God and Women
Last week we talked about looking for our life purpose, and how to find out what God’s plans for your life may be. But before God can move us into the purpose for which He created us, maybe we need to know for ourselves how God feels about women in general.
It’s really simple. He’s crazy about us!
First, we are His daughters:
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the (daughters) of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”-1 John 3:1
In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8, women were included in the group of disciples who travelled with Jesus during His ministry. In Jewish culture, women were not allowed to learn from rabbis. By inviting these women to travel with Him, Jesus was showing that all people are equal under God. These women performed a needed and important part of Jesus ministry. They also supplemented the work with their own money. Jesus crossed barriers in His interactions with women. Accepting monetary support from women, teaching women directly, and laying His healing hands on women were all ways in which He shows us the special care Jesus has for women.
In Romans we read of a woman named Phoebe. She was known as a servant and a helper of the early Christian church. Phoebe was highly regarded in the church, and she may have delivered Paul’s Roman epistle from Corinth to Rome. This provides evidence that women had important work to do in the early church. God simply loves women.
Next, he wants a glorious future for us. He is excited to see us reach our bright destiny:
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”. -Jeremiah 29:11
He thinks we are beautiful:
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” -Ephesians 2:10
He loves us beyond all reason! Not because we can earn it, but just because of who we are, and who He is:
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the wold, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that HE LOVED US, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” -1 John 4:8-9
“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
His love will never betray, fail, or disappear on us:
“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.” -Isaiah 54:10
And finally, He is the ultimate hero of our lives, the Savior of our souls:
“I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick” -Ezekiel 34:16
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” -Luke 19:10
These scriptures make it clear. God loves us. God wants the best for us. So now, what does God want FROM us?
This is it:
OUR HEARTS
He wants to be first in our lives. God, when speaking to the Israelites at the foot of Mt. Sinai, proclaimed the first commandment which taught that no other god or thing should be first in the hearts of His children. The world we live in today is no different than in Moses’ time in many ways. God’s children still tend to forget Him. No one sets out to replace God with things like money, perfect bodies, hobbies, fame, work, and pleasure, but by the amount of time we devote to them, they can become gods that ultimately control our thoughts and our destinies. God wants our hearts. In this way He calls himself “a jealous God”.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” -Exodus 20:3
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” -Matthew 22:36-38
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” -John 15:4-5
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” -Jeremiah 29:13
I’ll end with a quote by Stormie Omartian in her book The Power of a Praying Woman:
“Each one of us has a purpose in the Lord. But many of us don’t realize that. And when we don’t have an accurate understanding of our identity, we either strive to be like someone else or something we’re not. We compare ourselves to others and feel as though we always fall short. When we don’t become who we think we’re supposed to be, it makes us critical of ourselves and our lives. It causes us to be insecure, oversensitive, judgmental, frustrated, and unfulfilled. We become self-absorbed, constantly having to think about ourselves and what we should be. It forces us to try too hard to make life happen the way we think it is supposed to. In the extreme, it makes us tell lies about ourselves and become dishonest about who we really are. When you are around people who don’t have any idea of what they are called to do, you sense their unrest, unfulfillment, anxiety, and lack of peace. God doesn’t want that for you. He wants you to have a clear vision for your life. He wants to reveal to you what your gifts and talents are and show you how to best develop them and use them for His glory. But even though you have a purpose and a destiny, you can’t get to it without being connected to the one who gave it to you in the first place. We all want to accomplish something significant with our lives. And we all have the potential to do something great. That’s because we are the Lord’s and His Spirit dwells in us. Because of His greatness in us, He can accomplish great things through us. We just have to remember not to confuse success in the eyes of men as being the same as success in the eyes of God. Men and women of the world glory in their accomplishments. Children of God glory in the Lord.”