God chooses and uses women. That statement might seem obvious, but for thousands of years it has been up for debate in the Church, particularly as it pertains to leadership. Twelve years ago, I was asked to share my story for a compilation book entitled, “The Resignation of Eve: What if Adam’s rib is no longer willing to be the church’s backbone.” The author, Jim Henderson, interviewed several female leaders in various states of decision concerning their role in the church. He chose roots of the word resignation to illustrate the various postures we held: some had literally resigned from their positions, some were resigned to maintaining a limited role within the church, while others had re-signed on to further exploits for the Lord despite opposition.
In Scripture, where there are women, there are often questions. There aren’t many instances like the prophetess Deborah, one of Israel’s judges, who was so effective that Barak, their military leader said he refused to go into battle without her. (Judges 4:8) The serpent deceived Eve with the question, “Did God really say ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ ” (Gen. 3:1) Naomi’s question provoked Ruth’s loyalty after the death of her spouse, “Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands?” (Ruth 1:11) Mordecai’s question revealed the sovereign will of God for Queen Esther’s life, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Est. 4:14) When the woman anointed Jesus’ feet with her perfume and dried them with her hair in preparation for His burial, Judas asked, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages,” (John 12:5). Throughout Scripture there have been questions surrounding what God is doing with women and why.
Israel had been promised a Messiah and told He would be born of a virgin. Everybody knew it, yet the virgin Mary still had a question. Maybe you have had this question when God began His work in your life. I had it over 25 years ago when I was called to the pastorate, “How can this be?” Mary asked because childbirth seemed an impossibility for her, despite Israel’s legendary prophetic promise. She had not had intimate relations with a man, which should have been an attribute of qualification, not disqualification. Our notions of impossibility can blind us when God is actively doing the miraculous. The Angel Gabriel was announcing a supernatural conception of her child by the Holy Spirit, but her mind and heart had difficulty conceiving how this could be true. Have you ever had God reveal something that was beyond your heart’s ability to imagine? When I was invited to be an Associate Pastor, I asked, “How can this be?” I actually said inwardly, “This can’t be. I’ve never seen women in this position before.” Growing up, women were not allowed to be key or set leaders in church. Yet there I was, and here I am. Now, I can at least partly answer the question “How this can be…because God chooses and uses women.
If interested in the book, the Resignation of Eve, you can order it on Amazon.