I have been a Christian woman for nine years. I have sat through and participated in Bible studies that turned into gossip sessions. I have been to conferences that talk almost exclusively about my feelings (and I have been that woman focused almost exclusively on my feelings). I have hoped in the wrong things and exhausted myself trying to be the Proverbs 31 woman. But by God’s grace and His grace alone, He has brought forgiveness to these areas of my life.
Fallen Women
As women, we tend to be easily uprooted from Christ though our lips would never speak such words. We run ragged races to be a perfect career woman, single woman, wife or mother. We look to Proverbs 31 for guidance and get puffed up with pride or filled with shame depending on the day. We so easily forget that Christ has fulfilled the scriptures, not us.
As women our desires are too weak and our Bibles too small. We desire the perfect career, friend, man, child, or home to satisfy us. We hope that our emotions are strong enough to get us through the day as we fail to read our Bibles. We do not see value in God’s very Word to strengthen us. Our gaze so easily turns to ourselves and away from Christ. We make excuses about not getting enough sleep or being too busy to read. The reality is our desires are rooted in ourselves, not God.
Hopeful Women
The Bible gives us great hope and great instruction when it comes to being a woman. 1 Peter 3:4-5 states, “—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves…” Holy women, like Abraham’s wife Sarah, placed her ultimate hope in God. As John Piper said referring to this scripture, “The deepest root of womanhood is hope in God.” As we look to Him in all things, we will plant roots firmly in Him. We do not hope in anything else but Him.
God is more than an emotional teddy bear. He is Lord and Creator of the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1). He is perfect, holy and mighty. He is our rock and foundation. He takes our failures and sins and places them on His son Jesus so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is the God we hope in as women. This is our Lord and Savior. Stand firm in Him, nothing else.
Theological Women
It is time to open our Bibles and dig for gold, ladies. Often as women we look for a refrigerator verse to get us through the day. We open our Bibles hoping for a quick happy thought so that we can feel better. I am not saying it is wrong to go to the Bible for help. What I am saying is that the Bible is filled with more than just an inspirational thought for the day and we must read it as so.
Scripture is God’s Word. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16). Reading this verse poses the question: are we looking to the Bible to teach, reprove, correct and train us? Or are we hoping that scripture doesn’t challenge us too much? It is time to study God’s word diligently so that as women in Christ we may be competent and equipped for His good work.
To hope in God like the women before us, we must know the God of the Bible. We must study His Word, wrestle with our questions and dive into our theologies. We should be letting God’s Word define us, guide us, and shape our theology. As John Piper says, “Wimpy theology makes wimpy women.” Let us not be afraid to dive into God’s Word. Our desires are to be dressed with strength and dignity, to be rooted in Christ, and have our hope placed in God so much so, that we can laugh at the time to come (Proverbs 31:25). This will all take time. But it will be time well spent getting to know our Lord and Savior.
I say it is time to “Woman Up.” We must take captive every thought (2Corinthians 10:5) and root it in the hope of God in Christ Jesus. Let us encourage one another as women to grow in biblical maturity. As we meet together for coffee, playdates, and Women’s Ministry let us make much of Christ not of ourselves. Each morning find time to sit with Him and pray through the scriptures. Search for the gospel in every word, it is there! Encourage one another to dive into the Word of God and hope in Him. Let us pray that our desires would change and that we would treasure Christ more fully as women of God.
