After the lights turned off and the auditorium cleared out, the leadership of the IF:Gathering sat around a table and broke bread together. We celebrated the birth of our gathering, mourned the pain and sacrifice it cost, and spoke about the future.
Through laughter and tears and truth and joy, we celebrated the gathering of thousands of women across the globe who honestly and vulnerably came to the table to be. Yes, be—in all the failure, faults, successes, and triumphs—authentically real.
Baptists. Brethren. Charismatics. Calvary Chapel. Pentacostals. Puritans. Catholics. Methodists. In one house, worshiping one God, in one voice, for one purpose: glorifying God.
I was honored to be a small part of what God did this past weekend. If you missed out or wanted to watch the sessions, the generous staff at IF have made the resources available for FREE today. You can watch them here.
And for those who requested the closing prayer from the session on Running with Endurance, I’m including it here. Thank you for making this LA girl feel right at home! For those who supported, watched, donated, or hated, thank you. Thank you for caring enough to use your time and words to push the boundaries.
XO,
B
***
The Christian life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.
So today we will give no place to fear or failure. We will not accept the trace of apathy in our attitude or actions. We will reject complacency and embrace the greatness in us. We will waste no opportunity to glorify God and maximize every opportunity entrusted to us.
We will run.
The race we are in isn’t against flesh and blood, but against a spiritual enemy who opposes us, so we will stand at the starting line and face my enemy with bold determination.
We will dismantle every argument and pretension that he present which contradicts what God has spoke. Our enemy fights against us because he fears us and every time he reminds us of our past, we will remind him of his future. Every time we speak the truth, every stronghold must surrender.
We will run.
So we—as passionate and committed runners—we will make no excuses but through every obstacle, we will find a way.
We will not procrastinate our progress.
We will not defer our destiny.
We will not waver when we are weak.
Then enemy has come to kill, steal, and destroy in my life, and even if we lose the sprint we WILL win the marathon because we are more than conquers in Him who loves us.
So me—personally—I will reject the lies that echo in my mind telling me I don’t have what it takes, that I cannot survive this trial, that my best is behind me, or that humiliation awaits me. The Devil is a LIAR and my God always causes me to triumph through Jesus Christ my Lord.
I will run.
Unashamed to represent a kingdom that is unshakable, no one will be able to stand against God’s plan for us all the days of our lives. With our God we will run every race, we will persevere and not give up.
Though our enemy surrounds us, our God surround our enemies.
Though they may come at us ONE way, they will flee SEVEN ways because no weapon formed against us will prosper and every evil thing that rises against us, we will condemn.
We will run.
Can we please determine to build our life on the solid foundation of God’s perfect word?! By faith we will activate every promise he has made and we will aim these promises as weapons of mass destruction, obliterating every opponent. The weapon God has given us has divine power. We defy and defeat sin because of the finished work of Christ our Savior.
We are whole-heartedly devoted to the purpose and calling God made for us and we have no intention of letting the world define us because we know who we are:
Humble fighters, dedicated runners, and strong and mighty servants of the living God.
In Christ we are courageous.
In Christ we are confident.
Our heart is steadfast.
Our purpose is immovable.
We are always abounding in the work of the Lord.
And our potential is unlimited because the limitless God lives within us.
We will run.
The cross before us, the world is behind us.
We’ll never turn back.
We’ll never give up.
We’ll never settle.
We’ll never stop short.
We will press towards the mark for the prize that is already ours.
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation shall be able to separate us from our God.
And if our God is for us, who in HELL can be against us?
We will run.
Bianca,
Thank you so so much for sharing this! You are annointed! I watched the entire IF:gathering live here in Managua and watched your session again yesterday so my husband could watch it with me. Powerful! I’m running my race and I’m in it til the end! Blessings upon blessings to you, my dear sister in our Jesus!
Amen! And the fact that you watched it with your husband is fabulous! 😉 Who would’ve thought we would’ve connected over Skype for a meeting and now online for a conference. Blessings to you too. XO
Thank you for posting this prayer, yay! Also thank you for leading well. I was blown away not only by how God moved this weekend but by how humble and genuine everyone was.
I’ LOVED your session. Thank you so much for sharing what God put on your heart. I loathe running, like seriously loathe it. But after hearing you speak I am now a runner in a different sense of the word. And I can hear you saying “Run yo race!” in my head. Thanks for the push Bianca!
