Women’s Ministry Minute
May 14, 2020
With Crystal Pinske
Genesis 1:26-27 says that you and I are made in God’s image. He was both male and female. We are the human flesh of His precious creation. He lowered Himself to relate to our humanity; to connect with us, be close to us. As women we can know that God understands; our body’s hormonal changes, our moods, insecurities, anxieties, the need to nurture and be loved. God gets us. Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” God was lovingly concerned for Adam’s well-being. He cared that he would be lonely so (He still has that loving care for us today) He made woman; a part of Adam, yet different. She would be that colorful sparkle in his life like we try to be for our husbands; a comfort and companionship. Maybe God met with them in the garden from time to time; a relationship and the desire for intimacy. Genesis 3:8-9 The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Isn’t that what we say when looking for a friend, rephrasing, “Where have you been? I’ve missed you.”
In what ways does God try to intimately connect with you? In what ways does He prompt your heart? Does He have to ask “Where are you?” Longing to be with you, calling your name? Exodus 33:12-23 strikes my soul to the very core; I can barely read it without shedding tears in awe of the Almighty God. Psalm 139:5-6 says, “You hem me in behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” To read of the intimacy between God and Moses, is too wonderful for me to know. Being so close, Moses dare ask God to see His glory and amazingly, He lets him. This is too lofty for me to attain. Verses 21-23 in Exodus say “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” What a love between them! Can we have that kind of love with God? Do you want it? The closeness they shared was not without affect. Being in the presence of God, Moses’ face became radiant. It literally glowed. When you’ve been with God in prayer, personal bible study, meditation on Him, what affect does it have on your life? Can others see or feel it?
God Feels Deeply After He finished all of His creation, He looked it over and was pleased. He saw that it was “very good.” When you plan a project, labor over it, put time and skill to it, do you step back after its’ all done with admiration and think, Wow! That’s “very good.” You feel so happy about it that you go back many times in a day to admire the little details of what makes it “your creation”? Can you think of other examples in which God was pleased; that He felt happy? How can we, as His creation, bring a little joy to Him? Cause Him to smile? In God’s humanity, He also feels grief. Genesis 6:5-6 say, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” It is a comfort to know that God truly understands when our heart is filled with pain. When we grieve, He’s ever present; sitting close, holding our hand, whispering “I’m right here.” So bury your head in His big chest and weep. He can take it.
God Remembers Psalm 103:14 . . . for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” As a loving father, full of compassion and mercy, God remembered Noah and gave us, mankind, a second chance. Genesis 9:12-17 say, “And God said, This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come.” vs.14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.” It is a marvelous thing that God is remembering you and me when making this covenant with Noah. We were and are on His mind. Again, “such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain”. In His humanity, God still wants intimacy with us. When we were kids, and a rainbow appeared in the sky, we’d make a mad dash outside to get a full view, pointing upward and yelling for everyone around to see. It was a big deal and still is today. Living in the country, I’ve seen double rainbows and we stood, in awe, until they faded away. Each time a rainbow appears, in real time, I imagine God is painting a living, breathing portrait of His love; remembering me. Take a moment, get out your phone, open up your photos, and look at the reminders of time with loved ones. God’s humanity to remember endears HIM to us so WE can remember what He did FOR us.
Something to ponder; God has a body. Remember in Exodus 33; God has a voice that spoke to Moses; “And the Lord said. . .God has a face that no one can see and still live; a hand that put Moses in the cleft of a rock and covered him when He passed by, only to reveal His back. God expressed humanity in the human body form which we understand, connect with and relate to. 2 Chronicles 16:9 The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. Does it unnerve you to think that God is watching you at this very moment? Or is it a comfort that He sees you, knows you, understands everything about you? Why would He want to do this? To lower Himself to relate to our humanness, to give us strength to make it through this life? We need Him, cannot survive without His presence. Sometimes we act as if we can, until a little virus reminds us of His Sovereignty, our weakness and the desire for Him to fix it. This situation is not new; the plagues that Egypt suffered and the Israelites spared, we all know. A friend shared with me, Isaiah 26:20 “Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by.” We may not understand the whys of our current new abnormal, but God sees what’s happening, feels our pain, and remembers the reason for creating us in the first place – Love. Other examples of God’s humanity that builds intimacy: John 1 The word became flesh and lived among us. John 2 Jesus did what his mother asked him to do and turned water to wine. Matt. 17:1-7 The Transfiguration. Peter, James and John were allowed to participate. I’m sure they felt especially close to Jesus.