Women of Influence Advance God’s Agenda

By Rev. Dr. Dwayne Bond

Today, it is exhilarating to witness well-educated, extremely successful and financially savvy women making a significant difference and contribution in major corporations, businesses, organizations and communities. Women are charging the gates of opportunity and seizing the moment. They are increasingly becoming the industrious catalyst for changing and enhancing America and the present global world. Yet, when God opens the heart of a woman to know, love and understand Him and His Word, transformation takes place internally and ushers her into making an even greater impact and influence.

When a woman uses her resources, talents, wealth and influence for God, His agenda is advanced, lives are enhanced, and people who are far from Him are reached. In Acts 16:11-15, as the Apostle Paul is making his way through Macedonia, he sovereignly encounters a group of unassuming women gathered by the river to pray. As Paul engages the women, he purposefully strikes up a conversation with a wealthy and assiduous businesswoman named Lydia. She was an entrepreneur from Thyatira, a city that was known for producing an expensive purple dye. Creatively using this dye, Lydia built a successful and well-respected business. She became a highly profitable entrepreneur similar to the Proverbs 31 woman who was hardworking (Proverbs 31:13), resourceful (Proverbs 31:14), sacrificially diligent (Proverbs 31:15), and full of business savvy (Proverbs 31:16, 18). Through the use of the resources in her city, accompanied with her talents, diligence and skills, she built a lucrative enterprise that blessed her, her household, and all of Asia.

Although Lydia managed a demanding business, she was never too busy to pursue God in prayer. Consistently gathering for prayer with a small group of women by the river was her routine. Lydia recognized that regardless of her wealth, status, and accomplishments she needed more than just herself and the material possessions that she had acquired. The Scriptures inform us that she was not a Christ follower but instead a “worshipper of God.” In other words, she was a God-fearing woman that was religious and spiritually minded but had not been made alive spiritually and transformed by faith in Jesus Christ. Lydia was religious until she encountered God’s servant Paul and heard the truth about Jesus Christ. As a result, her life was radically and instantaneously changed forever.

As Lydia heard Paul talk about the good news of Jesus Christ, the Scripture says, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul (Acts 16:14).” It did not matter how educated, wealthy or religious she was. The Lord chose to “open her heart” to know and understand the truth of what Paul was saying. Thus, Lydia could immediately see and understand things that she never could before. She was made spiritually alive. Subsequently, she was baptized along with the rest of her family who heard Paul and responded by faith. As they splashed the waters of baptism, their act of obedience was declaring to their friends, community, and city that they were now Christ-followers who willingly and completely identified with Jesus Christ and everyone else who was a part of God’s family.

As a woman of influence, Lydia ensured that her family was the first to benefit from her new life in Christ. The significance of her business success paled in comparison to the new life she now had as a Christfollower. Consequently, she used her new life, current possessions, and abundant resources to further the work of God. The Scriptures say that since she was no longer simply religious but now a genuine believer in Jesus Christ (16:15), she asked if Paul and his friends would come experience her hospitality in her home. From that time forward, Lydia’s house and wealth became catalytic for the furtherance of the good news of Jesus throughout all of Asia.

Never forget that God can use your talent, success, wealth, and business savvy to not only benefit you personally but also to play vital roles in His kingdom as it seeks to influence people to the ends of the earth. May your heart be open to all that Jesus Christ may want to do with your life, resources, and future. P