Welcome back! Last post we talked about what it means to be a man of God, and today we will be looking at what it means to be a woman of faith. In a way this is a continuation of last post, but it is also a stand-alone post. Anyone who saw the Sunday morning message of this sermon knows that I joked about “Wives, submit to your husbands…” Let me assure you that I don’t know that I have ever been that nervous about doing a joke. My palms were sweaty, and my hands were shaking! I say that because this can be seen as a hot topic among some people. We are going to take some time to examine what the Bible says about being a woman of faith and we will look at the women in the Bible who had a part in our faith.
Proverbs 31:25-31 gives us an incredible view of what a woman of faith is. “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.” This is such beautiful view of what a woman of faith is. She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction… Her children call her blessed; her husband also… a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. All of these things point out to us the things that I think any woman would love to have said about her in a conversation! “Have you met, (insert your name here)? I value her wisdom so much! I come to her when I need advice on what to do with my family or even if I need someone to listen. I trust her whole heartedly because I know she fears the Lord and is striving to do what He has called her to do!” Imagine the joy you would have in your heart to have that said about you. I can only imagine your heart swelling with joy and pride.
As I think about women of faith, I am hit with a woman who had incredible faith but was never even given a name. Mark 5:25-34 tells us this story. This is a woman who has been bleeding for 12 years and the scriptures tell us she, “…suffered under many physicians.” She had spent all the money she had trying to be healed and all of this was to no avail. Then comes Jesus, walking down the road. Her thought was a simple one, “I only need to touch him.” That was her goal. Her goal was simply to touch him, and not even him… only the hem of his garment. Put yourself in this position, the crowds are enormous, people are pushing in everywhere, you are feeling desperate now, all you have to do is touch his robe. You reach out a hand and miss his garment, but you were so close and so you surge forward, and you try again. You hand touches his robe and suddenly you feel the flow of blood stop. You also notice Jesus has stopped walking and begins to look around at the crowd. He asks the question that you fear, “Who touched my garments?” He didn’t say, “Who touched me?” He said, “Who touched my garment?” At this point you fall before him trembling and confess that you touched him, and he tells you that your faith has healed you. What an incredible story and what an incredible woman of faith.
Hannah was a woman of great faith. All she wanted was to have a child and she was unable to do so (1 Samuel 1). Year after year she prayed that the Lord would give her a child and year after year, she went without one. She was harassed by her husband’s other wife because she was blessed with kids. So bad was the harassment that Hannah would weep bitterly and would not eat. She is praying to the Lord and the Bible tells us she was pouring out her soul to the Lord. The Lord does bless her with a son whom she dedicates to the Lord and because of this Samuel becomes a prophet of the Lord. Hannah had so much faith in God that she didn’t give up praying for what she wanted but she continued to ask Him for it.
The Bible has many stories of women who are filled with faith. Mary the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth, Deborah (Judges 4), Esther (Book), Ruth (Book) all women who had great faith. I want to leave you with this today as you are finishing reading this post. Continue on in the Lord! No matter what has happened in your life, please understand that the Lord wants you to draw close to him. Arise women of faith and show the world what the Lord can do through you.