Saying "YES" to God - my experience at Woman Evolve 2025 Conference

At this point, the holy spirit is just yelling at me in terms of “ the next step”. Thankfully it comes with so much love and encouragement. 

I attended the Woman Evolve conference over the weekend, and transformation and confirmation were spoken over me. For those who might not know, Woman Evolve is a 3-day Christian conference hosted by Sarah Jakes Roberts, daughter of the prolific preacher TD Jakes. 

Her story of overcoming teen pregnancy, divorce, resentment & brokenness is the background of her ministry and the origin story for the work that she does today. She has written about 7 books to help women evolve into what God has for them! That one book, “Woman Evolve,” is now a full-fledged women’s ministry with an annual conference, a podcast, books, courses, and community.  

Ok, so now that you have the back story of the event, let me tell you about my mindset going into the conference. 

For the last 2 weeks, God has been highlighting a version of “Someone’s breakthrough is on the other side of your obedience,” meaning that someone is waiting on you to say YES to God so that they can overcome. Although this message is not new to me, it was a bit terrifying for me. 

Growing up in my career, this message was my “WHY”; my purpose, if you will, as a career coach & entrepreneur. The idea that someone was counting on me to figure out my stuff so that they could figure out their lives was what motivated me for many years. It was noble, honourable, and inspiring for me until that very thought led me down the “worst experience of burnout in my life”. I’m not going to belabour that story, I've written about it many times on the blog, so you can go back & read it. Nevertheless, somewhere along the way, the narrative switched from someone’s counting on me, to boundaries are wise & healthy, to full-on “self-preservation” because I was afraid of overextending myself and burning out again.

This thought led me down a path of playing small, hiding, not stepping into my full potential, and I'll be honest, a full-blown “fear of success”. I’ve known for years that I will be influential and impact the nations. I've had prophecies that I will write books, I've even seen visions of myself on stages commanding the room and changing lives, yet I've played small. And I'll be honest, most people haven’t even noticed because I am still very much “out there”. I share my story online, I work with coaching clients, I write stories on my blog that have an impact, I take bold moves and re-invent myself over and over, and people think I'm courageous …yet I remain in my comfort zone. Only the people who truly know me know that I’m still holding back so much of my potential. So when this conference was approaching, it felt like God started prepping my heart for surgery. 

He started watering seeds in my heart that were planted years ago. He kept showing me new revelations about fear and how to cast it out rather than live with it. He kept showing me women in my personal life who were struggling with overcoming the very things I was walking through. He kept reassuring me with stories from my closest friends and boyfriend that just reminded me of who I was in Christ. He even brought books, podcasts, and scriptures into my awareness that were just “right on time”. He was basically priming me for a breakthrough and belief in what He was about to do. 

One particular book he sent my way was the book “God Chose Me” by Charles Metcalf. This book talks about having the confidence to say yes to the call on your life simply because God chose you and therefore is backing you all the way. It was truly revolutionary and transformational for me and I just kept thinking “Imagine if Ps. Charles didn’t write the book because he doubted his ability?” I wouldn’t be here reading his words and getting my revelation from it. It was just a very sobering reality that I HAVE to do what God has called me to do, and I have to believe that He will take care of me through the process. 

My biggest fears about stepping into what God has called me to do were mainly focused around these 4 things: 

1. Scarcity & Stability - Long story short, my finances have been going through major hits in the last couple of months. I went from someone who never really worried about the $$ in my account to someone who felt unstable. I mean my mindset around money kinda sucked, but at least the money was still in my account 😅 ….but these days with the economic changes and the big financial investments I’ve made in my business growth, the $$ are looking a little different. 

2. Fear of Man - What will people say? The validation of others is like a drug, and unfortunately, as a reformed people pleaser, this one has been hard! What if I start really stepping into sharing the stories that TRULY transform lives, and people start to get offended? What if the people close to me feel like I'm “oversharing” even though I KNOW in my heart that this is what the holy spirit is instructing me to say? What if I say the thing that everyone is thinking but no one is saying, and now everyone’s uncomfortable? What if people misunderstand me because of their own pain and past trauma? So many what ifs. 

3. Burnout & Overextending Myself - As someone who prides myself on handling multiple things at once, my current track record is that I have burned out of 90% of all the jobs I’ve ever had. Something in me is prone to overworking, so it’s an area I have to be extra careful about. It feels like stepping into all the things God has asked me to do will require a certain level of effort that feels scary for me because of my experience with burnout. But maybe it's because I’m trying to do everything in my own strength and not relying on God 🤯

4. Navigating Transition yet again - Lastly, the thought of going through yet another major life change just feels exhausting and never-ending. Like lord, am I ever going to stop being the “transition girl” (the irony of being a career transition coach and going through major transitions every year is not lost on me 😂). The truth is, this next transition is going to be massive. I don’t feel fully ready to share all the details, but best believe it's going to require another complete shift. 

These are the areas I was struggling with, and one by one, God started knocking them down with sermons in the conference. From Christine Cane talking about comfort zones to Ps. Sarah Jakes Roberts talking about how we as women threaten the devil and how we are designed to overcome threats by staying in Obedience to God’s calling, to Ps Toure Roberts talking about limitations ending. Even the panel discussions on finances, overcoming the fear of needing validation from friends & family, and healing sisterhood & relationship wounds ALL were speaking directly to my heart and the next season of my life. 

All of that to say, the conference was profound but yet just another confirmation that the limitations have been stripped off and now it’s my turn to be Obedient, knowing that God WILL handle the rest. 

Since being back, I have received 2 more confirmations in Christian settings and 2 or 3 more from my personal circle! Needless to say, it's a new season! 

I'll end this blog with the lyrics of the new song that we sang throughout Woman Evolve.

“ I’m taking back what the enemy stole from me - In the name of Jesus” 

I’m breaking off all the lies, that I once believe 

The one who lives in me, has all authority…..” 

“He’s given me authority 

to push back the enemy, 

to fight from victory 

Is about time we use it”

It was SUCH an anthem and truthfully a life-changing declaration that I'm finally saying YES to the fullness of what God has for me. Pray for me y’all, it's about to be a ride.

If you know that you are sitting on something God told you to do because you’re afraid of the cost of it? Let my story be a source of encouragement that you NEED to do it. Someone’s breakthrough is on the other side of your obedience. 

Till next time, 

Ibiyemi