A Balanced Woman of God by Charles R. Swindoll

    After my scriptural search, I came to three conclusions regarding the matter of being a balanced woman of God. Each will require a good deal of your time and each will call for a fair amount of effort if you hope to put it into action permanently.

A Balanced Woman of God Sees Scripture as God's Vital and Relevant Word Worth Her Attention, Devotion, and Application.

    I learned this principle from Timothy's mother Eunice and his maternal grandmother Lois.

And he (Paul) came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium (Acts 16:1-2).

I (Paul) thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you (Timothy) in my prayers night and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. For I am with you, which fist dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well (2 Timothy 1:3-5). And that from childhood you have known the sacred writing which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15)

    On the basis of these biblical examples, I challenge you to get serious about the Bible. Start meeting with God on a regular basis each day. Get away from those hours spent in secular magazines and cheap novels, watching the soaps, and listening to the gossip garbage from neighbors! Become a woman who knows her Bible. You will be amazed at the built-in filter system God's truth will provide.

A Balanced Woman of God See Herself as Valuable, Gifted, Responsible for Her Own Growth and Maturity... Not Overly Dependent On Anyone To Get Her Through Life Or To Make Her Secure.

    I learned this second principle from a first-century business woman named Lydia and the wife of Aquila, a terrific lady named Pricilla. Both of these women were extremely competent people...persuasive, yet teachable and gracious. Again, there was balance. And both were keen thinkers. Priscilla joined her husband as they both (!) helped correct Apollos who was soft in one particular area of his theology.

...when Priscilla and Aquila heard him they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him, and when he arrived, he helped greatly those show had believed through grace; for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:24-28).

    I'm not saying these ladies left their husbands (if Lydia was married) to "do their thing," but they were both highly respected by the apostle Paul. I'm confident Apollos was equally impressed. Remember that even though you are joined to your husband as "heirs together," you're not Siamese twins! If you need your husband for security and hope to go on, it's possible that you have assigned him a role that only your Lord should fill. Think about that.

A Balanced Woman of God Sees the Lord as Her Strength, Her Refuge, and Her Shield.

    God urges you to hang in there and let Him work on your behalf...to trust Him and allow him to sustain you and nourish you and to be your stability; your thick, comforting shield of protection. To give you the ability to hold up even though the pressure won't go away.

    This is like the devotion found in Ruth to Naomi which eventually led to her deep faith in God: Ruth says: ...don't urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. (Ruth 1:16) Ruth was told

I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband -- how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel under whose wings you have come to take refuge. (Ruth 2:11-12)

    May the Lord our God give you great grace to endure without fear, genuine mercy to forgive without resentment, and prevailing peace to continue without a doubt.

This excerpt is taken from the booklet Woman: A Person of Worth and Dignity (Zondervan Publishing House, 1995). It is available at your local bookstore or by calling 1-800-727-3480.

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