How to be a Strong Woman

John Piper is now finishing seven years of preaching through Romans and I know that many don’t have the time to read his sermons each week.  But I thought this section worthy of highlighting as it is not something that we hear very often and yet it is very important for half of the church.  He is explaining Rom. 16:25, “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel.”

It’s not a strength that the world knows or gives. Women, teenage girls, what do you think of when you think of being a strong woman? Or little girls, when you think of growing up to be a strong woman what do you dream? Getting this clear is important because God wants you to be strong, and both the Bible and experience tell you that in one sense you are the weaker vessel (1 Peter 3:7)—95% of the adult males in the world are physically stronger than 95% of the adult females. When you dream about being a strong woman what should you dream?

The world will tell you three ways to pursue your strength: One is by being sexy, dressing sexy, acting sexy, because men are such suckers, you can get power over them that way. Another is by being assertive, forceful, aggressive, self-confident. And third, be smart and move through all the channels of influence into positions of power. None of those is the strength Paul is talking about when he says, “Now unto him who is able to strengthen you . . . .”

Paul has in mind the inner strength that Peter mentioned for women in 1 Peter 3:6 where Peter tells the women to be like Sarah and the holy women of old: “You are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.” And the kind of strength that Proverbs 31:25 is talking about when it says, “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.”

In other words, women, young girls, dream of being so confident in God, and who you are in God as the daughter of the king of the universe, and what he has done for you and promises to do for you and be for you in Jesus Christ, that you fear nothing but God and laugh at the time to come—no matter what it holds. Sexiness—I promise you will lose it—and the man you get with it is not the kind of man you want. Assertiveness, you will alienate the very kind of people you want to be around. Halls of power, they are like grass: The wind passes over it and it is gone. But the strength that God gives through the gospel abides forever. “Now unto him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel . . . be glory forevermore.”