Recently, I had the honor of spending time with a group of women in their teens and twenties and we had a wonderful time talking about the importance of living a life of virtue, obedience, and purity in a world that constantly tells us to do the opposite. It was such a powerful conversation for all of us that I couldn’t wait to share the content with you!

Since we can’t all be together, we put it into eBook form so it could be shared with women near and far. I would be honored if you would take some time to check it out.

You may not be a woman in the “young” category, but you know someone who could benefit from this…send it their way! Share it with friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else you can think of! Together let’s make 2019 the year when qualities of virtue, purity and obedience make a comeback!

How to Live a Virtuous Life – God’s Plan for Young Women

You may be single, you may be dating, you may be looking to start a relationship, or you may not be interested at this point in your life. But this message is for all girls and young women.

Before we get started, you might be asking, “Cathe, what qualifies you to speak to young women? You didn’t raise any girls.” It’s true—I didn’t. I raised two boys. As I was thinking about that, I thought, “What would I have said to a daughter? How would I have raised her?” Girls are very different than boys. I know this because I am one. I have had a different experience raising boys than my own experience growing up as a girl. But I know that long ago, a woman named Bathsheba had a son named Solomon. And she taught him the important qualities to look for in a virtuous wife (see Proverbs 31). If Bathsheba could do that, then I too can say something about what it means to be a virtuous woman—the woman that God has designed us to be.

Put God First in Your Life

You may be thinking, “Not this again. Someone telling me how I need to have a devotional life, make prayer a priority, and know the Bible.” But it is the truth.

We all want to know the “interesting stuff” about a virtuous woman. What does she wear? Where does she go? Who are her friends? Whom does she date? And all of those little details. But that is sort of like trying to paint a portrait and you are focusing on one eyelash. When God is forming you into the beauty that He wants you to be, He is going to start with the big areas of your life. He wants to get the proportions right. Like an artist, He wants to make sure that your head suits your body and posture. And how you are positioned is also important as He sculpts away at the image that He wants you to become. The big areas of your life, the boundaries of your life, will be determined by whether or not you are putting God first.

I want to tell you that the first step in discovering the beauty of God’s best is not what you wear or how you look or what activities you like, but what you do with the foundation of your life. Set your course in the direction that God wants you to go.

Know God’s Perspective

It is easy to compare ourselves with the images we see on magazine covers, but God’s Word gives us another standard of measurement. He does not want us to compare ourselves with the world but to set before ourselves the godly examples of the women in Scripture and the godly role models that He has placed in our lives.

This doesn’t mean you have to be plain and unattractive. We are not going to be so spiritual that we never dress fashionably or fix our hair or care about those things. If you read the Scriptures carefully, Sarah was an older woman but Abraham had to chase the guys off because she was so attractive. Don’t write off the externals completely. There is a place for that. There is a balance to it all.

The other day I heard someone say, “Strong is the new pretty.” I’d like to change it up and say, “Virtue is the new pretty.” Girls are so blasted with different definitions of what pretty looks like. How would you define pretty? Is pretty the color pink? The right size body? The perfect shade of lipstick? It is possible for a girl to pursue all of this and still feel unsure, unwanted.

What does virtue look like? Is it a soft-focus photograph of a girl in a field twirling, arms outstretched, face photoshopped to perfection? I challenge you to take a walk through the pages of the Bible and study the diversity of virtuous women. I guarantee the stories are about as countercultural as you can get. Some were naturally athletic, outspoken, fearless, devout, hardworking, and thoughtful. Others were social outcasts, mess-ups, rejected, tormented, and desperate. But they were all loved and significant.

And it is love that transformed them into life givers, kingdom builders.

What we need in the midst of the crazy, mind-numbing messages being thrown at us is to know the love of a heavenly Father. A love which teaches us a new way to see ourselves as pretty. To have a perspective that is shaped and informed by the Word of God.

It Is a Matter of Priorities

Let me ask you this: How is your devotional life? How was your quiet time this past week? Did you carve out any time at all for the Lord in your life? I don’t mean going to church or Bible study with friends. Did you take the time and actually sit and read His Word and apply it to your life? Did you pray and say, “Lord, help me to live Your Word as You want me to”? You might say, “Cathe, it was a really busy week and I had a tough time. I had exams and this or that. And I have a job. When I get off of work, I am exhausted.”

You know what? Life is busy. We all can fill our schedules from morning until night with a lot of other things. But if you will put God first in your life, He will make room for all of those other things that are important for you to get to.

There might be someone reading this that has sensed a real need to discover what God means when He says He has a plan for your life. I can only tell you what I know the Bible says clearly: the greatest One in all the universe came and emptied Himself for our sakes and was given a name that is above every name. Only if we follow Him faithfully will we share in joy and life and glory that are unimaginable. The question I have is, are you living in a way that will shine ever brighter unto that perfect day (see Proverbs 4:18), or will what you do appear like a vapor of smoke, only to vanish away (see James 4:14)?

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How to Live a Virtuous Life: God’s Plan for Young Women.

Download Cathe’s free e-book HERE.