women.
But, as many of you who are reading this can attest to, times have certainly changed.
Women are now finding themselves in the roles that their husbands occupied for so long as
primary breadwinners and are doing so with the added pressures that naturally come with
being the woman of the house. These are definitely trying times that we are in that require a
new breed of women to handle them.
Being a woman is not for the faint of heart. If there was ever a need for a unified front with our
fellow sisters, that time is now. If you’ve found yourself at the front of the line in your family,
you may be asking yourself, ”So what’s a girl to do?”
I’m glad you asked.
You Were Built to Handle Pressure
The first thing you have to realize as a woman is that you were built to be able to handle this
kind of pressure. Psalms 103:14 says “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are
dust.” Any time I am in a place that feels that I cannot go any further, I remember that God
knows my frame. The Creator of the universe knows every detail about you. He knows how
you process stress, what makes you tick and what makes you want to ‘flip out’. Regardless of
how difficult your life is right now, God himself knows what you are capable of handling. Rest in
the fact that a loving God, who knows us so well, could never place more on us than we are
able to bear.
Embrace Where You Are
Secondly, learn to embrace where you are with an open mind and an open heart. I’ve learned
so many times in my life that if I would just accept a new season, no matter how difficult it may
seem to be, that God would use it to expose me to things I would have never thought possible.
Just as a mother eagle will forcefully nudge her eaglet out of the nest to teach it to fly, God will
sometimes use uncomfortable circumstances to do the same with us. The mother eagle knows
that the potential to fly is in her offspring and therefore is not nervous about pushing it to do
something it was naturally born to do. Allow God to push you to heights you have never
dreamed possible in this season of your life.
I encourage all of you who are married, if you are the one providing the income for your family,
please be aware that this is an awkward situation for your husband as well. Ask God to help
you be sensitive during this time and try everything in your power to make him feel important in
your marriage. Men typically place a high value on their ability to earn a living and provide for
their family and you should make every attempt to let him know that he is still the head of your
family, regardless of his employment status.
Come Into Agreement with Someone
Lastly, find other Christian sisters that you can confide in about your current situation and
come into agreement for God to strengthen you. As Jesus stated in Matthew 18:19 “…if two of
you agree on earth concerning anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in
heaven.” I firmly believe that there are some things you are not going to receive from God
until you come into agreement with someone.
The role of women in our society has changed substantially over the years. And although we
are not quite where we would like to be, we pause to thank God for how far he has brought us.
We acknowledge that America is still a great nation and rest in the hope that our faith in Christ
will bring us through any trial.
Yes, James Brown’s lyrics may be correct…”this is a man’s world…but it wouldn’t be nothing
without a woman or a girl.”
A pastor, lecturer and recording artist, Pastor Sheryl Brady has traveled extensively around the
globe for more than 30 years. She is the author of the book entitled You Have It In You!
Empowered To Do The Impossible. She serves as pastor at The Potter's House of North
Dallas. Visit her website at SherylBrady.com
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