“On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable ...”
1 Corinthians 12:22
The Writer
I have always been a writer and fell in love with writing from an early age. My first diary entry
was when I was nine years old. Just a couple weeks ago, I was flipping through my decade old journals and reading them aloud for my husband. Since then I’ve had time to sit and ponder why writing meant so much to me. Writing validated my thoughts and feelings without any judgment. As a young little girl and even now as a young woman, I’ve always wanted to feel heard. Understood. Seen. Loved. And writing became my safe space to acknowledge my own insecurities, feelings of pain and anger, moments of happiness, and simply my own existence. In other words, it was one of the only places where I felt that my voice mattered as a young girl.
I think deep down every human being has an innate desire to be seen and loved, especially as a woman. We think to ourselves, do my thoughts and voice matter? Does my existence make a difference? Is there any place for me in the kingdom of God as a woman? Am I meant for more? But here is a beautiful truth: God elevates your value as a woman because you are part of His plan. There indeed is a place for women and their voices to matter in the kingdom of God.
The God Who Includes Women
God elevates the value of a woman when the world diminishes it because we are
included in His plan. All throughout generations and cultures, women have struggled with
being viewed equally as men. Many times they were looked down upon or given the lowliest of work. In some eastern cultures, female babies were deliberately killed because families preferred male babies who could financially provide, carry the family name, and be more successful. It makes one wonder if women are valuable or just an afterthought of creation. However God’s character and heart is opposite of the world’s. When the world chooses the strong, God actually chooses the weak so that no one can boast about themselves but in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:27).
He welcomes those who are unworthy to become worthy. To become His. This is a comforting truth that God uses nobodies, misfits, and oddballs to carry out His good and sovereign plan.
This is exactly what God does in the book of Judges when He uses unlikely women to save the Israelites from their enemies. God saves His people from the Canaanites by raising a female prophet and judge named Deborah. Deborah was included in God’s plan. During her time, the Israelites were very rebellious and worshiped other idols instead of God. So then God would remove His hand of blessing from their life and allow their enemies to rule and subdue the Israelites. They would cry out to God for help from which God would raise a judge and deliverer to save them. Deborah was the woman judge that God raised to deliver His people.
Maybe for some time you may have been wondering if your presence even matters in this world or if anyone cares about you. You ask yourself why someone would want to take a chance on you because there’s nothing good that you can do. There may be some moments you find yourself thinking it would be best to be quiet and out of everyone’s way because you don’t want to burden them with your presence. Your pillow is soaked with tears as you’ve considered how your disappearance would be better than your existence. You take a look at how you’ve failed as a woman, mom, daughter, daughter in-law, and as a human being and wonder how you could possibly continue living on.
The next time you find yourself facing those destructive lies about your worth, be a woman of the Word of God just like how Deborah was. Remember and really believe God’s truths and promises from the Bible because it will be your lifeline.
But in the midst of feeling worthless, remember the God who values women, that of
which are often seen as weak or insignificant to others. He welcomes those who are
unworthy to become worthy. To become His. This is a comforting truth that God uses nobodies, misfits, and oddballs to carry out His good and sovereign plan. You are important, and you do matter. He includes women in His family and in His plans the way that He included Deborah in becoming a female judge and mother to the Israelites (Judges 5:7). Doesn’t this make your heart sing? Women have always been a part of God’s plan since the beginning of time. You are not an afterthought after God created men. You are never a dispensable part easily ready to be replaced or thrown out by someone else (1 Corinthians 12:14-26). God has a place for women in His kingdom and it’s not just to be an outsider watching others dine at the Lord’s table. He has a seat specifically for you at His table and is welcoming you to join Him.
The Woman of the Word of God
Deborah had a constant awareness and fear of God which gave her courage and bravery for the next task of leading an army with Barak against their enemies. She was a prophetess, a spokesperson, on behalf of God to His people. She’d sit under the trees and relay God’s timely truths to the people around her (Judges 4:4). She was a woman of the Word of God who delighted in Him.
The next time you find yourself facing those destructive lies about your worth, be a woman of the Word of God just like how Deborah was. Remember and really believe God’s truths and promises from the Bible because it will be your lifeline. This might look like reading the Bible for ten minutes a day or memorizing a couple Bible verses so that these truths and promises will be engraved into your heart and mind. Write down your thoughts and feelings in a journal and have it addressed to God. When you are feeling worthless and small, open your Bible to Psalms 139 and read it aloud. Marinade yourself in the stories of the Bible because you will see what God is really like and who He is.
The One
Back then I wrote and scribbled the intimate parts of my being in my journals and envied for
someone to stumble upon them. I wanted that person to pick up the shattered pieces of my
heart and put them back together. To see me for who I was. To feel the feelings I felt. Simply to see me for me. But I’ve begun to realize that Someone has been there for me all along. He’s been there since the day I was born and long before I even knew Him (Psalm 139:13-18). God has become my walking omnipresent diary. He was the one picking up the shattered pieces of my spirit and putting them back together. He was the one reading the messy scribbles of my heart and the one who stumbled upon the tears of loneliness drenched on the scrunched up pages. I no longer need my diaries to validate my own existence and being anymore because God has already done so, and He wants to do the same for you.
God has so much to say to you about yourself and others, and He invites you to discover Him. Soon you will find yourself unraveling in the beauty, grace, and love of a good Creator. So rise up as the woman He’s created you as, and realize that you very well indeed are included by God.
Grace (N. Vincent Thoj) Vang
Grace Vang is the founder of The Sojourney Co and Hill City Podcast. She received a B.A. in Communications from Moody Bible Institute. Grace lives in Charlotte, NC with her lovely husband Vincent and their three cats: Luna, Momo, and Milo. She is passionate about creating content that inspires others to encounter a deeper love for God and encounter His beauty.