“I wish I was a boy!”
I cried these words every Saturday evening to my mother as she rolled my long blonde hair up with gel into pink sponge rollers. My grandmother did the same with my mother’s hair when she was young, so she understood how painful it was to sleep with them. My curls would last well into the week as long as I did not climb trees or play too hard in our backyard, forcing a full head-to-toe bath early in the week.
My mother often said, “Isn’t it fun being a girl? I’m so thankful God made us girls!” Little did I know, every time she said those words, the truth that God chose who I am because He made me was taking root in my heart.
God Made Woman
After creating Adam, God designed “a helper comparable to him”: a woman (Genesis 2:18). As the world continues to redefine the expectations for men and women, this biblical concept rubs many the wrong way. But this does not mean that women were an afterthought to God. Instead, God makes men and women for specific purposes that glorify their Maker.
Due to our sinful nature, we might suspect God’s design is unfair. It’s easy to adopt a victim mentality when looking at the created order. Some believe that because God created man first, He made woman as an afterthought to help with the man’s needs. This perspective is not grounded in Scripture and does not align with our Creator’s character. The word helper in Genesis 2:18 is translated from the Hebrew word ezer, which God uses to describe Himself repeatedly throughout Scripture. “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield” (Psalm 33:20). “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (146:5).
When we focus on the One who made women, we see His pure intent in giving women this special role beside men for God’s glory.
Well-known missionary-author Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “In order to learn what it means to be a woman, we must start with the One who made her.” When we focus on the One who made women, we see God’s pure intent in giving women this special role beside men for His glory.
Women in the Bible
I enjoy studying the women God highlighted in the Bible, and what better place is there to start than in Proverbs 31? This chapter describes a virtuous woman, beginning with, “The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him” (v. 1, emphasis added). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the author presented a sketch of this ideal woman; and while she is not any particular real woman, God provided this example of wisdom and responsibility for us to emulate. He also provided many examples of real women in the Bible whom He used amidst their unique circumstances and choices.
Sarah
Abraham’s wife, Sarah, knew of God’s promise to make a great nation of her husband (Genesis 12:2). The Bible does not say Sarah went begrudgingly with Abraham to the Promised Land. When God promised Abraham a son, Sarah tried to help by offering her handmaid to him. Interestingly, Sarah’s desire to help, coupled with her sinful desires, led to a baby (Ishmael) being conceived outside of God’s promised plan.
God intended for Abraham and Sarah both to be part of His plan to bring offspring—the Messianic line—into the world. When sinful desires cause people to stray from God’s intentions for them, they suffer the consequences.
Naomi and Ruth
God devoted an entire book to one of Jesus’ ancestral great-grandmothers. The book of Ruth offers so many lessons about God’s character as it relates specifically to women. Naomi, along with her husband and sons, moved from the famine-ridden land of Judea into the foreign land of Moab. Her sons took Moabite women as their wives. Some scholars argue that this was a violation of God’s law against intermarrying. After 10 years, Naomi’s husband and both sons died, leaving her and her daughters-in-law widows. While one daughter-in-law chose to stay in Moab, Ruth left to go with Naomi back to Judea.
My friend, a widow, excitedly has taught me what a sweet, unique relationship God has with widows, which is particularly clear in the book of Ruth. When Ruth left her homeland to go to a foreign land to follow a God she did not know, God cared for her and Naomi and provided Ruth a kinsman redeemer in Boaz. He turned Naomi’s desire to be called “Mara,” or “bitter,” back to “Naomi,” or “sweet.”
The Women at the Empty Tomb
Early one morning, shortly after Jesus’ crucifixion, three women traveled to His tomb to anoint His decaying body (Mark 16). They wondered how they would roll the stone away from the entrance. When they saw the stone was rolled away, they must have felt relief coupled with confusion and fear. As they walked inside, a man sitting in a white robe told them Jesus had risen (vv. 5–7)! When told to return and tell the disciples, they fled the tomb and obeyed.
We can be sure He greatly values women, no matter what the culture thinks, demonstrated by His decision to arrange for women to be the first to discover Jesus’ resurrection.
In our modern world, we don’t always see the significance of God choosing women to be the first to know about the resurrection of Jesus; but in the 1st century, this selection was powerful. God used these faithful women to tell the Good News of the resurrection, a world-changing truth, to the other disciples.
The Privilege of Womanhood
My 8-year-old often focuses on how he differs from his peers. I often tell him, “Aren’t you glad God made us all different? What a boring world this would be if we were all the same!” God made men and women different to fulfill distinct roles for His glory. As we look at those differences, we should not strive to mirror one another but to complement one another, allowing God to shape and conform us to His image. For women, that means carrying out the role of ezer—a helper, just as God is our Helper, written plainly in His Word. He is our guide whether we are single, divorced, married, or widowed.
Understanding God’s character helps us see how He uses each of us in unique ways. Sarah did not trust and wait on the Lord when He clearly promised a son, yet He was gracious and kept His promise. (Aren’t you glad God’s plan always prevails?) God’s hand at work was evident in the details of Ruth and Naomi’s story, as He provided a redeemer. And we can be sure He greatly values women, no matter what the culture thinks, demonstrated by His decision to arrange for women to be the first to discover Jesus’ resurrection.
God values us, loves us, and wants to use us in accomplishing His will. We are treasured by a mighty God. Let us not miss that truth as we live lives of faithfulness.
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Wish all girls & older ladies could read this. When we feel down about roles as a female, should read this on how God views us.