Women of Wisdom & Faith: Lydia of Thyatira

A SmartrWomen Sunday Soul Series

Happy Sunday beautiful readers!  I want to use Sunday blogs as a time of quiet refection, meditation, prayer and learning.  A time to quiet all the chaos of the week and re-center.  For some that means a quiet devotional and time spent in prayer, talking and listening to His words.  For you, it may mean affirmations and meditations, for me and others it is a blend of both.  Choose the method that you enjoy the most, the take-away is that we are all a community and will come together to learn, reset, and support each other.  As we learned with yesterday’s blog: The Power of Taking a Break, it is important to step away from work, release the stress and tension, and rest our minds.  My hope is that these Sunday blogs will help you do that.

With this in mind, I will be starting the Sunday Devotional Series: Women of Wisdom & Faith.  There are so many women in the Bible that demonstrate entrepreneurial spirit, leadership, and resilience.  My goal is to give you a source of inspiration and show you the connection between these Women of Faith and the modern day business woman.

So here we go, find a quiet place, grab your coffee, tea or hot chocolate and join me for an eye-opening story about Lydia and how she opened her home to Paul and early believers, and with God’s help, created a seat for herself at the table.

We Begin With Patience

I have never been good at being patient.  I’m the kind of woman who wants to see results, yesterday, LOL.  When I plant seeds, I want them blooming before I’ve even set down the watering can.  When I feel God stirring something in my spirit, I immediately start building blueprints in my head, trying to rush His divine process with my own timing.  Have you ever tried to rush God? I have, a lot of times, and every single time I tried, I’ve ended up learning the same hard lesson: stop rushing and let His pace protect me.

 

There is something sacred about waiting, not the passive waiting, but the kind that tests your faith. The kind that whispers, “be patient, you can’t see it, but I am still working.”

James 5:7 – 8 (NIV) says:

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming.  See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.  You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Patience doesn’t mean standing still, it means staying grounded while the roots take hold.

The Pull Between Promise and Proof

Sometimes I think the hardest place to live is between what God promised and what we can see.  We pray, we plan, we hustle, and yet there’s silence. That silence can feel like punishment.  This is a place of struggle for me.  Being patient is one thing, but to stand strong on a faith, a belief you cannot see, to trust blindly that the faith is there….it took a long time to fully understand that He is there!  In the moments of silence, I ask you, look at it differently.  Ask yourself, what if the silence is not punishment, what if it is preparation?

Galatians 6:9 (NIV) reminds us:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

There’s that phrase….at the proper time. Not my time, not on my schedule, but on His.  That’s where faith grows, in the unseen, uncomfortable in-between.  And that’s where we meet Lydia……

Lydia: The Businesswoman with a Kingdom Agenda

Scripture introduces us to Lydia in Acts 16:14 – 15, NIV:

One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth.  She was a worshiper of God.  The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.  When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home.  “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Lydia was not a background character.  She was a successful entrepreneur, a dealer of the most luxurious textile of her day, and they were worn by royalty and the elite.  She ran in circles of influence, she had wealth, connections, and respect.  She opened her home to Paul and the early believers, starting one of the first house churches.  She used her platform, her profits, and her property to create a gathering place that changed history.

That’s what I love about her.  Lydia didn’t separate her business from her faith, she merged them, and when God called, she didn’t wait until conditions were perfect.  She saw a need, she had the resource, and she used it for God’s glory.

Lydia’s story reminds me that sometimes God doesn’t want us to wait for a seat at someone else’s table, He gives us the tools and wants us to build our own table.

God’s Timing and Our Impatience

Maybe you’ve been working on a dream that feels stuck. Maybe your prayers have been on “read” for months. Maybe you’ve been patient, but you’re starting to feel forgotten.  He may be silent, but you are not forgotten, and His silence does not mean denial.

Psalm 37:7 (NIV):

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him….

Sometimes God is silent, not to punish us, but to prepare us for something far greater than we planned.  Lydia’s business wasn’t just about fabric, it was about faith woven into every thread of her purpose.

“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.”   Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Your work, your waiting, your weariness, it’s not wasted.  He is preparing you for the season that is coming!  As women of purpose, we juggle so much.  Family, work, businesses, God’s calling, and those quiet battles no one sees.  We pray for breakthroughs while balancing the budgets.  We speak affirmations through exhaustion, we build brands and nurture faith at the same time.  But maybe the greatest act of leadership is learning to trust God’s timing more than our own.  Today, let Lydia’s story sit with you, let her faith challenge you, and let your impatience turn into anticipation.  Somewhere between your prayers and His timing, your purpose is maturing.

Final Thought

Maybe the table you’ve been waiting to be invited to isn’t yours to sit at, maybe it’s your to build.

SmartrWomen was built on this exact belief, that women can use their influence, faith, and gifts to build something that lifts others higher.  We are not waiting for permission to build, we are building strong and preparing for impact.  Every story we share, every woman we feature, every message we write is a reminder that purpose and profit can coexist.

Reflection Box

Each week, in this Reflection Box, I will give you a call to action, questions that will make you sit and reflect.  Open your journal, dig deep, and answer honestly, and keep yourself accountable to how you answer.

• Patience and Trust: Where in your business or personal life are you struggling to trust God’s timing right now?
• Purpose and Influence: How can you use your influence, no matter how small it feels, to build a table that serves others this week?
• Faith in Action: What’s one area where you can surrender control and let faith guide your next steps?

Until tomorrow…..I will not rush what God is still writing.  I will trust His timing.

Raw. Rooted. Rising = Unstoppable Legacy