A New Year's Resolution You Will Enjoy Keeping: A Bible Study!

By Cheryl Dickow
Catholic Online

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. John 15:7

The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. Genesis 2:18

As we embark on our pilgrimage, searching for Truth, Scripture calls us to look deep into the lives of the women whose stories are told. Scripture beckons us, knowing that we can be touched by His precious words, His beloved heroines. In Scripture we see courageous women, warrior women, and women rulers. Some women in Scripture have been embraced while others have been cast out. Women have brought both evil and salvation. Women, the Word of God shows us, are the embodiment of strength and ability in some of the most vulnerable of situations. They can save or destroy nations. Their fortitude is awe-inspiring. While teaching us about their own lives we find that they teach us about our lives as well.

Women of Scripture speak to us in familiar and loving ways. They know our struggles and reach to us in their stories. They help us learn how to live a life pleasing to God and yet fulfilling for ourselves. We find assurance that our own uniqueness is both expected and nurtured. In studying and understanding Scripture we come to see that these women, these role models, all have their own special relationship with God. Some women have had the audacity to be in disobedience to God while others are in complete obedience. Some argue and chortle at God while others revere His existence. In the end, each and every woman's relationship with God is wonderfully her own. In this way, no woman is left without a heroine. Whether she is homemaker or warrior, her predecessor is in Scripture.

We see silent women, joyful women, powerful women, repentant women, and wily women. Through it all we continue to be assured that each and every woman whose mention appears in a verse, a paragraph, a chapter, or a book is there for a reason. Her story might be our story. Her story might be our best friend's story or our sister's story. Her story exists for a reason just as she existed for a reason: just as each of us exists for a reason. For His reason we came into being and for His reason we move forward into the world.

We, too, are courageous women and warrior women and women rulers. We, too, are silent women, joyful women, repentant women, and wily women. We understand that God put before us life and death, and we chose life. Every day we rise to the challenge and draw strength from the knowledge that only with God will our roles be truly fulfilled and fulfilling.

If we fail to do our job, or reach our destiny, we leave a hole in God's plan. No one, we will see, can do what each of us is uniquely called to do. We are different for a reason: His reason. Embracing the Word of God allows us to embrace our own individuality. So, whether it is in our home, in our relationships, at work, or in some distant corner of the world, our purpose is ours alone. An opportunity to be most fully alive is found in achieving that purpose.

In sharing with us His anointed examples of the women in our faith history, God shares with us His understanding of our struggles and His support of us in our journey. He reminds us how uniquely He made us. He comforts us through our pain and cheers us through our successes. And while He does not promise us a life without distress, He does give us His word that He will be with us during distressing times.

However, living in a secular world has taken us off our intended path. And in so doing has minimized our inherent worth in Christ who so believed in our intrinsic value that He willingly died for us. We sometimes find our life's purpose in direct opposition to our worldly existence. We are often receiving mixed opinions and are reluctantly following advice that changes from day to day. It is no wonder that people are flocking, in droves, to anyone who has a viable message of love and happiness. God created us to be both receivers and deliverers of His love. It is part of our nature to seek out love because our original source of that love is God Himself. But in our pursuit of that fulfillment we ought to be wary of words that are not in compliance with Scripture and His ways. This is why time spent studying the Word is invaluable. We come to know Him through the bible and are able to discern the messages of today.

Many women today are turning, or returning, to their Creator for His vision of their lives. We are inspiring one another and understand the role we played during Jesus' time on earth and throughout church history. Indeed, women today are yearning to carry on the tradition handed to them by their sisters-in-faith. We are finding a renewed sense of self as we embrace the wisdom found in the Scripture.

In turning back to God's Word, as our source of insight and guidance, we find the support we crave. In Scripture we find heroines of every shape, size, and color. We find ourselves encouraged as only God can, with love, kindness, and understanding. We find the reason for our being.

From Scripture, we can rest assured that our worth, in God's eyes, is no less (and no more) than man's. Our society has gone myriad ways in regards to women's roles and women's rights but not so with Scripture. It was said quickly, and early on, (see Genesis 1:26-27) that a woman's worth was sacred. A woman is held in the highest esteem in God's eyes. Her work is both necessary and sacred to God's plan for the world. It is a message that we should humbly acknowledge. Genesis 2:20b-23 adds another dimension to the creation of woman.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and 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. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."

Without woman, man was incomplete. God's plans for humanity could not yet be accomplished. Just as the Father is only complete with the Son and with the Spirit, man is only complete with woman. There was much to fill man's world and yet the need for the creation of woman could not be ignored. It was woman, and nothing else, that would complete man's existence or more pointedly, complete God's plan. They were to work together to build God's kingdom on earth.

Ultimately these sagacious creation verses impress upon us our intrinsic worth. They ring peacefully in our ears and rest softly in our hearts. They are the food of our infant daughters and the nourishment of our sisters and friends. When we raise our daughters in this understanding and remind our friends of their inherent worth in Christ, we give them an awareness that can forever impact their existence.

When we encourage one another to recognize and satisfy our longing for God with God Himself, we allow each other to be free from misplaced priorities. Being free from misplaced priorities allows us to embrace our lives with revived hope and joy. Jesus left us with peace and it is in that peace we are able to live most abundantly.

There is great and lasting comfort in knowing how vital we are to God's plan for the world. We need to be free from worldly messages that take us off our path to God. We will see from the women of Scripture that God's plan cannot unfold without each and every one of us. Our life was a purposeful gift from God. What we do with our lives is a gift we give back to Him.

Each woman in scripture has a beautifully unique story that should open our eyes and our hearts to the variety of roles that we will play in our lives. If we have allowed ourselves to be truly blessed, our earthly friendships will also reflect this diversity. We will have friends who are feisty and friends that are complacent. We will know women who are outspoken and courageous as well as women who are withdrawn and content (which is often a courageous statement in and of itself!). They are all a part of our lives, as we are of theirs, to bring completion and wholeness. We should inspire one another, console one another, and support one another.

When we draw our understanding and wisdom from scripture we will find that there is a plan for the likes of each and every one of us, in every phase of our life. We will all find the heroines that God has provided in His word. We will recognize that different seasons of our life require these different heroines, each with their own unique characteristics and personality. In that way, Scripture becomes our lifeblood. Scripture connects each of us to God through all the times in our life.

In God's Word we will see our friends and we will see our neighbors. We will see that we are created as loving beings that should bolster one another. We will cherish the great diversity that exists in the paths of our lives. Scripture will show us what is truly important and help us set our ways in accordance with God's mandates. Scripture will kindly show us our struggles are not new. Through God's Word we will find women that are just like us: women on a journey.

Lord,

May I always be guided
by the examples
You have given me in Scripture.

May I understand
my immense worth in Your eyes
and my value to
my family, friends, and neighbors.

May my life unfold
as You have chosen,
which I know to be a life
pleasing to You,
of service to others,
and
full of joy and peace.

I ask this all
in Him,
with Him,
And
through Him.

Amen.

Tired of New Year's resolutions like dieting and exercise? Consider making a half hour commitment every Sunday to a bible study that is both enlightening and enjoyable! This excerpt is taken from the Catholic women's bible study, "Reclaiming Your Christian Self in a Secular World." It was recognized by Catholic Press for its work in gender issues. "Reclaiming Your Christian Self" is available on Amazon or through Cheryl Dickow's website www.AskKnockSeek.com.

Contact

Ask, Knock, and Seek
http://www.AskKnockSeek.com MI, US
Cheryl Dickow - author, speaker, editor, 248 917-3865

Email

Cheryl@AskKnockSeek.com

Keywords

Bible Study

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