Freedom Series – The Power of Woman (Part 1)

When I think the word women, I think strength, power, courage, a love that is willing to push past pain, a God bearer, a warrior, beautiful, raw, creative, beauty that God has made. I think of a part of the heart of God. I think equal, valid, worthy, free. When I see women now in the church, I see potential not fully realized. Fear, caution, restriction, women who aren’t sure who they’re meant to be. And sometimes, I catch a glimpse of more who is being all that she was created to be. And when you see a woman like that, is I’m convinced one of the most beautiful things on earth. I see 1 Timothy 2 translated where women should be silent. The Greek says “Women should be peaceable, see a scripture as a weapon against women where God intended this to be a safeguard for women.”

I grew up free. My parents believe that women can do anything. I had a conversation in a church setting. I must have been late teens, early 20s, and I was told that the gifts that God had put in me, the things that I was most excited about, they weren’t gifts from God. But rather, God had put them in me as a strange test to see if I would fully submit. And if I tried to step into any of those things, then that would be rebellion rather than obedience to God. I remember feeling confused and really upset if I’m honest, crying out to God one day, “God why do you hate women?” And I’ve realized He doesn’t hate women. His heart is not to hold women down. He really wants to see women flourish.

When I look at the breadth of scripture on this, I see freedom, value, God lifting women up. I see that women are called to bring the kingdom of heaven on earth. I see women named as rulers. I don’t see inequality, subordination, hierarchy. I see freedom and liberation throughout. When I see the future, I see a generation of women who know who they are and who are unapologetic for it, who know their value before God and are not willing to settle for anything less, who don’t know anything but freedom, flourishing, value, and worth, seeing miracles happen all around them, who know the power of God in, and free them wherever they go.