by Coach Debbie

Her name was Lydia. She was a smart and successful business woman in the fabric industry. Her clients were society’s elite. Miss Independent had brains AND bank.

She was not married. Yet her European house was large and filled with people. Lifestyles of the rich and famous for sure!

She loved getting together with other women, especially out in nature. She was a good listener. Lydia worshiped God, likely out of religious obligation. That was not enough (it never is). Thankfully, she had an open heart. And a famous speaker of the Gospel brought about her conversion from religious rule follower to a passionate Christ follower. Before, she believed in God, but now she was in love with Him!

Lydia was a persuasive woman. Her transformation from pew-warmer to Christ-lover was so real. She must tell everyone she knew! She enthusiastically ran home and spread the contagious good news to her household and they got baptized as she had! Lydia demonstrated hospitality by laying out the welcome mat and inviting missionaries over to her mansion.

Have you ever heard of Lydia? She gets a whopping 2 verses written about her in the Bible. Go to Acts 16. There she is. And that guy who was responsible for the 1st English convert? The infamous Paul of the New Testament.

How can Lydia apply to us, a modern-day woman who is not a dealer in purple cloth who lives in a mansion? Who cares about some lady in history that got saved?

I think we can be encouraged that we can affect others for God’s Kingdom! Instead of a “little ol’ me” mentality, we realize that God desires to use us by gifting us uniquely to witness to others! Lydia realized she was going through the motions of God-in-a-box religion but wanted more. It is not enough to just learn about God or even to just believe in God. Most new Christians don’t get baptized that very day! She already had Him in her head, but now she allowed Him into her heart!

And what follows faith is ACTION. She was itching to get home and have her household fall in love with the Savior too. In addition, she insisted that a gaggle of missionaries stay at her home as a way to serve and care for them.

Oh, and by the way, she was a single lady. No one is sure if she was widowed or never married, but she made the time to meet with friends, to pray, to evangelize and to serve. Looks like there is no excuse, eh?

Let’s be like Lydia. Let’s be WOMEN OF INFLUENCE! And not for ourselves, but for the Lord. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to ignite an unquenchable fire within so that we do not rely on our own efforts. Ask God for help prioritizing so that we have time to spend with Him and ways to serve others. We don’t need to wait and get our act together to do this. When fully submitting to Him, we have the energy and the direction to start acting!