God tells Christian women we already please him, contrary to the secular world’s view of us. The world tells us to become a caricature of our true selves and then only offers conditional approval. God is delighted when we are our true selves, and this is when we find joy and contentment. The “approval” the world gives, even its definitions, will depress us as it lies to us. So let’s explore Genesis to Revelation and see how God delights in us.
God expressed his delight in us in the very first chapter of his book, Genesis 1:27, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” God describes men and women with such dignity saying they are “Created in his image.” God chooses the esteemed verb, “created” to honor us and to show his sense of wonder. Contrast this with the secular world’s term for men and woman, “Gender assigned at birth.” How sad to assume men and women were forcefully “assigned” to an unwanted gender that they would later “need” to camouflage or alter through painful surgeries and drugs with dangerous side effects.
Not only does God not say he forcefully assigned gender, he says that after creating men and women, his creation was “very good,” (Gens.1:31.) And in verses 28-31, he bestows so much honor on them, he blesses them by telling them to be fruitful and multiply (verse 28a) and gives them dominion to rule the entire earth, even the animals. He bountifully supplies them with all the plants to eat (at the time people were vegetarians) and lets them know he has given more than enough food for the animals too. Throughout the first two chapters of Genesis, God speaks with joy about his creation, especially the humans. He blesses them over and over. Even after the humans fall into sin, God shows them redeemed esteem and forgiveness (chapters 3 and on in Genesis.)
In Job 38:7b, God expresses his joy and the angel’s joy at the world’s creation, “the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.” Psalm 104 speaks of similar joy at God’s creation of the world, especially verse 31, “May the glory of the Lord continue forever! The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!” God made us, and he takes pleasure in us! All the way to the end of his Bible, in Revelations 4:11b, God lets us know we please him. How? God says, “For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” God created us, and this means we please him. How? By being who we are. God lets us know we are loved and safe and worthy, just because we exist, without any great performance, and while we are flawed and making mistakes.
But the secular world tells the lie “I must perfect myself to be worthy.” Sadly this means some people believe the lie that they have to change themselves, from their gender, to their hopes and dreams, to their personality, and really to their very soul. Our world cannot see contentment as an intrinsic value. Instead the world says we can only be happy if we please others or if we use others for their external value. God says we can be content to be who God made us to be. God says that we are loved, safe and worthy, just because we exist. We don’t have to perform for him to love us, and God loves us even when we are not excelling, even when we make mistakes or lie sick in bed for a long time.
So many people think they need to change their outward appearance, when their hearts are hurting. This is when they buy the lies like “gender assigned at birth,” and begin to question if they have a flawed body. But their bodies are beautifully made by God. He says in Psalm 139: 13-14 “You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Yes, our bodies are wonderful, and this includes those who have no athletic prowess, those who are underweight or overweight, those who are stiff and creaky in the joints, or those who are wrinkled, or those who are young and clumsy, and everyone in between. God calls your body wonderful, even beautiful.
Remember that God used the prophet Hosea to buy back his adulterous wife, Gomer. Yet despite all the evil she did and how this aged her body, God said Gomer was beloved to him, like the nation of Israel. But God did not say Gomer or Israel were ugly. Instead, he passionately said in Hosea 2:19, “I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion.” Oh, that every hurting person could see the beauty and strength in the body God created for them. I am grieved when I hear people say they feel like they do not fit in with others of their gender, so they must surgically alter their body. So many people later say this was a mistake, but they must live with the surgical scars and permanent pain.
I want everyone to know how beautiful and strong they are right now, without making any changes to who they are. There is not “one kind of woman” so any woman deviating from that norm must not be in the right gender. Women come in all shapes, sizes, and with all kinds of personalities and strengths. Each one is wonderfully made by God.
God is so joyful. In chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation, he describes the renewed world with intense joy. Look at Rev. 22:3a, “No longer will there be a curse on anything.” Read both of those chapters, because they speak of an exciting life with God in heaven, and on the new earth, which will be renewed. It will be a place of play, wonder, exploration and refreshment.
In Proverbs 8:22-31, God talks about how he created the earth. Best of all, in verse 31 wisdom, as he personifies it, says, “How happy I was with the world he created; how I rejoiced with the human family.” God uses the personification of wisdom to show how he rejoices in the creation of humans. And in the earlier chapter 3, God explains how his wisdom can give his beloved humans long life, honor, delightful paths, and ways that are always satisfying, (verses 15-17.)
All of the Bible verses I have shared here are not mechanically written to reference how God created the earth and humans. No, these are joyful, bubbling over happy verses. Please read the verses and the chapters and savor how God describes his joy in creating a beautiful world (and re-creating it in Revelation) full of delights, all to satisfy his beloved humans.
Our world offers such a poor substitute for God’s pleasure in us. Our world says we have to achieve, and we have to change to fit in. Our world tells men and women to reject their beautiful gender instead of celebrating it and enjoying it. Our world uses such sad words for people, and for the life God so vivaciously gave them.
Oh, please never believe the lies of our world, and if you have friends who have fallen for those lies, please share this post with them. I do not shame anyone who is confused about his or her gender or about her (or his) place in this world. I welcome you to talk to God, and even to me, if you would like, to explore who you are, so you can embrace the gifts God gave you. Please throw away the lies of our world that say you are not enough. If you are confused, I respect your sorrow. It is the cruelty of our world that has caused you to question who you are. Now I welcome you to relax, and explore the love of God, instead. Jesus gave his life to redeem you. He suffered for your sins (mine too) so when you surrender your life to him, you don’t have to suffer Hell’s fires, nor even suffer being alone in this world now. He will also help you to overcome your sins with his help, so never think you have to be perfect to surrender to him. He wants you to feel his joy and peace, and so do I.
Please realize I do understand pain and hurt. I know what it feels like to want to die, because the pain and rejection are so strong. I know the sting of betrayal by those I love. I know what it feels like to feel different and feel wrong for being different. But I now know the joy of reveling in being me, flaws and all. I have even found others who delight in who I am, so it is not just God who loves me. You can find this peace and joy too. Your personality came from God. So did your gender, and so many other aspects of who you are. You are God’s joy.
Thanks for joining us in this week’s post. I want others to see God’s joy in his creation so they can break free from the sad lies of our modern society. May the Lord bless you this week.