Through the lens of Woman

The first chapter of Exodus is a chapter of women’s no.

The midwives say no to Pharaoh’s command to kill Hebrew babies. They feared God more than Pharaoh (Ex 1:17). Moses’ mother says no to letting her son be drowned. Miriam says no to walking away from her brother in the basket. Pharaoh’s daughter says no to leaving a Hebrew baby to die. Even Zipporah, much later, says no to a moment of crisis on the road to Egypt and saves Moses’ life with a flint knife (Ex 4:24–26).

Five women. Five nos. One deliverer saved.

There is something the Father does with women that the dominant culture often misses. He gives them the strength to say no when no costs everything. The midwives risked their lives. The mother risked her son. The princess risked the king’s wrath. The sister risked her family. None of them were powerful by the world’s measure. All of them carried more weight than Pharaoh did.

If you are a woman in a season where you sense the Father asking you for a no — to a system, to a job, to a relationship, to a pattern — that no may be holding more weight than anyone around you can see. He has trusted you with it.

One small thing today: name one no the Father is currently asking of you. Don’t soften it. Say it out loud. The midwives are still in the room, watching their granddaughters do the same thing.