I was driving down the street the other day listening to one of my favorite Spotify stations (shout out to Vertical Church Band) when my elbow accidentally switched the channel. I didn’t realize it had changed until a random song came on that I had never heard.

The woman singing had a beautiful voice. She was extremely talented. But the lyrics were what grabbed my attention.

This girl was angry. Hurt. Broken. She had put all of her hopes and dreams in a guy, and he left her for another woman. She was shattered. Her life felt empty.

As the catchy beat banged in the background, she was determined to have the last word.

Her plan for rising up, being strong and overcoming was clear. Go out with his best friend, sleep around a little, and make your ex reek with jealousy.

As I listened to this artist, I was intrigued by its message: Follow my heart. Put all of my hope in my boyfriend. If he fails me, seek revenge. Oh, and I should use sex as a weapon — if needed.

This song, like so many other things in modern culture, is sending us a message. It’s teaching us things about life and womanhood. It’s feeding us a specific worldview.

As I ran some errands later that day I saw another message about my womanhood.

It was in full color on the cover of a magazine featuring a sexualized woman wearing very little clothing. She was ready to teach me how to “make him want me” in bed. With one flip of the magazine I could learn how to entice men and get what I want.

Another subtle message.   

Then later that evening there was that billboard featuring a perfume ad. The message was clear. The model looked out longingly with a powerful and seductive pose. The billboard whispered in my ear, “buy my perfume and you will be a seductive and powerful woman too.”

The messages about womanhood are everywhere.

Whether I’m searching for it or not, I am being told what it means to be a woman every single day.

Instead of blindly following the version of womanhood that permeates our culture today, we, as Christian women, need to take a step back and examine what we’re being fed. We need to question what we’re being told. We need to be savvy about what we believe.

The seductive and power-hungry version of modern womanhood is not the result of women turning to God’s word for answers, but sadly, turning away from it. Many people refer to this time as the post-feminist age. The version of womanhood that we see now is largely a result of the feminist movement.  

Instead of accepting womanhood as it is today, we need to view every aspect of our womanhood through a biblical lense.

As author Carolyn McCulley puts it, We need to have feminine faith in a feminist world.

If we don’t intentionally pursue a version of womanhood that is built on a biblical foundation, we will get swept away in the popular current.

What is feminine faith?

Feminine faith begins with us, as Christian women, first and foremost accepting God’s Word as the ultimate authority in our lives. We must humble ourselves and trust that God’s ways are better than our own.

We can’t look to pop culture for answers about our womanhood, but to God’s living and timeless Word (2 Tim. 3:16).   

Feminine faith isn’t built on our foundation of power or self exultation, but on serving others and glorifying Christ (1 Peter 2:9).

Feminine faith doesn’t thrive on immorality and sensuality, but on holiness and purity for the honor of our King (1 Peter 1:14-16).

Feminine faith isn’t interested in redefining anything (gender, sexuality, marriage, love, life) that God has clearly instructed us on in His Word. Instead, we trust that God has our ultimate good in mind when He established boundaries and parameters for us (Matt. 19:4-6).

And lastly, feminine faith always strives to be a cheerleader for the things God loves, upholds, and teaches us as women. When we come across passages of Scripture like Proverbs 31, Titus 2, and 1 Timothy 2 — we need to take them seriously. What is God trying to teach us? How can we apply those verses to our lives today?

God designed us and He is FOR our womanhood.

He is pro-woman more than anyone in this world. He loves our beautiful design as females.

It’s time that we, as Christian women, wake up from our slumber and become radical once again for God’s truth. For God’s ways. For God’s vision. If we desire to glorify God with our lives, we must become biblically savvy in this modern age.

I read a book a while ago that helped me understand exactly how to do that. This book changed my life and helped me understand feminism and biblical womanhood through an accurate lense.

It’s called, Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World (by Carolyn McCulley).

I highly recommend and encourage you grab a copy. Seriously. This is a must read. As Christian woman, we must know what we believe and why we believe it.

We must understand how feminism has impacted our culture and how it’s affecting us today.

“Biblical womanhood is not for the weak. In an age that seeks to obliterate God and His authority, modeling biblical womanhood involves spiritual warfare.” -McCulley

May we be a generation of women who passionately pursue feminine faith in a feminist world.

Let’s chat below.

• Where have you seen the subtle messages of modern, secular womanhood?
• How has our post-feminist culture and ideology tempted you to ignore God’s design for womanhood?