Our culture and the enemy have attacked the true definition of a woman and it's infiltrated into our deepest beliefs about who we are and who we desire to be.
In my own fight against cultural Christianity, one BIG thing I have noticed in myself is this:There are times when I spend more time trying to become more like what I think a godly woman should be than I spend trying to become more like Jesus!
So I'm not going to attempt to put forth yet another definition of biblical womanhood to add to the myriad of different opinions floating out there. Because there is no one definition for a godly woman. We are all different. We have all been created uniquely for specific purposes and we are not the same. So let's stop trying to make ourselves into what we consider a godly woman and let's just start focusing on becoming more like Jesus. Because the only definition of a godly woman is Jesus.
For me, there are many many godly women whom I look up to, admire, and respect. However, I am not called to be just like them. Jesus has given me (and all of us) a unique mission and if I spend my time working to become more like someone else then I will completely miss it. I want to make sure that my idea of a godly woman comes straight from the bible rather than from my idea of what a godly woman looks like in this culture that we live in.
For example, the Proverbs 31 woman, is seriously way cooler than I ever realized. I mean, ya'll- this woman is LEGIT.
Here are a few awesome things about her:
-She rises while it is yet night and her lamp does not go out at night (she works hard)
-She makes her arms strong (she takes care of her body)
-She considers a field a buys it and then plants a vineyard & she sees that her merchandise is profitable (she is a woman who is not afraid of the business world)
-She is not afraid of snow for her household (She isn't afraid of the hard seasons)
-She can laugh at the days to come (She doesn't worry about the future)
-She reaches out her hand to the poor (She's missions minded)
There's more but I will stop there. So you can see that this woman is incredible. It's almost intimidating really. How could I ever be all of those things? Well, I felt like that too for a long time, like I have to work to be it all, but I was missing the point and if you feel that way then you are too.
Because here's the thing about the Proverbs 31 woman- she isn't just one type of person. She isn't just called to missions, she isn't just a great mom or a great wife or a smart businesswoman. She's not just brave or funny or strong. Why? Because a godly woman isn't just one type of woman.
A godly woman is a woman who fears the Lord. She is not required to do and be it all. She is not required to be good at everything she does. She is not required to be the best friend, the best wife, the best mom, or the best daughter. She is not required to be the best anything. She is in love with Jesus is allowing Him to mold her into exactly what He wants her to be and not what the culture is telling her she should be.
She might be funny or smart or quiet or loud. She might be a mom, or a wife, or a businesswoman or a missionary. She might be one or all of these things but that is not what is most important about her. What is most important is that everything she does is for the glory of God. She spends so much time with Jesus that she radiates His presence to those around her.
A godly woman is not pressured to fit the cultural norm of what a godly woman looks like. She might not like coffee or blogging or have well worded instagrams but that does not mean that she loves Jesus any less. And when a godly woman is not bound to worldly understandings of Christianity she won't be afraid when Jesus calls her to do counter-cultural things.
The things that Jesus did on earth were completely counter-cultural for religious people during His time. Jesus could have come to earth and kept the Law perfectly and been the godliest person that the Pharisees had ever seen. But instead Jesus came and he ate with thieves and adulteresses. He wasn't concerned about people associating him with sinners for fear of "losing his witness" or whether other people thought he was a good godly man. He wasn't afraid of being counter-cultural. He was only concerned with the mission that the Father called him to and being holy and set apart in the darkness.
Women of God, this is why we keep drowning in comparison.
We cannot continue to measure ourselves by the godliness of other people. Because measuring ourselves by any measuring stick other than Jesus is comparison and comparison is a lie that will steal our joy every single time.
We have set up the measuring stick next to other women and our ideal view of a godly woman rather than fixing our eyes on who Jesus is!
So maybe Jesus is calling you to something counter-cultural. Maybe he's asking you to dine with the tax collectors instead of the religious leaders. It might be a mission field where you are associated with unbelievers and where no one may see the good work that you are doing. Maybe instead of calling you to lead a small group, he's calling you to build a relationship with some people you know don't know Him. Maybe instead of calling you overseas He really wants you to talk to your roommate or the girl two doors down about who He is first. I'm not sure what it is for you because it looks different for everyone and that is the point. A woman of God is not a specific type of person and she is not called to one specific thing.
And do you know what that means? Women of God, you are free! You are not bound to the box that the culture has placed you in. You do not have to fit into the category labeled "religious" in order to have a place in this world. The world labels you as a Christian based on what you do but Jesus calls you His based on who you are. You were never meant to fit into this world anyway. As Christians we are called to impact culture instead of conforming to it or creating a place for ourselves in it. Instead you are free.
You
Are
Free
Free from comparison and measuring sticks and making sure you do it right. You have one task: to be a recipient of the grace of God. And because of His grace you are compelled to love Him recklessly.
Women of God, you are not like anyone else and you don't have to be. Jesus has a purpose for you on mission with Him and with Him you are unstoppable.
So embrace your roll as a woman of the true God exactly as He has created you to be. Be real. Be genuine. Don't just be a godly woman- be the exact woman of God that the King of kings has called you to be.
"To me a lady is not frilly, flouncy, flippant, frivolous, and fluff-brained, but she is gentle, she is gracious, she is godly, and she is giving. You and I have the gift of femininity...the more womanly we are, the more manly men will be and the more God is glorified. Be women, be only women. Be real women in obedience to God." -Elizabeth Elliot
