Genesis 2:18 “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.”
From the beginning, women were part of the plan. Women carry God-given traits and abilities that were created uniquely for us. Women were also created to not be alone but to live in relationship with our God and one another.
Genesis 2:21-25 “So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply, and while he was asleep, God removed one of the man’s ribs...The Lord God used the rib from the man to make a woman, and then he brought the woman to the man. And the man said, Now, this is someone whose bones came from my bones, whose body came from my body. I will call her ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.” So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body. The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.”
This last piece is very important. God created us to not be ashamed. Our sinful choices make us fall captive to a thought-life God never wanted for us.
It was not meant to be this way
Do you ever find yourself in a place where you have created a mountain out of a molehill? Your mind starts to race from the idea of something “potentially” becoming a problem and next thing you know, you’re believing this over-exaggerated, overanalyzed and over thought issue is a reality? You can find me sitting in my office raising my hand.
Does any of this seem to be a battle in your daily routine as it is in mine? This thought spiral is typically rooted in the desire for control, living life in fear and operating from the belief that we must overcome weakness alone.
Genesis 3:1-3 says, "...One day the snake said to the woman, Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden? The woman answered the snake, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. But God told us, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch it, or you will die."
Now, I was not there in the Garden of Eden but I do sense a bit of myself in Eve here. “You must not even touch it, or you will die.” Really? Did God say you will die if you even touch the fruit of the tree which gives the knowledge of good and evil? Proof of God’s commandment can be found in Genesis 2:16-17. I can imagine Eve’s words “you must not even touch it, or you will die” potentially came from a place of operating out of a desire for control, living life in fear and operating from the belief that Eve must overcome weakness alone.
Genesis 3:4 says, But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. God knows that if you eat from the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!”
Does anyone else see how the snake was able to play off this lie Eve fed herself? Doesn’t it all start to sound believable? Don’t we start to get confused about God’s love and intentions for us when we operate from a position of desiring control, living life in fear and operating from the belief we must overcome our weakness alone? We jump to conclusions using our perceived outcome as a fact. God never intended for us to live this way.
In Matthew 4:10, Jesus said to the devil, “Go away from me, Satan! It is written in the scriptures, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.’ So the devil left Jesus, and angels came and took care of him."
God makes us different
God makes us different. God makes us strong. God makes us disciples in choosing us to follow Him. God equips us to KNOW HIM, His truth and asks us to follow Him. Control is not ours to have. Living life in unwavering fear is living life in the constant absence of Him. His word says, “His power is made perfect in weakness.” We were created for contentment in His truth that we are weak and have the gift of wearing His strength. His strength shines in our weakness and dependence on Him. (2 Corinthians 12)
Following Him is an act of knowing His word, sharing His truth and loving His people. Did we catch that last part? This is the action that is required of our faith. We must not only talk to the Lord through prayer, arm ourselves with His truths and teachings in scripture but we must ACT. The act of loving from right where we are, in progress, glorifies Him and His deed to send His son to die for our sins more than any amount of prepared perfection. Just love. We are the salt and the light. We will never be perfectly prepared. Without the courage to act out of love, we miss the entire picture of the gospel.
Takeaways and application
- God created us uniquely as women to not be ashamed.
- When we overthink and add to what God originally says, we’re easily led astray.
- God's presence in our lives sets us apart.
- We are called to act out our faith by loving others and should be looking and praying for ways to do this. Let’s dive into this a bit more...
Let’s go to our God in prayer and ask for eyes to see when we can love at that moment. Which encounter with a stranger are you calling me to slow down and take a greater part in? What friend are you compelling me to pray over in my quiet space with you? What person or group of people are you calling me to step out and serve?
Matthew 5:16 “...Live so that they will see good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven.”
It is not about what could go wrong, where our weakness lies or what others expect from us. God asks us, as women of God, to surrender our weakness, our pride (let’s just call it out) and our desire to please others and to ask His Holy Spirit to come alongside us. He is our strength that we can only carry with us when we find contentment in who He says He is.
Let’s step into the rest of this week knowing our desire for significance is only fulfilled in following Jesus. His word says who He is and who He calls us to be for Him.
Meet the Author
Brittany Goff, founder of Wheat and Honey Co. and Wheatful Woman Event
Brittany enjoys equipping women in their faith through Bibles and study tools, community and sharing her experiences as a business owner and woman of faith. She enjoys speaking and coaching to make entrepreneurship simple and scalable.
She believes the power of authentic community can change the lives of women when they show up and share their stories for the purpose of connecting with and empowering women just like them.
Photography credit: Gro Group Co.