14 Beautiful Quotes from Faithful Women of God

14 Beautiful Quotes from Faithful Women of God

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Need a little extra encouragement? The Bible says we are to encourage one another, but sometimes that can be difficult if we are feeling discouraged ourselves by the events going on in our lives. We can still turn to God’s Word, as well as to the words of other people of faith. Below are fourteen quotes by Godly women to encourage you. Some are from the Bible, several are from our history, and a few are our contemporaries.

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Genesis 29:35 Scripture card

Our Worth

“This time I will praise the Lord.” – Leah (Genesis 29:35)

Leah was the first wife of Jacob, but she was not his first choice. His desires were for her beautiful sister, Rachel, who became his second wife. However, “When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless” (Genesis 29:31). With each birth, Leah hoped her husband would fall in love with her for producing a son. By the fourth son, however, her focus changed. She turned her praise to the Lord.

Leah seemed to realize in that moment that her true worth came from God — not from her beauty or her accomplishments — and chose to praise Him for her blessings. She named her son Judah, and he would father the tribe that Jesus would come from.

“There is no man on the face of the earth who can satisfy the deepest longings of a woman's heart — God made us in such a way that we can never be truly satisfied with anything or anyone less than Himself” - Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

This inspiring quote echoes Leah’s sentiment. Ms. Wolgemuth is the author of twenty-two books, including The Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free.  She is also a speaker and hosts two daily nationally syndicated radio programs — Revive Our Hearts and Seeking Him. She served the Lord diligently as a single woman for decades, but after falling in love for the first time, she married Robert Wolgemuth in 2015.

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1 Samuel 2:1 Scripture Card

Gratitude

 “My heart exults in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD, my mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.” – Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1)

Hannah was barren, but her heartbroken, earnest prayer for a child was answered by the birth of her son, Samuel. In her prayer, she promised the Lord that if He would remember her, she would give her son to serve the Lord all the days of His life. When Samuel was weaned and Hannah made good on her promise and delivered him to the temple, instead of being downcast about letting her son go, she was full of gratitude, thanksgiving and praise. 

Centuries later, the following quote was penned by another Hannah:

“There are three requisites to the proper enjoyment of earthly blessings: a thankful reflection, on the goodness of the giver; a deep sense of our own unworthiness; and a recollection of the uncertainty of our long possessing them. The first will make us grateful; the second, humble; and the third, moderate.” – Hannah More

Hannah More dedicated her life to education, writing and social reform. Though she was born in 1745 near Bristol, England and had no impressive social status, she became well known and respected for her intellect, writing, and Christian principles, as well as for being a leader in the abolition of Britain’s slave trade. 

Leadership and Ministry

“Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD; But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.” - Deborah (Judges 5:31)

Deborah was a well-respected prophetess, song writer, leader and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Because of her, the Israelite army defeated its enemy, Hazor, and then enjoyed forty years of peace. She followed God’s command, even when her instructions from Him were reluctantly received and questioned by the Israelite army leader, Barak.

“Here is the principle - adapt your measures to the necessity of the people to whom you minister. You are to take the Gospel to them in such modes and circumstances as will gain for it from them a hearing.” - Catherine Booth

Born in England in 1829, Catherine Booth was the wife of the founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the “Army Mother.” Later, when her husband became ill, she took on the administration of the Salvation Army, and became the mentor to "Hallelujah lasses" — young women who were employed by the Salvation Army for ministry.

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Genesis 24:58 Scripture Card

God's Will

"I will go." – Rebekah (Genesis 24:58)

Abraham sent his servant, Eleizer, back to Abraham’s homeland to find a wife for his son, Isaac, among his own relatives. Rebekah’s servant heart caught Eleizer’s attention and the beautiful girl was an answer to his prayer. Upon hearing Eleizer’s story and believing his mission to find Isaac a wife was indeed from the Lord, Rebekah’s family did not stand in his way. But the morning she was to leave, Rebekah’s mother and brother asked for her to stay ten more days. Having been granted success in his mission, Eleizer would not be detained. Rebekah’s family left the choice to her. She chose to immediately follow God’s plan and leave to marry a man she didn’t know. She trusted completely in God’s will for her life. 

“When God says go forward, don't even think about standing still.” – Beth Moore

Beth Moore is one of the most popular Christian authors and speakers of our time. She sensed God calling her to work for Him early in her life. Beth founded Living Proof Ministries in 1994 with the purpose of teaching women to know and love Jesus through the study of Scripture.

