Women’s History Month – Important Women in the Bible 

March marks Women’s History Month in our calendar year. A month dedicated to highlighting, supporting, and empowering women. 

The Bible is full of stories of ways the Lord has worked in the lives of his people. Time and time again, we see women within these stories. A theme within the Bible is women and barrenness, or the inability to have a child. This theme is seen repeatedly and appears when an important biblical figure is going to be born to show the Lord’s sovereignty over their lives. In addition to this, we see many women experience unexpected pregnancies. 

God works in the stories of these women for his plan. It’s from these women that important figures like Issac, Samuel, John the Baptist, and Jesus are born. It may not be a part of the plan the women had for their lives, but God was in control of their stories. 

Sarah 

Sarah, the wife of Abraham, is first met in Genesis 11 during the genealogy of Terah’s descendants, and in verse 30, the readers are told that she is barren and has no children. This becomes the focal point of her story. Amidst her journey with her husband to the promised land, she is living within the tension of being promised a son by God, yet still being unable to conceive. Sarah’s pregnancy was unexpected even though it was promised by God because she had given up on her dream to have a child. By the time she becomes pregnant with Issac, she is ninety years old. But God carried her through this pregnancy, even when she doubted. 

Hannah 

Hannah was in a similar situation as Sarah. In 1 Samuel 1, the readers meet Hannah while she is praying to God, asking for a son. Hannah was also unable to have a child. But she cried out to God in her hopelessness, and he saw her faithfulness and blessed her with a son. It was unexpected that Hannah would have a son. So unexpected, that she prayed to God about it in her time of need. Hannah knew how unlikely and unexpected it was for her to become pregnant, and when she did, she saw it as a blessing! 

Elizabeth 

The story of Elizabeth and Zechariah is the first passage in the book of Luke. Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, were old, and had given up on their dream to have a child. But an Angel came to Zechariah and told him his wife would give birth to John the Baptist. The couple did not believe the Angel at first because it was so unexpected that this would happen. But Elizabeth, in her shock, believed it was so and rejoiced! Elizabeth knew this child was a blessing from God, even though it was unexpected and not what she had planned. 

Mary 

Unlike these other stories, Mary was not asking for a child and was not unable to conceive. Mary was a teen, engaged to be married to Joseph when God sent an Angel to speak to her. It was a part of God’s plan for Mary to become pregnant at her age, and even though it was shocking and not what she had in mind, Mary still rejoiced at the blessing given to her by God! 

In each of these stories, God carries women in their times of need during their unexpected pregnancies. These stories show us that babies are blessings that come from God, not burdens. Each of these women rejoiced in what God had given them even if it was not a part of their own plan. God works in pregnancies that are both planned and unplanned, because it is a part of his plan. 

At Caring Network, we work to empower women by providing resources so they can choose to continue and thrive in their unexpected pregnancies. We give support to women who need it, providing ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, and life-giving conversations with pregnancy consultants. To learn more about our work, click here!