Editor’s note: Enjoy today’s devotion from Beyond Brave: A 60-Day Devotional and Guided Journal for Young Women. Also, bless someone you love and forward to a young friend!
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And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. — Romans 8:28
As passionate women, we care deeply about fulfilling our purpose and making a difference. Yet achieving this goal can be difficult to navigate.
At fifteen years old, Amy Carmichael became a Christian and grew a passion to share God’s love with others. In her home city of Belfast, Ireland, she started a Sunday Bible class for the girls who worked long hours in the city mills.
Over almost ten years, Amy’s little ministry expanded to five hundred girls each week and grew so much that they needed a new building.
Amy wanted to do more and believed God called her to missions. She applied for a position and traveled to India to start new work. In India, Amy met a young girl forced into temple prostitution and offered her shelter, protecting her from being returned. This encounter led to the creation of a sanctuary for rescued girls. Over fifty-five years, often without financial help, Amy saved and provided for hundreds, sometimes traveling miles to help just one. They called her Amma, meaning “mother.”
In her sixties, a fall left Amy bedridden, but her team continued running the sanctuary. She focused on writing, publishing seventeen books and many other works about God’s work in India, missions, and living out Jesus’ teachings. This ministry inspired many worldwide to share God’s love. Amy’s true impact cannot be fully measured.
Amy’s story shows that our God-given desires change over time—she taught, liberated, protected, and inspired.
Every step mattered. In each role, God worked with Amy to improve the world.
She wrote, “It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desire which He creates.”1 We don’t need to know our whole purpose. We follow what’s next and notice the desires God gives us.
- What is one small step you can take today to pursue a passion or desire God has placed on your heart?
- How can you adapt and find new ways to serve or make an impact when you face challenges or limitations?
- How does Amy’s story encourage you to trust God with your future, even if you don’t know exactly what it holds?
- 1. Amy Carmichael, The Gold Cord: The Story of a Fellowship, (CLC Publications, 2002), 15.
Excerpted with permission from Beyond Brave, copyright Zondervan.
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Your Turn
What desires has God put on your heart? What passion has He been growing in you? Don’t be afraid to step into it! You never know how He can improve the world through your inspiration and obedience! ~ Devotionals Daily