Bianca! Thank you, thank you for joining the IF team and for sharing your heart! On my journey I’ve been stumbling like crazy but recently I’ve been feeling God drawing me closer, nearer to his heart. Hearing from all you ladies has given me the push I’ve needed forward, strength for my soul, and a beautiful hope as we run this race together. I am so thankful for all the women there! SO excited to see how God transforms this generation for HIS GLORY!
Girl, you rocked my socks off this weekend. In fact, I just watched your talk again WITH my husband. I loved your energy, your truth, and your love for God. Quite amazing sister. Thank you. I have felt called to help with human trafficking for awhile now. I see a glimpse of what my God wants me to do now. Not exactly sure where he will take me but I’m saying YES to God and telling satan that he has no power over me anymore. Thank you for your words and your heart.
Message*
Oops, sorry for the empty comment above — I hit enter too soon! Bianca, thank you so much for sharing your words at IF Gathering, and for making your prayer available here. The race imagery in the Bible is so powerful for me, as a former sprinter and cross-country runner. I ran the sprint relays, and remember that feeling of focus, passion, simplicity and connectedness while running — and God brought that back to my spirit through IF. I can feel His kingdom coming, and am so excited to be a part of it. Thank you, sister.
Bianca, I LOVED your session at IF, as did all of the women in my community group. We chewed on your words for hours after you finished. 😉 Our family has been freed from $127K in debt and your statement “Freed people free people” rang through my soul. It put to skin to my deepest heart’s desire. Once you have tasted freedom – spiritual, financial, or more – you want EVERYONE else to have that freedom. 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing this! I just discovered the IF:Gathering/Movement and caught the tail end of the live stream. I wish so badly I could have been there! My soul has been in need of something powerful like this for a long time. Thank you so much for you prayer at the end of this blog! I prayed it out loud and was so moved and encouraged by it. Thank you for standing in the gap for women and encouraging us to live out the full life God has for us!
Which day did you speak, Bianca?
Bianca–
Your words couldn’t have been more timely. I’m just posted on our blog (www.delightandbe.com) how we are stepping out in faith building a home for teen girls. . .it’s humanly scary and yet we know that God has asked us to do this in obedience. I am printing off your words & I’m going to write them on the walls of the home before we put the sheetrock up!!!
“Humble fighters, dedicated runners, and strong and mighty servants of the living God.
In Christ we are courageous.
In Christ we are confident.
Our heart is steadfast.
Our purpose is immovable.
We are always abounding in the work of the Lord.
And our potential is unlimited because the limitless God lives within us.
We will run.”
I don’t ever think I’ve ever read a post that has encouraged my heart so much!! Thank you so much for walking in obedience!
Blessings & Hugs, Kristin
That prayer. Just a glimpse into how amazing your book will be. (I will nag you into submission and you know it!)
Thank you does not even stretch to how much I appreciated your message at If. Your boldness for Christ is such an amazing example to me.
“I will reject complacency and embrace the greatness in myself. I will waste no opportunity to glorify God and maximize every opportunity entrusted to me.” – Just to say this to myself pushes me to run the race with joy and courage from the Lord, putting down all my selfish desires and fears.
Thank you!!!
Bianca-
Your words and how you spoke them w/ such passion moved me. Thank you so very much for waking me up and helping me refocus on my race! I’m looking forward to seeing where #ifgathering is going and to be a part of this. Hope to see you and meet you in person on Feb. of 2015. Bless you sister!!
Bianca,
I have followed your blog for a few years now and have always be encouraged, challenged, and entertained. I love how you “keep it real.” Your talk was the one that spoke to me most. I loved your honesty. Everything you said about not living in fear and claiming the truth by renewing your mind so resonated with me. Do you mind if I share (with your credit of course) your prayer on my blog?
Thank you so much and God bless!
There are few words I can speak to describe my feeling. I think “We will Run” sums it all up. I had a privilege of being in the room. I live and Austin and had questioned being in this city for the last year and a half. There’s work for me to do here and “I Will Run”. It was great to be the presence of amazing women. I’m still processing everything! I’m looking to host a follow-up Google Hangout with a few who attended. My prayers go with you and before you, May the Lords work in us all be GREAT!
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
The link to watch the video didn’t work for me, however I read the article. “The enemy fight against s because he fears of us” is so true;) How can I subscribe to your newsletters?
Stay Blessed!!