Sisters, how about you?
Undoubtedly we women are busy, perhaps caring for young children or getting ready for our shift at work. Maybe we're chronically ill and just getting out of bed is a chore. But I ask you sisters anyway, do you pursue Christ? On your own? Apart from your husband?
Allow me to be blunt for a moment. No one can know Christ by being Christ-adjacent. We cannot ride to Heaven on the coat-tails of our husbands. Perhaps they might lead us spiritually, but that does not mean we have no responsibility to pursue Christ for ourselves.
Daily devotions don't count, in my opinion. It's too easy for a woman to get wrapped up in her favorite author's 365 daily devotionals that talk about being "Christ's princess" or that "we matter" rather than getting our noses deep in real, actual, meaty Bible study. Why do we do this, sisters?
Why is Christ's banquet table for the men, while the women are content at the kiddie table? No, not me. Christ has spread His table for one and all. Pardon me, ladies; I am going to His feast.
If there's one thing Christ Himself proved during His ministry, it's that women have been given a profound privilege in His church. We are allowed to come directly to Him, to sit at His feet, and to learn of Him. Do not see your husband as your go-between, nor allow yourself to treat him as such. There is no mediator between Jesus and women. Christ has always been close with His daughters; He has given us dignity, and He is specifically tender toward us. Why would we deny ourselves from chasing after this glorious God-man who beckons us to come to Him freely and boldly?
I have often wondered why our Lord Jesus has seen fit to mold me into a woman who pursues Him. But the more I ponder it, the more I believe He wants all of us to come. This isn't some privilege given to a few, but to all! I can tell you from first-hand knowledge that experiencing the presence of Christ through diligent prayer and study is the closest we can get to Heaven in this flesh. We are starving ourselves, sisters, if we reach for the crumbs of devotions rather than the True Bread of Heaven. We are wasting away reading devotions written in "Christ's voice" rather than what He has proclaimed Himself in His True and Living Word!
It would seem publishers and Christian authors have tapped into a deep-seated need within women to know they are loved and valuable. These particular books (written by other women, mind) have tender words, encouraging stories, and make us feel good about ourselves. I'll tell you straight up, if all you eat is sweets, you will not be nourished beyond the sugar rush. Ladies, put down the milk. Chew on the meat of the Word! All you need can be found in Christ. What you are so longing for is HIM, His tenderness, His worth, His strength, His beauty, His mercy, His grace.
As a woman myself, who is also a former author of romance novels before I was saved, I honestly believe women are "wired", for lack of a better word, to search for the romance in relationships. But often what daily devotions and books for women do is romance the woman about HERSELF. How great you are, how much you matter, how you're Christ's princess, the value you have in God's eyes.
True pursuit of Christ is simply this:
More of Him; less of me.
Get yourself out of the way and fix your eyes upon Christ! See how Great He is. Understand how much He matters. Behold the glory of His worth. This is the ONLY food that will nourish us, sisters, no matter if we are married or single, in a godly marriage or unequally yoked, widowed or abandoned.
My precious sisters in Christ, look unto Him and be ye saved, for He is God, and there is no other.
In the magnificent name of my lovely Lord Christ,
Amen.
