Thoughts from my car as I run errands. (Don’t worry. I’m parked.)
Ladies, there’s been something on my mind for a long long time that has been simmering. It bubbles up in me every time I get an email from Christian book companies. Every time my work mailbox has yet another flyer about yet another new Bible study or yet another simulcast with the current Christian celebrity. Every time someone tells me that they just “want to get their book into the hands of the women of our church.” (In other words- they want me as a women’s ministry director to use my influence to sell their book.)
We are a huge market. We, Christian women who want to follow God, are the source of BIG MONEY. Books. Bible studies. Simulcasts. Conferences. Yet another study Bible edition with pretty flowers on the cover. I wonder how many millions of dollars get spent every year on these things.
They aren’t bad things. God has used particular Bible studies and conferences to deeply impact certain points of my life. But do you know what He has used the most, far more than anything else?
Me and my Bible in the quiet carved-out hours. Prayer that has transformed me and how He wrestles me into deeper faith and trust. And the community of His people in our local church.
But there isn’t money in this. My quiet time cannot be monetized. My prayer life cannot be monetized. And so, they will continue to churn out studies and books and stuff- and try to convince you to buy it. (Again - hear me in this... these are not bad things and there are good and helpful tools that are available to us, thank you Lord!)
What you need is God’s Word- and not even a special edition for women. What you need is prayer. You don’t need to spend a bunch of money to grow deeply in your spiritual walk. You need to spend TIME and EFFORT to get to know the Lord, you need to ask Him to wrestle you into full submission to Him. You need to get deeply plugged into your local church, form relationships with people who are very very different from you and allow God to sanctify you through real community and the ongoing process of submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ and laboring arm in arm for the sake of His kingdom in your neighborhood and your city.
Don’t settle for what is being sold to you.