Category: Every Woman’s Bible

by Elizabeth Glanville, PhD.

“Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four.* She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.” Luke 2:36-28, NLT

According to the law of Moses, a widow would be given to her husband’s brother or another close relative for care and protection (see Deuteronomy 25:5-10). If she were older, she would be supported by her grown children. But Anna had none of these options. She found protection in the Temple, where she was sustained by prayer and worship. God protected her and fulfilled her longing to see the promised Savior, Jesus. Luke refers to Anna as “a prophet,” which likely reflects her knowledge of God and his will for his people, especially as she announces the presence of the child who would “rescue Jerusalem” (Luke 2:36, 38).

Can you imagine what it would have been like to serve God in his Temple your whole life, and then finally meet the Savior everyone was waiting for? Anna’s prayers after that meeting might have sounded like this:

I saw him this morning . . . the one you, God, promised, our Savior. Oh, how his face glowed with your glory. You have heard my prayers. Hope rises in my heart. Now I can rest in peace in your presence. Take me home to be with you, for I am an old woman of eighty-four years.

Oh, God, I thank you and praise your name. You have been like a husband to me these past sixty years, after losing my beloved after only seven years and having no children to support me. You have protected me, provided for me, and encouraged me. You gave me purpose when I was devastated and alone. Now I see the fruit of being committed to you. My heart fills to overflowing.

As a widow for almost ten years, I have experienced God’s faithfulness. He has restored joy and given me mission and teaching opportunities beyond what I ever expected. While there have been times of pain and challenge, I have a deep, centering peace and joy that only comes from knowing God the Father and the Lord Jesus, much like Anna.

When have you experienced loss yet found strength and new direction from God? How has the Lord been like a husband or family to you, calling you closer? If you are experiencing pain, call out to God, spend time in his presence, and let him love you.

This was taken from the Every Woman’s Bible, Journaling Edition. This Bible doesn’t shy away from the questions women bring to the Bible. In these pages, more than one hundred women around the world explore the heartfelt needs, gritty challenges, and uncommon faithfulness of women throughout history. Now with the added benefit of a wide-ruled margin. Offering ample space for notes, reflections, and prayers.

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“Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.” Proverbs 31:10, NLT

Article from the Every Woman’s Bible

While reading Proverbs 31, many of you, like me, have probably cringed at what appear to be standards for women—and impossible ones at that. But we miss the point because the poem’s original structure is lost to us in translation, and because we are not all wives. But each of us can find inspiration from this woman to live with God-honoring excellence.

Imagine an older man sitting down three thousand years ago to write something to honor his wife on some special occasion: Starting with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, he bases his writing on his mother’s teachings (31:1). He creates twenty-two phrases that describe the woman he loves with a lot of flourish and perhaps a bit of exaggeration.

Keep in mind he wrote this in a society that expected all women to be wives, mothers, and in charge of their households. How might we apply a similar idea today? Perhaps we need a new acrostic to honor a WOMAN.

She is:
Wise in business and at home,
Open to listen to others,
Mindful of those less fortunate,
Attentive to God’s Spirit
Neighborly—a friend to all she meets.

This, too, is an ideal that none of us entirely fulfills. So, how do you be “a virtuous and capable” (31:10) you? Try asking God how he sees you. Write an acrostic using the letters of your name. Using Scripture, pen how you are God’s beloved image-bearer and steward of creation (Genesis 1:26-28), daughter of God and heir to the Kingdom (Romans 8:17), gifted and called to serve God (Philippians 3:12-13), and more!
The good news is that God knows you. He calls you by name. And his Word shows us all how to live as women “who fear the Lord” and “will be greatly praised” (31:30).

Reflection Questions

How is God shaping you into a “virtuous and capable” person?
Does reflecting on how God sees you change how you view yourself?

ELIZABETH GLANVILLE, PhD, is retired faculty from Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Mission and Theology. She is an international teacher on missions and leadership and chaplain for a local police department and her retirement community.

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