She self-published her first book, Things Pondered, in 1993, and published her first Bible Study, A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place, in 1995. Beth ministers to women at live events and on television through Living Proof Ministries, which she founded.

God’s Tenderness

“I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me.” - The Shulammite Woman (Song of Songs 7:10)

Solomon’s Song of Songs tells the love story between a bridegroom and his bride. In the Song, the bride is an unnamed Shulammite Woman. Throughout the song, the couple’s love for each other is steadfast, passionate and tender. The bride finds her heart’s desire fulfilled in her husband’s arms. Many say that the Song of Songs is not only a portrayal of a healthy, love-filled marriage, but also an allegory of God’s love for the church, his Bride. We belong to Him, and His desire is for us to be with Him.

“Snuggle in God's arms. When you are hurting, when you feel lonely, left out. Let Him cradle you, comfort you, reassure you of His all-sufficient power and love.” - Kay Arthur

As a 29-year-old divorced mother of two, Kay called in sick to the hospital where she was working as a nurse. She wasn’t physically sick, but emotionally and spiritually sick over the life of sin she had been living. On that morning in 1963, she gave her life to the Lord. A couple of years later, she married a missionary named Jack Arthur. They started a ministry in 1970 called Precept Ministries International, where they served together as co-CEOs until February 2012. 

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Esther 4:16 Scripture Card

Fear

“If I perish, I perish.” – Esther (Esther 4:16)

Would you risk your own life for only a chance of saving someone else? When Queen Esther’s uncle Mordecai asks her to plead for her people, she puts her life on the line when she enters the courts of King Xerxes without being summoned. Her mission was successful. What if she had chosen not to follow God’s calling? The Jews in King Xerxes kingdom would have perished because of the evil plans of Haman.

“If I perish, I perish,” may not sound like an encouraging quote at first, but knowing the story of courage and trust behind it makes it a powerful reminder of the rewards of choosing to take risks for the lives of others.

“How very little can be done under the spirit of fear.” – Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale could have led an easy socialite lifestyle in England during the Victorian Era. She was born into an affluent family and raised to follow in her parent’s footsteps. Instead, she followed God’s calling on her life and pursued nursing. In late 1854, in the midst of the Crimean War, Nightingale received a request from Secretary of War Sidney Herbert. He asked her to organize a corps of nurses to tend to the sick soldiers in the Crimea. Nightingale quickly assembled a team of 34 nurses from a variety of religious orders and bravely set off to the Crimea a few days later.

Her work there cut the death rate of the soldiers in the hospital by two-thirds. She would later write a book about her experience that would spark a total restructuring of the War Office’s administrative department, including the establishment of a Royal Commission for the Health of the Army in 1857.

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2 Kings 4:26 Scripture card

On Faith

“It is well.” - The Shunammite Woman (2 Kings 4:26)

Elisha promised the Shunammite Woman that she would have a son, and she did. But some years later the young boy died. The Shunammite Woman did not weep or lament. Instead, she requested a donkey and a servant from her husband so she could go to Elisha. When her husband asked what she was doing, she said, “it will be well.”

When Elisha saw her coming from atop Mount Carmel and sent his servant to ask if everything was well with the Shunammite Woman’s family, her response was similar: “It is well.” Even in the face of death and loss, she clung to the promise God had fulfilled when she gave birth to a son. In her faith she declared, “All is well.” Indeed, all was well; Elisha rose her son from the dead.

Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable…and receives the impossible.” – Corrie Ten Boom

Cornelia "Corrie" ten Boom lived out her faith. During World War II, she and her devoutly religious family harbored hundreds of Jews in their home near Amsterdam to protect them from Nazi authorities. The family’s watch shop provided the perfect façade. A secret room was built behind a false wall in Corrie’s bedroom that could hide up to six people at time. Later, the entire family was imprisoned. Corrie survived and started a worldwide ministry. She told her story in a book entitled The Hiding Place

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Melanie Campbell is a member of Oregon Christian Writers and ACFW. Her debut novel, One Woman Falling, won the Oregon Christian Writers Cascade Award and is a finalist for the Selah Award. She lives in Oregon’s beautiful Willamette Valley with her husband, their three children, and several spoiled pets. You can learn more about her writing and sign up for her newsletter by visiting her website at melaniecampbellauthor.org. You can also follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.