I was browsing through one of my bible study reading plans when I came across one entitled "The Confident Woman" by a great woman of God called Joyce Myers.
As I started to read this, I could not stop the tears streaming down my face. Why? You may ask. This because it ministered so much to me personally as I began to look back at my own life and my views, perceptions, experience and testimonies of other women known and unknown to me.
The Lord started to minister to me about the role and purpose of women in this world and how they have been robbed of their rightful place in life through satan's lies and attack which has been both direct and indirect.
The opening bible verse Joyce used was this: "Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. (Isaiah 43:4, 5 NIV)"
Woman, God loves you. He created you for a purpose. A good purpose.
In you are great men and women. Some of you have been born to bring them into the world and nurture them, others to nurture and train them. To everyone of you God has given a very important role for which you will be called to account to Him for.
The devil knows of your worth and value in God's eyes and wants to rob you of this. Don't let him succeed.
The Lord brought to my memory the creation of man and woman. When He created the world, He saved the best for last - for He created man in His own image and likeness. Genesis 2 vs 7 says "The LORD God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nose, and man became a living person". This gives me a picture of God's face in front of the man's face (Adam) and God breathing the breath of life into him. Woman was not yet made. After The LORD God created man, He said in vs 18 "it is not good for the man to be alone, I will make a helper who is right for him". It appears that from vs 19, that Adam was looking for a helper too but could not find one that was right for him. Then in vs 21- 22, God caused the man to sleep very deeply, opened his flesh and removed one of ribs, then closed up the place where the man's ribs was with flesh. The Lord then used that rib from Adam to make a woman. God did not replace the man's rib. (A woman's skeleton always has one more rib than that of a man's. Now you know why!). A man is not complete without a woman. She is that missing rib and that is why the bible says the two come together to become one body, in chapter 2 vs 24.
Woman was the last thing that God made and after God created woman (after He had created everything else), for the first time in Genesis 1 vs 31, God looked at everything He had made and said "it was VERY GOOD".
So you see dear woman, how precious you are! Without you, man is not complete. God made you a helper for man.
So what is your role as a woman? What does it mean for you to be a helper? Help man to do what? The original answer to these questions is in chapter 1 vs 28 - "God blessed them (both man and woman) and said to them "be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground"
God made us joint rulers in the beautiful world He created. This was God's original plan. Satan did not like this and decided to rob us (both man and woman) of our inheritance by deceiving first the woman and then the man through her, to disobey God's command not to eat from or even touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
To each, God gave different punishment. I will focus on one of the woman's - "your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you".
A married woman is subject to her husband as he is her head. See 1 Corinthians chapter 11. An unmarried woman is subject to and devoted to the Lord.
The apostle Paul elaborates on this as follows: " And the unmarried woman or girl is concerned and anxious about
the matters of the Lord, how to be wholly separated and is set apart in body and spirit; but the married woman has her cares [centered] in earthly affairs--how she may please her husband. (1 Corinthians 7:34 AMP).
In the bible verses below the apostle Paul again talks about the role of woman in relation to a man:
"For a man ought not to wear anything on his head [in church], for he is the image and [reflected] glory of God [his function of government reflects the majesty of the divine Rule]; but woman is [the expression of] man’s glory (majesty, preeminence). For man was not [created] from woman, but woman from man; Neither was man created on account of or for the benefit of woman, but woman on account of and for the benefit of man. Therefore she should [be subject to his authority and should] have a covering on her head [as a token, a symbol, of her submission to authority, that she may show reverence as do] the angels [and not displease them]. Nevertheless, in [the plan of] the Lord and from His point of view woman is not apart from and independent of man, nor is man aloof from and independent of woman; For as woman was made from man, even so man is also born of woman; and all [whether male or female go forth] from God [as their Author]. (1 Corinthians 11:7-12 AMP)
So, knowing this, what manner of women aught we to be?
If you are married, the scripture below is for you:
"Wives, be subject (be submissive and adapt yourselves) to your own husbands as [a service] to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the church, Himself the Savior of [His] body. However, let each man of you [without exception] love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly]. [I Pet. 3:2.] (Ephesians 5:22, 23, 33 AMP)
If you are married to an unbelievingly husband, you are consecrated to the Lord. You must still love, respect and be subject to your husband as unto the Lord. Any challenges you face should be fought on your knees in prayer and in fasting also where possible. I will come back to this later. for both the married and unmarried woman.
If you are unmarried, your attitude should be the same as that of a married woman, but unto the Lord.
Again the scripture says "So I would have younger [widows] marry, bear children, guide
the household, [and] not give opponents of the faith occasion for slander or reproach. (1 Timothy 5:14 AMP)
The advice above is both for the married women and those women who would like to get married.
You will note that there is a command within the verse above in Timothy to "guide the household". This is a very important role. You need wisdom from God to be able to do this.
In the book of Proverbs it is written "EVERY WISE woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands. (Proverbs 14:1 AMP)". So as you can see, wisdom plays a very important role in the life of a woman.
Coming back to the very important point of prayer, your role as a woman of God whether married or unmarried, is to be close to God and bring everything to him in prayer. It is there that your battles are fought and won. It is in His presence you will obtain mercy and find grace to help in times of need. He will give you wisdom, direction and strength. He will give you living water that will bubble out of you and never run dry (John chapter 4 verses 10 - 14). You will never ever thirst again. You will be a blessing to your family and will be fully equipped to fulfil your role as a woman of God whether married or unmarried.
Woman, it is time to take your place in Christ.
Look out for Part 2 on this topic!
