Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Ps. 61:2)

ALICE PAUL IS A KEY figure in American history. Though the women’s suffrage movement had begun shortly after the Civil War, and a constitutional amendment was introduced in 1878, by the turn of the century, little progress had been made in the efforts to win the vote for women. In 1909 Alice Paul joined the fight. She raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and led suffragettes in nonviolent protests. During World War I, they picketed at the White House and were eventually arrested for “obstructing traffic.” They were imprisoned, went on a hunger strike, and were then force fed in the psychiatric ward. Four years after their release and continued efforts, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote in any and all elections in the United States.

Alice Paul was successful for a couple of key reasons: She never lost sight of the final goal, and she believed in something larger than herself.

As believers, we can experience success in our walk of holiness by following a similar pattern. Like the psalmist, we can ask God to lead us to a higher place. There we will see the world differently. We will begin to understand that God is in control and we can trust Him with our lives. Also, the psalmist realized he needed God to be his refuge (v. 3). We’re not big enough or strong enough on our own. We can only live a holy life as God empowers and enables us to do so. And He will. He’s just waiting to be asked.

Ask God today to give you a new perspective on holy living.

Mary McNeil Blackford is a full-time student and freelance editor. She and her husband, Rick, live in Erie, Pennsylvania, with their three dogs.