Women of the Word
Let me start off with a quote from a book I read a year or so ago titled, Women of the Word, by Jen Wilkin. I underlined this quote because it stood out to me, and I wanted to revisit it to allow it to sink in.
“Home, church, community, and country desperately need the influence of women who know why they believe what they believe, grounded in the Word of God. They desperately need the influence of women who love deeply and actively the God proclaimed in the Bible.”
I really want you to focus on the part of the quote that says, “the influence of women.” Maybe you are like me and you really don’t think about how you influence those around you. Women are amazing influencers. God has gifted women with a nature that has great ability to influence those around them.
What does it mean to influence? Webster’s Dictionary defines it this way, “the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways.” Women have the tremendous power to affect the attitudes and actions of those around them.
If we are always influencing those around us, how do we influence in a way that brings glory to God? To influence to the glory of God, we need to be women who focus our attention on God.
“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:10-11.
We hear and maybe know in our minds that reading God’s Word is what we should be doing. We liken it to exercise or eating healthy. Don’t get me wrong, it is a discipline. I wonder, do we understand the implications of reading or not reading God’s Word with our attention focused on the beauty of God through Jesus. I wonder if the enemy doesn’t want us reading and meditating on God’s Word because he knows what might happen when, we as women, immerse ourselves in the study of God’s Word.
He knows, as I hope you know now, that we as women are powerful to influence those around us. Seeking God with your whole heart through reading God’s Word and prayer is essential to you and I being the women who influence those around us in a way that points and guides them to Jesus. Let’s not let those things that lack true value to steal our time away from spending time with God through His Word and allowing it to change us, so we can influence in a way that has eternal implications.