Divine Design: Women's Retreat

From the sharing of testimonies on the car ride there to our fellowship on Sunday morning, every moment of the PAINT (Panama International Church) women's retreat was full of God's presence. Twenty-eight women put their weekend plans on hold and dedicated these two and a half days to worshiping the Lord and encouraging each other in the Spirit and in Truth. The Lord provided generously through the grandmother of a leader in PAINT church to lend us their spacious beach house in Coronado. Complete with several rooms of bunk beds, multiple bathrooms, two large living rooms, and a kitchen/patio area with hammocks and an incredible view, the beach house was the perfect space to meet together as women and commit anew to becoming God's Divine Design.


To go deeper into this topic of "Divine Design," we were led through four different sessions throughout the weekend. We began each session with worship through song and prayer and committing our time to the Lord. This allowed us to be in the right mindset to hear the messages each speaker would bring us. Each session's message was beautifully delivered and full of God's truths that uniquely spoke to each woman there. The speakers had not communicated with each other before the retreat on what exactly they would talk about, but God in His sovereignty tied each theme together like a well-chosen gift.

Clarice spoke first. Clarice and her husband do an outstanding job leading the Pursuit youth ministry at PAINT church, and I looked forward to what she had to say. She spoke on Proverbs 31 and gracefully showed us a perspective that is not often shared in church.

Clarice began by reminding us that we were precious (Proverbs 3:15) and that we were made in His image and He is our potter (Isaiah 64:8). She highlighted the spiritual beauty mentioned in Proverbs 31:30, and then had us look in depth at the story of Abigail in 1 Sam. 25:23-42. One of those stories that, as a church kid, I had heard, but had since forgotten about.:

To summarize, a beautiful, intelligent woman named Abigail was married to an ogre of a man, Nabal, and David (before he was king) sent his men to Nabal to ask for provisions for him and his men. Nabal, being the selfish, foolish man he was and sharing Saul's hatred of David, refused to offer David's servants anything. Shocked by the news that his request to Nabal had been denied, David, in turn, wanted to take vengeance and teach everyone a lesson by killing Nabal and all his household.

By God's grace, one of Nabal's servants overheard the plan and delivered the grim news to Abigail. When Abigail heard of Nabal's refusal and the approaching doom, she did not hesitate to act. She was wise and courageous and sent the largest care package the donkeys could carry and went ahead of the servants herself to meet David on the road and plead for the lives of her family. 

When Abigail met David, she dismounted her donkey and fell facedown before him. "Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you and hear what your servant has to say.." She came before him with a humble attitude and a rational plea to forgive the foolishness of her husband and not act out in anger, lest he be guilty of needless bloodshed. She affirmed David and prophesied over his future as King. David, appeased by the gifts and her wise and humble words, decided not to carry out with his plan and blessed her for her good judgment. Later, justice was served when Nabal had a heart attack and died, and David asked Abigail to be his wife. She named her firstborn son, Chileab, or Daniel, which means God is my judge.

In our study, Clarice expounded on five characteristics that Abigail's life demonstrated. 1) Intelligent, 2) Humble, 3) Responsible, 4) Servant-Minded, and 5) Had a Cheerful Heart. We looked at these characteristics in more detail through a word-association activity where we had to use these words/phrases to summarize what each of these characteristics really meant and how to apply them in our lives.

As women, we talked about these lessons late into the night, the next day and the next. We shared personal testimonies of God's faithfulness and redemption in our lives. And it was the greatest encouragement to know we're not alone in this journey with Christ. Saturday night, we joined hands and prayed together aloud in the power of Jesus' name to answer different requests, interceding on behalf of family, friends, the church body and our larger Panama City community.

Three more messages were shared during the retreat. Each one powerful and encouraging us to unite as women in prayer and to remind each other of our true identity in Christ.
Here are some memorable quotes from our time together: