The Worth of a Woman Bible Study 5
God Has a Plan for Women of Worth
Our pastor shared this story and I love it: A woman entered an ice cream store in Kansas City, Mo and purchased an ice cream cone.
She paid for it and as she turned around, she found herself face to face with Paul Neumann who was in town filming a movie. She
was totally mesmerized as she gazed into those incredibly blue eyes when she heard him say, “Hello!” She was totally speechless
but she did manage to stumble out of the store, when she discovered she didn’t have her ice cream cone. As she turned to go back
into the store, again she is face to face with Paul Neumann who said, “Are you looking for your ice cream cone?” She managed to nod
her head. “You put it in your purse with your change!” I seem to relate well to that bit of humor as I am frequently amazed at my
own displacement of personal items. Some times we are so overwhelmed, we don’t know if we have ice cream in our purse or if we’re
in our purse., and that’s when we’re glad God always has a delivery plan in place for us!
A Woman of Worth may be confused and experience times of being completely overwhelmed and so it’s comforting to know this: “God
has examined my heart and knows everything about me. He knows when I sit or stand. When far away He knows my every thought.
He charts the path ahead of me and tells me where to stop and rest. Every moment, He knows where I am. He knows what I am
going to say before I even say it. He both precedes and follows me and places His hand of blessing on my head....He saw me before I
was born and scheduled every day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in His book. How precious it is Lord,
to realize you’re thinking about me constantly. I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me and when I
waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!” Living Bible Psalms 139:1-5;16-18
God never stops thinking about you. The Lord God Almighty scheduled every day of your life before you were. Every day was
recorded in His book before you ever left the womb. Regardless of how you view your life, God’s plan for you is good and He’s already
been in your tomorrow. Eugene Peterson said in his introduction to the Book of Matthew, “Every day we wake up in the middle of
something that is already going on, that has been going on for a long time..not only is everything previous to us completed in Jesus,
we are completed in Jesus!”
Your life is a prize, is that how you view it? That’s hardly how you would describe it? Maybe you need to start saying what God says
about it and He says it’s a prize. Jeremiah tells us that at least three times. Life is something you will never be without..you will never
stop living. When God breathed into man the breath of life, it was for keeps..it never quits. The best news I can give you is that God
not only breathed life into you but He has a structured plan in place. Where we get into trouble is when that plan seems to go awry,
we want to straighten it up and get it back on tract. We want to help God out.
Jeremiah 45:4-5 “Behold what I have built, I will break down, and what I have planted, I will pluck up...do you seek great things for
yourself? Do not seek them for behold I will bring adversity on all flesh, says the Lord, but I will give your life to you as a prize in all
places, wherever you go.” In this particular instance, Baruch had been Jeremiah’s friend more than once and Baruch was hoping
because of that friendship for a portion of power and distinction but because of just his association with Jeremiah, all those dreams
were lost! What Jeremiah was telling him was “all these people will be destroyed but you will be given life..it’s your prize”. It was his
booty of the battle that was about to take place. Baruch was seeking recognition, a place of prominence; God grants him life when a
whole nation of people faced death. When God said to Baruch, "Are you seeking greatness..don't do it" ..God knew in Baruch eyes
that was to have the recognition and distinction God had placed in Jeremiah. And, usually that's the emphasis we would place on
greatness for an individual. True greatness is better exemplified in serving others.
As a Woman of Worth, you are worthy; your life is a prize, it may not be what you would hope for but God’s plan for you is always
good. 2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has given to you all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him.”
When finances, relationships, your health or whatever seem to be deteriorating, concentrate on knowing Him better. We can trust
Him to meet our needs in all things through the knowledge of Him. The Living Bible says it this way: “Do you want more and more of
God’s kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. For as you know Him better, He will give you, through His
great power, everything you need for living a truly good life..” God’s plan is to show His power working in you to accomplish His
purpose in it all. Don’t look to someone else for your purpose. Develop your relationship with the One who created you because He
has a plan.
Living Bible 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 “God will make you the kind of children He wants to have–will make you as good as you wish
you could be!–rewarding your faith with His power.” Feed the seeds He’s placed within you and Walla, watch you grow; Miracle Grow
could go out of business!
Message Bible Psalms 91:1 “You who sit down in the High God’s Presence, spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow, say this: God is my
refuge, I trust in Him and I’m safe. ...Fear nothing, not disease that prowls through the darkness (doesn’t sickness always seem so
much worse in the dead of night?)..nor disasters that erupt at high noon. It’s not uncommon to awake in the middle of the night with
some devastation going on in our bodies but we’re not as prone to be prepared for disasters that erupt at high noon. About two
years ago, my husband I traveled from Fort Myers, Fl to Pittsburgh Pa to attend our daughter’s wedding that was to take place the
next day in New Castle, Pa. Another daughter and her husband picked us up at the airport and we were well on our way when I
discovered my purse was missing. As soon as we could exit, we turned around and hurried back to the terminal as I was certain I had
left it in the Ladies Restroom. It was not there. It contained my credit cards, blank checks, our return tickets, and cell phone... I was
devastated that I had done such a thing. My daughter helped check every possible place; my husband was out in the trash cans
digging through who knows what. “Fear nothing, not disaster that erupts at high noon”..it was exactly noon when we had arrived at
the airport; I wasn’t fearful, I was terrorized!! God always makes a way for us. It was 7 hours later but my son-in-law was gracious
enough to make the long drive back to downtown Pittsburgh to make contact with a black woman who had found my purse. She had
done the same thing once and the person picking up her purse delivered it to her door; she had said if it ever happened that she had
the opportunity, she would see that the owner was the receiver. She had called the numbers on my cell phone until someone knew
how to contact me. Did God have a rescue operation in place, a plan for me that morning? God can handle disasters that erupt at
high noon!
It’s okay if you stick your ice cream cone in your purse when you’re totally overwhelmed! God knows how to preserve it and He knows
how to preserve you..He has a plan!!
Study notes:
1. Read Psalms 119:1-16 and write down what is most meaningful to you:
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2. In Jeremiah 45, God told Baruch that his life was a prize. In what way do you view your life as being a prize?
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3. God has a power plan in place for your life. Write down 2 Peter 1:2-3 and memorize it:
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