Woman of Honorable Distinction: Lessons from Lydia

By S. A. Foster

No matter where you are in your life right now, you can distinguish yourself as a woman of honorable distinction. A woman of honorable distinction is one who stands apart from the rest because of her integrity and faith. Her reputation speaks for itself and she demands respect.

In the Bible, in the book of Acts, we meet a woman named Lydia. She is a worshiper, a businesswoman, and a loyal friend. She is a persuasive woman who has a positive impact on her household and those around her. Lydia is a woman of honorable distinction.

As you journey through this story of Lydia, you will learn nine valuable lessons on how to distinguish yourself in your everyday life. Like Lydia, you can become the woman of excellence that you were always meant to be - a woman of honorable distinction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483572888

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When we think of a biblical example of a perfect woman the first one that often comes to mind is the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31. We do not know her name, but we know that she is considered the epitome of womanhood and the standard for Christian women. She is a wonderful wife, a marvelous mother, a busy businesswoman, and to top it all off, she is a woman of faith who fears God.

If we fast-forward to the New Testament we find another impressive woman named Lydia. Although only a few verses pertain to Lydia, we can surmise that she is a distinctive, confident woman who is a true seeker of God. She is a worshiper, a businesswoman, a homeowner, and a loyal friend. Lydia is a persuasive woman who has a positive impact on her household and those around her. She shows us that it is possible to have it all while putting God first. Lydia is a woman of honorable distinction.

A woman of honorable distinction is a woman who stands apart from the rest because of her integrity and faith. Her reputation speaks for itself and she demands respect. A lady of honorable distinction has some unique quality, gift, talent, or ability that makes her stand out in a crowd.

If you are reading this you are obviously a woman who is reaching for bigger and better things. Even if you have arrived you realize that there is always something greater. Lydia was a successful woman who recognized the importance of seeking God through prayer and worship. As we journey together through Lydia’s story we will learn what it takes to distinguish ourselves in our everyday lives.

God has a special plan for each of our lives. I pray that as you read this you too will seek God. I pray that you will yearn to be the upright woman God has created you to be - a woman of honorable distinction.

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. Acts 16:13

I do not believe in coincidences or luck but rather something I will call divine destiny. I believe that God carefully orchestrates our lives so that He places us exactly where we are supposed to be, with the specific people we are supposed to meet, in just the right circumstances. I imagine God sitting with a trillion-piece puzzle linking together all the pieces to create the perfect picture of what we know as our lives.

Have you ever struck up a conversation with a random stranger and that person happens to say something that speaks to your current situation? Have you ever sat in church and listened to a sermon convinced that somehow the minister knew your life story and was sharing it with the congregation? Maybe you opened a book and you came across the same scripture that you heard in church the Sunday before, which you also heard on the morning radio show the day before. These are not coincidences. God speaks to us in several different ways through a variety of different people and in multiple different places. We just have to be aware and open to listening to what He has to say.

There are only three verses that refer to Lydia in the book of Acts and, in fact, the whole Bible. To understand how the scriptures involve Lydia we have to understand the backdrop of the story. In other words, what happened in the verses right before we are introduced to Lydia. This chapter will focus on the story before the story. As we will see, Lydia did indeed have a date with divine destiny. Let’s begin…

When the Spirit Says No

The Book of Acts was written by Luke, a physician, sometime between AD 63 and 70. It is the first book after the Gospels and is considered the record of the early church. The second half of Acts primarily focuses on the ministry of Paul who brought the message of the Good News to the Jews and