What does it mean to be a Titus 2 Woman?
Let’s start at the source:
Titus 2:3-5 ~ The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as become holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to lve their children, To be discreet, chaste keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Well to start with, in my own humanity and prideful-self I don’t want to be considered ‘ aged’ by anyone. …sigh… the real me shouts to reality. Then I realize, I don’t feel qualified to teach anyone about the topics mentioned in scripture. I still need a teacher!
How is it the Word of God is both my encourager and my refiner?
Over and over through the years as I have cried out to God, asking for a Titus 2 Woman in my life, He has responded in usually 1 of 2 ways.
- 1. He ushers in an amazing blessing into my life to teach and mold my world-battered heart.
- 2. He makes and molds me into the Titus 2 woman for someone else.
You see as I have prayed and read and learned each day I walk this sphere of life, I see that there is a multitude of necessity to love one another just as we are. To bless because He is the ultimate blessing giver.
We are created to minister to others. It is evident in all that we choose to become involved in. In some way, we will all work out our gifts at some level in our lives. He has qualified and equipped us to serve one another, old and young, wisened and still-learning, jovial and somber, carefree and reserved. In countless ways, with constant faithfulness, He will bring to you the hearts who are in need of encouragement, uplifting, and refining. He will also bring to you His ministers-of-mercy to pour into your heart unexpected bounty.
- Let’s look at the 1st answer to prayer: The Blessings He brings into my life.
So often, what I think I need, is different from what God knows I have need of. Matthew 6:8 reminds us that He knows our needs before we even ask. I sometimes wonder how much we limit ourselves when we imagine how God will meet our needs. He is limitless; He knows no boundaries; His sufficiency is never-ending; His ability to reach down and save is more than we can imagine.
Think about it a minute: Do you limit your answer to prayer by requesting a defined set of rules and paradigms? Or are you willing to let the One who loves you enough to pursue you fill you up with all the good things that Only He can do? James 1:17 tells us that He only gives good gifts.
Daily I am reminded, when I choose to see, the ultimate depth of his intimate answers to my spoken and unspoken requests.
He will answer a prayer that has been a plea from the depth of my soul in a matter of minutes. Selah!!!! ( love this word) He knows our needs before we do and He brings the answer in abundance in timely fashion.
For example: In a week of trying circumstances I allowed my selfish person inside to cry out and ask why I have to be the servant all the time… and… did anyone ‘remember’ me? ( note.. I was seriously wallowing in self-pity this day and that is not who He asks us to be, but I want to be transparent here)That was funny, in retrospect, because I was so focused on myself it was ridiculous. Yet, in His MERCY… in his extravagant Mercy…. He honored me with a note from a friend I had not seen or spoken to in over a year. It was brief, it was simple, yet it was timely. She said, ” I just want you to know I am thinking of you today and thanking God for you.”
Over and over, He proves faithful. He brings in the supplication to meet our needs. He is Good.. He is full of love and resplendent joy for those who He has grafted into the vine. Believe in His abundant provision for your every need, He does not disappoint us when our eyes are focused on Him.
It wasn’t that I needed to feel like any service I give required compensation(in comparison to Christ’s sacrifice it is mere crumbs in my estimation)… I just wanted to be reminded I matter. That someone sees me. The irony is that the only Someone who matters has never let His eyes stray from my course.
Why isn’t it enough to know He SEES us?
Why isn’t enough to know that He KNOWS us?
It is, really. When we draw our eyes to the hills where our help comes from. But…. ( love this word too) He made us for fellowship. ( Hebrews 10:25) He made us to fellowship with Him. He made us to lift up one another.
These Titus two women were not always older than me. Though in their heart of hearts, life and the Lord matured them past worldly wisdom and in that respect I was the child and they were the teacher. These Titus 2 Women were the iron which sharpened me. They prayed, they lifted up, they served, they fed, they cried, they laughed and they chastened in love… instructing in righteousness.
Oh, what a blessing to be rebuked in love. Sometimes it certainly doesn’t feel like it but when we are honest, we see that it was for our good. Proverbs 13:24 and Hebrews 12:5-7 point out God’s purpose for chastisement and regardless of whether or not we see it as a part of our greater good, the One who sees our beginning from our end has a better perspective than we do.
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Let’s look at the 2nd answer to prayer: He is making me to be Titus 2 woman.
As I have cried unto God to meet my needs He has often answered by making me in to that tool of grace for others. He has placed an unbridled passion in my heart to teach and to give to those who are traveling this pilgrimage towards the Holy. It is an unrequited passion that won’t die, because it comes from His heart. The link which binds me to Him, burns brightly for the purpose I was created to pursue.
I have found that answering the call to serve young mothers, and those with grown children, has been one of the most significant pursuits aside from ministering to my own family. I love to read Isaiah 54 repeatedly. Every woman should read this chapter monthly.
This chapter heartily encourages the Titus 2 woman to open wide the gates of her tent and spare not the blessing which she has to bestow. Be a giver! Be a giver! Be a giver of God’s goodness and His love and spare not!
When we withhold what He has blessed us with we are hedging ourselves in and keeping back the manifold abundance of God’s planned harvest. Find a way to reach out to those who are struggling in the season of babies and toddlers and give them a safe place to breathe. Open the door to sharing your bounty with others by learning to cook together and provide for your families, then reap the rewards that fellowship brings. Commit to heading that still small voice which whispers a name in your heart; make that phone call and pray with them. Serve in ways that meet the very simple, yet significant, daily needs of others and you will fill up your own reservoir in the process.
Open your home as a prayer altar to the King. This is not a substitution of the Church’s role, but as a way to meet the personal needs in a practical way. Prayer is the door that unleashes the bountiful provision which we can not contain should we be willing to enter with a shovel and a bucket!
Take time to bask in the Word of God and encourage one another as only a faithful daughter of the King should. Rejoice in each other’s victories and weep together when these women cry. Feel their heartbeat and see their gifts and remind them they are a precious jewel in they eyes of their Savior.
Becoming a Titus 2 Woman was not a role I felt qualified to take on. It was the refining of the women who have been sent in answer to a cry of my heart which is enabling me to embrace the process of being a Christ-follower.
The encouragement both given and received only adds the colorful thread woven into the depth of the tapestry of grace which will be the finished art piece when we turn and see our days as in a looking glass.
Look through the Cross towards the path ahead. Embrace the joy of being a Titus 2 woman and pray for these women to be brought forth in your life. As you seek this gift, I know you will find that you are being transformed into the very image of the woman in faith you are meant to be.
