I have been so excited to write this. God and Women!
Why did God make women the way they are, who are we meant to be in a culture that is strongly working to define us.
Women and Beauty
I believe women were made to be beautiful in some capacity. To be easy on the eyes and easy to adorn. Of course that is part of it. Beauty is not one dimensional.
“Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”
1 Peter 3:3-4 NLT
We are in a time where there is access to so much. Access to fashion, accessories and pretty much any beautification process we want, we need to set our identity in God. Who does God say you are?
For one, I know the least interesting thing about you is your appearance. You are not your hair, your clothes, your skin or your body. You have hobbies, skills and passions which can benefit the local church. You are valuable to God, not because of how you look, but because of how you think of Him, you submit to Him and worship Him. A lot of your value is within God! Even Esther who was know for her beauty was also know as a woman who believed in something and that is what saved a nation, not her looks!
“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”
Ephesians 1:11-12 MSG
Be encouraged, you do not need to figure yourself out by your own power. Seek ye first the Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
And remember:
“Simpletons are clothed with foolishness, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.”
Proverbs 14:18 NLT
Such a shady verse!
Women and Love
To effectively talk about love, we have to dissect it into two parts. Platonic love and Romantic love.
Ruth is a great example of how women can and should participate in a multifaceted love. Ruth’s story begins with her relationship with Naomi, her mother-in-law.
“But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”
Ruth 1:16 NLT
Ruth had a love for Naomi that was self-sacrificial. Ruth following Naomi was not because she was guaranteed to have a better life. Naomi was old and thus Ruth had to work. Ruth did hard physical labor for around 3-4 months. The love that God is calling us to is a love that God talks about in 1 Corinthians 13.
Are we loving those around us like Christ loved us? Forsaking our own wants?
To love is to be known as they say. Get to know people. Take time to go for coffee, text someone or call someone. Do not get so caught up in your head and in your own life that you do not look around to see that relationships are the way God communicates with His people. As women we are not each other’s antagonists, we are allies in life and in Christ. No one understands womanhood more than another woman. Be kind to a sister today.
Let’s move to the romantic aspect of the story of Ruth, which is her relationship with Boaz. Now I know the girls love to romanticise this story, but I want to flesh it out for you a little bit.
If you have the stomach for it, read Judges 19. In this story we see aggravated sexual abuse which led to the death of a woman at the hands of a couple of men. This was concurrently happening during the time as Ruth was living. On top of this scary occurence, Ruth had also just lost her husband too. In all this, Ruth trusted God and found Boaz.
How often have you let the things you’ve heard from others affect how you approach your own relationships?
For a moment I want to speak to women and how we relate with men. We laugh, joke and find it agreeable that men are “trash”. To be fair they behave questionably at times, but don’t we all. I appreciate the pain and disappointment inflicted on us by men.
However, may I submit something to you, let us remember the same spirit in us (good and bad) operates in the opposite gender. I pray that we do not resent men around us to the point that we are not good stewards of those placed around us. We are called to love and help others, regardless of gender, race or background. May your heart view others as people of God, may we look at the spirit behind each person.
“But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women.”
1 Corinthians 11:11 NLT
Your relationship with God is the life source of all the others relationships. So surrender your relationships to Him and let Him work His power.
Women and Marriage
Now as we get into this section, try not to be triggered, let us be open-minded. I used to hate the Biblical rhetoric of marriage which propounded that I had to submit to a man.
“This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands.”
1 Peter 3:5 NLT
So we know marriage is a two way street. A man marries you and has to love you like Christ loved the church. Christ died for the church, as such the husband is supposed to lay His life down for his wife. This looks different in each season of marriage. Whether it is sacrifice of his needs and wants for his family, or in the face of danger sacrificing himself for his family. A husband must be submitted to God as Christ was so he can be a good leader.
On the other side of this, the woman must submit and respect her husband. When looking at what the man is called to, it’s a fair bargain. I know submitting to a man is scary. What if he takes advantage of me, makes me slave for him, gets physical? So many what ifs? The Lord is saying to you submit, allow your husband to lead you. Give him space to be human and remember, although he is your husband, he is doing this for the first time. Submission is hard and that is why in the verse above, we as women have to submit to God first, trusting that the man he has given you is good and worth submitting to.
It is easy to submit to a man submitted to God. If he seeks God more than himself, he will love you as God loves you.
Granted this does not account for the women experiencing any form of abuse at the hands of the men they trusted. If this is your story, talk to someone and try your level best to leave this situation.
Recommended Affirmative Verses for Women
“She is energetic and strong, a hard worker.”
“When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.”
“Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.”
“These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children,”
“She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.”
“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”
““There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!””
Thank you so much for reading! I love you all and women are amazing! I have so much I want to say to you, but the little
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