Zondervan - Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women

ZONDERVAN

Beloved

Copyright 2018 by Zondervan

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Epub Edition August 2018 9780310762812

ISBN 978-0-310-76277-5

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Contributor: Lindsay A. Franklin

Interior design: Denise Froehlich

Printed in the China

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Ebook Instructions

In this ebook edition, please use your devices note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response]. Use your devices highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

I ts hard to be a young woman sometimes. Were bombarded by lots of different messages about who were supposed to beand often, those messages contradict each other. So, whats the right path? Who do we listen to? Which messages should be filtered out and which should be embraced?

If were followers of Jesus, we look to Gods Word for answers. What does God think about the issues we face? What does he say about who were supposed to be and how were supposed to act? What does it mean to be a godly woman, anyway?

We can find a lot of wisdom about this in Proverbs 31. But is that all the Bible has to say about being a girl? Maybe you feel like your entire identity as a woman cant fit into a proverb. Welcome to the club, sister. Few of us feel like we can be summed up in a small sound bite.

Thankfully, the Bible has so much more to say about the unique challengesthe heartaches and the high pointsof being female. There are dozens of women in the Bible, some named but many unnamed. Were going to take a look at about sixty of them. Through their stories, well discover role models and cautionary tales, tragedies and triumphs. And guess what? The stories of these ancient women are surprisingly relevant to our lives today.

Your identity as a woman matters to God, beloved daughter. So, lets see what he has to say about it.

Contents

You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.

SONG OF SONGS 4:7

S ome people think that the Bible is a guys book. A book written by men, about men, for men. That girls and women have little or no role in Gods interaction with humankind. That were afterthoughts.

What a strange misconception. The truth is God not only protected, upheld, and valued women in ways far beyond most cultures in the eras when the Bible was written, but he also saw fit to include many three-dimensional portraits of historical women in his Word. Our female examples in the Bible rarely fall into the two stereotypes so often foisted upon womenvirtuous angels or wicked seductresses. No, most women of the Bible are drawn in real, human shades of graysometimes displaying good qualities, sometimes displaying negative qualities, filled with wisdom as well as bad choices, walking in faith and stumbling in darkness. Just like the men of the Bible. Just like us.

Girls and women are not Gods afterthoughts. Were his daughters. Valued. Adored. Cherished. Beloved.

[Your Notes]

The LORD God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.... So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the mans ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

GENESIS 2:18, 2122

T hese few lines from Genesis have sparked a lot of debate in the millennia since they were written. Are they proof of womens inferiority to men? Are they proof that women were created to serve men? Are they proof that a womans worth depends entirely on what she has to offer a man?

When we look closer, we can see something beautiful here. We see that God was not creating an accessory for Adamsomething pretty to dangle from Adams arm like a piece of jewelry. God was creating a missing piece for Adam. Mankind, Gods highest and most treasured creation, was not complete without women.

We are not mere accessories, ladies, and we never have been. We are the final piece of creation, formed in a way unique from every other creature God made.

[Your Notes]

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

PROVERBS 31:10

I f you ask a hundred people what the ideal woman is like, youre likely to get a hundred different answers. Depending on the worldview, culture, and personality of the person youre asking, you could hear anything from meek and mild to independent and assertive. But what does God have to say on the matter?

There probably isnt one ideal woman from Gods perspective either. He has made us wonderfully diverse with varying strengths, weaknesses, and interests, just like men. But when we read about the Wife of Noble Character in Proverbs 31, we can begin to see some of the qualities that are biblical ideals for femininity. No matter our personality or our interests, whether or not well be someones wife, these qualities are worthy ones for all women who seek to serve God.

So, what does Gods ideal woman look like? Is she a superheroine or a regular girl? Is she tough or tender? The answer to all those questions is... yes, she is. She is all these things, and more.

[Your Notes]

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

PROVERBS 31:25

S trength. The Wife of Noble Character is a pillar. She doesnt crumble. She exudes confidence because she is capable and respected. Shes straight-up strong, and theres no denying it.

This sounds like all of us, one hundred percent of the time, right? Ahem. Yeah, probably not. Sometimes were not oozing confidence. Sometimes were the awkward girl in the back of the room hoping no one will notice us. Sometimes were the girl who feels overwhelmed by her responsibilities and who would very much like to crumble.

Thats okay. An ideal is something to shoot for. If we can grasp how God sees usas beloved daughters, equipped to do everything he has set before usthen we can begin to grow in strength and confidence. We can nurture this godly ideal that lives somewhere inside each of Gods daughters. Embrace your strength. Its there already, waiting for you to grow into it.