ChangeMakers: Unsung Women of the Bible (Part 1)Sýnishorn

Lydia

Lydia’s story is unique and perhaps one of the most important conversions of the time. She was a wealthy, influential, and successful businesswoman. Her saying “yes” to believing Jesus as Lord was a turning point for her entire community.

The Book of Acts tells us that Lydia lived in Thyatira, a city in modern-day Turkey. While she was already a worshiper of God, she was not Jewish. As a European Gentile, she would have presumably been aware of Yahweh but more intimate with the Greco-Roman gods. She may have relied on them for her business success and credited them with providing her with strategic trading relationships that expanded her business.

After hearing Paul’s message, God opened her heart. Lydia and all those under her care—her family and employees—were baptized. She led the missionaries to her home, offering hospitality and a place to launch a new church. Most theologians believe she was the first convert in Europe, where she became a leader of the first predominantly Gentile church ever to exist.

This woman’s faith and influence cannot be understated. Paul’s letter to the Philippians may not have been written without her faith and leadership in the church there.

Lydia not only shattered glass ceilings and broke barriers as an influential businesswoman, but her conversion story is also an example of the power of a woman’s choice, even in a patriarchal society. Today, women typically set the tone for their families. If Mom’s in a bad mood, the rest of the family feels it. If Mom decides to eat healthfully, the rest of the family does, too. If Mom becomes a successful entrepreneur, the kids begin to dream of their own future. If Mom encounters the living God, the rest of the family will likely meet Him, too.

This holds true for all women, not only mothers. The saying “happy wife, happy life” became popularized before all women had the right to vote. In a society that hasn’t always appreciated or listened to female voices, the impact of these voices cannot be ignored.

Your voice matters whether you’re a teenager, young adult, mom, wife, single, married, working from home, or running a company. We are each uniquely created in God’s image to carry His message.

Prayer & Meditation

If you are a woman, where have you silenced your own voice? As you meditate on Lydia’s image in the artwork above, consider her story, a woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer (verse 15). Then, consider the power of your voice.

Do you feel God nudging you to step out in faith? To speak up? To share your faith? To pray with and for your family and friends? To speak out against injustice?

If you are a man, ask God to show you where you might have diminished a woman’s voice. Where you’ve chosen to silence her by refusing to listen? Consider the impact of Lydia’s voice on the church in Philippi, the surrounding European region, including her business partners, and the church, even today, as a whole. Then step out in faith!

Written by Hannah Rowen Fry

Photo Credit: Paul Meets Lydia, by Boettcher and Trinklein tv inc, via freebibleimages.org

Thank you for exploring the lives of these incredible, unsung women of the Bible. We pray that it has been a source of encouragement and maybe even a challenge as you live and love like Jesus. Follow Women Speakers Collective to be notified when Part 2 of this plan is released in 2025!

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