As I started to read this, I could not stop the tears streaming down my face. Why? You may ask. This because it ministered so much to me personally as I began to look back at my own life and my views, perceptions, experience and testimonies of other women known and unknown to me.The Lord started to minister to me about the role and purpose of women in this world and how they have been robbed of their rightful place in life through satan's lies and attack which has been both direct and indirect.
The opening bible verse Joyce used was this: "Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. (Isaiah 43:4, 5 NIV)"
Woman, God loves you. He created you for a purpose. A good purpose.
In you are great men and women. Some of you have been born to bring them into the world and nurture them, others to nurture and train them. To everyone of you God has given a very important role for which you will be called to account to Him for.
The devil knows of your worth and value in God's eyes and wants to rob you of this. Don't let him succeed.
The Lord brought to my memory the creation of man and woman. When He created the world, He saved the best for last - for He created man in His own image and likeness. Genesis 2 vs 7 says "The LORD God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nose, and man became a living person". This gives me a picture of God's face in front of the man's face (Adam) and God breathing the breath of life into him. Woman was not yet made. After The LORD God created man, He said in vs 18 "it is not good for the man to be alone, I will make a helper who is right for him". It appears that from vs 19, that Adam was looking for a helper too but could not find one that was right for him. Then in vs 21- 22, God caused the man to sleep very deeply, opened his flesh and removed one of ribs, then closed up the place where the man's ribs was with flesh. The Lord then used that rib from Adam to make a woman. God did not replace the man's rib. (A woman's skeleton always has one more rib than that of a man's. Now you know why!). A man is not complete without a woman. She is that missing rib and that is why the bible says the two come together to become one body, in chapter 2 vs 24.Woman was the last thing that God made and after God created woman (after He had created everything else), for the first time in Genesis 1 vs 31, God looked at everything He had made and said "it was VERY GOOD".
So you see dear woman, how precious you are! Without you, man is not complete. God made you a helper for man.
So what is your role as a woman? What does it mean for you to be a helper? Help man to do what? The original answer to these questions is in chapter 1 vs 28 - "God blessed them (both man and woman) and said to them "be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground"
God made us joint rulers in the beautiful world He created. This was God's original plan. Satan did not like this and decided to rob us (both man and woman) of our inheritance by deceiving first the woman and then the man through her, to disobey God's command not to eat from or even touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
To each, God gave different punishment. I will focus on one of the woman's - "your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you".
A married woman is subject to her husband as he is her head. See 1 Corinthians chapter 11. An unmarried woman is subject to and devoted to the Lord.
The apostle Paul elaborates on this as follows: " And the unmarried woman or girl is concerned and anxious about
the matters of the Lord, how to be wholly separated and is set apart in body and spirit; but the married woman has her cares [centered] in earthly affairs--how she may please her husband. (1 Corinthians 7:34 AMP).
In the bible verses below the apostle Paul again talks about the role of woman in relation to a man:
"For a man ought not to wear anything on his head [in church], for he is the image and [reflected] glory of God [his function of government reflects the majesty of the divine Rule]; but woman is [the expression of] man’s glory (majesty, preeminence). For man was not [created] from woman, but woman from man; Neither was man created on account of or for the benefit of woman, but woman on account of and for the benefit of man. Therefore she should [be subject to his authority and should] have a covering on her head [as a token, a symbol, of her submission to authority, that she may show reverence as do] the angels [and not displease them]. Nevertheless, in [the plan of] the Lord and from His point of view woman is not apart from and independent of man, nor is man aloof from and independent of woman; For as woman was made from man, even so man is also born of woman; and all [whether male or female go forth] from God [as their Author]. (1 Corinthians 11:7-12 AMP)
If you are married, the scripture below is for you:
"Wives, be subject (be submissive and adapt yourselves) to your own husbands as [a service] to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the church, Himself the Savior of [His] body. However, let each man of you [without exception] love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly]. [I Pet. 3:2.] (Ephesians 5:22, 23, 33 AMP)
If you are married to an unbelievingly husband, you are consecrated to the Lord. You must still love, respect and be subject to your husband as unto the Lord. Any challenges you face should be fought on your knees in prayer and in fasting also where possible. I will come back to this later. for both the married and unmarried woman.
If you are unmarried, your attitude should be the same as that of a married woman, but unto the Lord.
Again the scripture says "So I would have younger [widows] marry, bear children, guide
the household, [and] not give opponents of the faith occasion for slander or reproach. (1 Timothy 5:14 AMP)
The advice above is both for the married women and those women who would like to get married.
You will note that there is a command within the verse above in Timothy to "guide the household". This is a very important role. You need wisdom from God to be able to do this.
In the book of Proverbs it is written "EVERY WISE woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands. (Proverbs 14:1 AMP)". So as you can see, wisdom plays a very important role in the life of a woman.
Coming back to the very important point of prayer, your role as a woman of God whether married or unmarried, is to be close to God and bring everything to him in prayer. It is there that your battles are fought and won. It is in His presence you will obtain mercy and find grace to help in times of need. He will give you wisdom, direction and strength. He will give you living water that will bubble out of you and never run dry (John chapter 4 verses 10 - 14). You will never ever thirst again. You will be a blessing to your family and will be fully equipped to fulfil your role as a woman of God whether married or unmarried.
Woman, it is time to take your place in Christ.
Look out for Part 2 on this topic!
Dearly beloved,
ReplyDeleteHere is a message which was on my heart to share with you. I really pray that you will be truly be blessed by it.
Please share it with other women
God Bless
Aije