Women Who Hope in God’s Word

Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word. -Psalm 119:74

Here are a few good questions:

• What do people do when they see me coming?
• What goes through their head when they see my name on their caller ID?
• How do people feel after they’ve spent time with me?

Let’s go back to that verse – “Those who fear you (God) shall see me and rejoice!“

Do people rejoice when they see me coming? Are their hearts uplifted after they’ve spent time with me? How does that even happen?

“Because I have hoped in your word.”

That’s it! When I find my joy, peace and hope in God’s Word, that’s what’s going to come out of me. All too often I’m filled with frustration, annoyance, complaining and criticism. Those aren’t the traits that make people rejoice to see me. It’s actually nothing in me that makes them rejoice. It’s Christ in me, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

(I saw this sign in the store last week and loved the message!)

When we try to do this in our own strength, here’s what happens:

For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Proverbs 5:3-4

Yikes. This passage is a general warning about an adulterous woman, but that doesn’t mean that we are incapable of mirroring a few of her traits. Have you met a woman who seemed nice at first but then ended up being a two-faced stinker? Yeah. Have you ever acted like that? I know I have.

The passage goes on to say “Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house (verse 8). That’s the opposite of rejoicing when you see someone.

How do we become Psalm 119 women and not Proverbs 5 women? Run to grace. Run to God’s Word.

“The Bible is the story of a hero Redeemer who transforms weak and ordinary people by his powerful grace. The Bible puts before us people who were just like you and me. Grace transformed their hearts, giving them the desire, power, and wisdom to do what they would not have been able to do on their own.” New Morning Mercies

These passages of Scripture are ones that the Holy Spirit has used to convict my heart in the last couple months. I’m sharing this with you today intentionally on International Women’s Day.

Here’s why: the world says we need more women in leadership who can lead the charge in overcoming all the hardships of today: inequality, racism, the global pandemic and more.

What if the world had more women who hoped in God’s Word? What if the world had women who were confident in a loving, all knowing, all powerful, ever present God and who rested in His sovereign control over the universe?

How would your world change if you placed your hope in God’s Word? How would it change your conversations? How would it change your responses to the little frustrations of daily life? How would it change the way you deal with heartache and loss?

Run to grace. Run to God’s Word. I’m running. Will you join me?

Read More:

• The Daily Practice That Has Changed My Life
• The Benefit of Kindness
• Why You Should Read The Bible in a Year