I was recently asked to speak on a panel for my daughters’ high school chapel. The students submitted their questions beforehand, which helped us prepare and gain insight into the issues they were facing. Having two teenage daughters keeps me informed about what’s happening, but some of the young women’s questions were heartbreakingly honest.
How do I stop being consumed by comparison and envious of other girls? How do you learn not to hate yourself? My friends are reading books with sex scenes, and I want to read them too, but is that ok? What if I just skip those pages? How do you deal with anxiety and depression in high school? Have you ever questioned your faith because you liked a guy? My mom always yells at me, and every conversation we have turns into a war. How do I honor her when I can’t stand being around her? And the list went on and on…
I was grateful for the opportunity to address some of these questions, but our time was frustratingly short. The good news is that if you’re a young woman wrestling with these questions or others, God’s Word offers answers! Consulting trusted counselors is a good (and biblical) way to think through these questions, but God’s Word promises to guide us in the right direction and never lead us astray (see Psalm 19:7-14). His Word is sharper than any two-edged sword and can pierce through soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and thoughts and intentions (Heb. 4:12). In other words, when the situation is complicated and it’s difficult to discern what to do, God’s Word cuts through the clutter and reveals the truth.
So, what’s a young Christian woman to do? The answer, of course, is to know and regularly spend time in his Word. This is not an exhaustive list but a starting point for Christian women to commit to memory and heart what God’s Word says about this season in your life.
20 Bible Verses For Young Christian Women
- Psalm 139:14 (ESV)
I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
- 1 Timothy 2:9 (ESV)
Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, - Titus 2:4-5 (ESV)
And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
- Proverbs 11:22 (ESV)
Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.
- 1 Peter 3:3-4 (ESV)
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
- Proverbs 31:25-29 (ESV)
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” - Psalm 46:5 (ESV)
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day - Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Proverbs 31:29-30 (ESV)
“Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. - Psalm 139:14 (ESV)
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. - Jeremiah 31:13 (ESV)
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. - Proverbs 31:10 (ESV)
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. - 1 Timothy 3:11 (ESV)
Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. - Luke 10:39-42 (ESV)
And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” - Proverbs 21:9 (ESV)
It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. - Psalm 34:4 (ESV)
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears - Isaiah 41:13 (ESV)
For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. - Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. - Exodus 20:12 (ESV)
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. - 1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV)
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
Advice for today’s young Christian women
Being a young Christian woman today is no easy task. The culture’s messages to you are relentless and inescapable, and almost without exception, contrary to God’s Word. The noise of friends, social media, and the culture makes it especially challenging to discern right from wrong, good from bad, and true from false.
My advice to my young Christian daughters, and you, is to be a woman of the Word. Culture constantly changes. Friends come and go. What’s trendy now will be out of style later. But there is one thing that never changes, and that’s God! Jesus remains the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). If you make your life’s purpose love him and love others, you’ll sail over the tumultuous seas of change.
As a young Christian woman, and someday, Lord willing, as an old one, you’ll discover that all you need is God and his Word. He is the rock of ages, and you can trust him now and during every season of your life.
For you,
Cara
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