Biblical Womanhood: Quiet and Gentle Strength

I have often thought about and have recently been asked how a woman of God can be called to be strong and yet to be meek and gentle. At first thought those two ideas seem to contradict, but in reality true beauty is found in the blending of the two. God has an amazing way of taking things that seem to contradict and making them a beautiful whole!

As my husband and I have talked about this unique intermingling of traits that is God’s design for womanhood one word kept coming up in conversation: over bearing. This is the word that my husband uses when describing a woman who has not begun blending meekness, humility, and submissiveness into her strength.

A woman who is only strong is a woman who is seen to be overbearing. These are the types of women who do not bring peace when they come. This type of woman can take many forms; for example:

– the woman who is involved in every activity so that she can be nosy and a gossip
– the woman who storms wherever she goes so that people stay out of her way or give her the “assistance” that she needs exactly when she wants it
– the woman who must always be in control
– the woman who is easily angered
– the woman who puts her husband down both privately and in public
– the woman who refuses to serve in a position because it is “below” her
– the woman who steps in and tells a person how to do this or that before offering love and building a relationship

I’m sure you could add more examples of what an overbearing woman is like. We have all met them and I’m sure we know the unsettled feeling that they tend to leave behind. Women like this are or appear to be strong, yes, but they lack the quiet and gentle spirit that is of great worth to the Lord.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 4:3-4

This verse does not say that you must have a quiet and gentle personality. In fact, if that were true many Christian women who are wonderful roll models of the faith would be in trouble. We are called to live from a spirit that is quiet and gentle. That means that the basis for why we do things will not be self-serving. We will not be looking to get ahead or only watching for our own interests. We will find ways to lead and to be a part of the world around us without being abrasive towards other people.

A woman who exhibits both strength and a quiet and gentle spirit is a woman who can lead confidently without being forceful, controlling, manipulative, or intimidating. She can share her opinion in appropriate public places but she does so out of kindness and with humility. She seeks to love people well rather than looking for how she can benefit from the relationship. She seeks to offer whatever help that she can to a person in need while expecting absolutely nothing in return.

These women demonstrate incredible strength, wouldn’t you agree? They work hard. They serve hard. They love hard (even loving the hard to love). Yet they do so in a way that is so peaceful. They are quiet and gentle in their spirits.

Have you ever met the woman who works in the children’s department at church who can dance and sing and laugh with God’s littlest children? She is not quiet! She is loud and fun! But she serves out of a place of quietness and humility within herself. He intentions are pure and are the beautiful design of her loving Savior. She is not there to be noticed, congratulated, or thanked. She is there to serve and she does so from a strength given to her by the God she walks with daily.

Biblical womanhood is one of God’s mysteries; two seemingly contradictory things seamlessly combined into a thing of beauty.