What Is a True Woman?

“Whoa. A ‘true woman’ has just entered our midst.”

I looked curiously at the guy who said this just after I entered our children’s ministry meeting. Then I remembered. The tote bag on my shoulder was from the True Woman Conference.

“What is a ‘true woman’?” he asked with a grin, and all eyes turned to me.

Since I’m one of the True Woman bloggers, you’d think I could whip up a precise, accurate response lickety split, right? But I couldn’t. I hesitated. “Uh . . . it’s . . . a conference,” I said clumsily.

This happened several years ago, after I received my first True Woman Conference tote bag. The guy in that room wasn’t making fun of me. He was just a friend, curious about the bag I was carrying. But since that day, I’ve been determined to have an answer prepared for anyone who might ask, “What is a ‘true woman’?”

And I think I’ve finally found the best answer yet, at True Woman ’18.

Yes to Truth

In our opening session on Friday night of the conference, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth gave us the bad news first, for nobody finds the good news to be quite as precious unless they’ve first heard the bad news.

The bad news is that we’ve all been deeply wounded and affected by lies. Satan has lied to us. We have lied to ourselves. Other people have lied to us. From the very first lie that Eve believed to each of the millions of lies believed this very day, lies have been destroying people. They have been destroying women.

The woman who believes these lies about herself, about God, and about other people is not flourishing as God intended. Instead, she’s becoming enslaved and falling into bondage. She’s withering.

But the woman who rejects lies and believes the Truth given by God is a true woman, for she has made Truth her foundation. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth reminded us, “The Truth is more powerful than lies. It is more pure and more beautiful than you can imagine, and it will set you free.”

So what is a true woman? She’s a woman who says “yes” to the Truth. She’s also a woman who discerns and says “no” to lies. She has faith to believe the Truth even when the world makes lies seem believable. As she embraces Truth and rejects lies, she lives in freedom, reflecting God’s image in the truest way. She is a true woman.

True Woman ’18

The focus of this year’s conference was “The Truth That Sets Us Free.” Every facet of the conference was focused on answering questions like:

• What is true, according to God?
• What are the lies Satan is using to hurt and destroy people?
• What does it look like for a true woman—a lover of the Truth—to reject lies and walk in Truth?

In response to those questions, here is a smattering of statements about what the true woman believes, which we heard from the platform at True Woman ’18.

A true woman believes TRUTH about her enemy.

Satan is a master con artist. He will use you, abuse you, steal your identity, and rob you blind. —Mary Kassian

A true woman believes TRUTH about her shame.

Satan wants to keep you in bondage through lies, guilt, and shame. He wants you to keep your abuse in the darkness. —Mary Kassian

You don’t have to carry the shame of your sin, because Jesus took care of that already. —Jackie Hill Perry

A true woman believes TRUTH about her trauma.

You are not what your sexual abuser said you are. You are not what your trauma says you are. You are a child of the living God. —Jackie Hill Perry

A true woman believes TRUTH about her freedom.

The first step toward freedom is to bring it out into the light. —Mary Kassian

Independence from God and His people is bondage. —Pastor Eric Mason

Armed with the Truth, we can do battle against the lies and win. We can be victorious over them. —Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

A true woman believes TRUTH about her future.

Here’s the truth: God is enough. He will provide all that you need. He is bigger than any storm that you will ever face. —Mary Kassian

A true woman believes TRUTH about her identity.

It doesn’t matter who you say you are and who they think you are—it matters that you know who He is and who He says you are. —Jackie Hill Perry

A true woman believes TRUTH about her circumstances.

We may not be able to control our circumstances, but by God’s grace, we can control how we respond to our circumstances and whether we let Him use them to change us to be more like Jesus. —Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

A true woman believes TRUTH about her suffering.

Lie: I am the only one who has suffered like this. Truth: Christ will not ask us to suffer anything He Himself has not already suffered. —Sarah Walton

Sometimes God will give you hard pills to swallow, but you still have to swallow and follow. —Pastor Eric Mason

A true woman believes TRUTH about her pain.

Friends, suffering is real and it is hard, and it does change us. But if you are in Christ, it cannot shape your foundation or change your identity. —Kristen Wetherell

A true woman believes TRUTH about her gender.

A lot of people are drifting from faith and what Scripture has to say about gender, not because of theology. Our experiences are shaping how we interpret Scripture. —Jackie Hill Perry

If God made man and woman, then gender is God’s idea, and if it’s His idea, it’s a good one. —Jackie Hill Perry

A true woman believes TRUTH about her desires.

Satan didn’t win Eve over with an intellectual argument. He appealed directly to her senses, desires, and emotions. —Mary Kassian

For us to think that somebody is just who they like is to diminish who God made people. We are so much more complex than who we love. —Jackie Hill Perry

A true woman believes TRUTH about her singleness.

We are designed for relationship, but you don’t need a relationship to be fully human. Adam was alone, but he was not less of a man because of it. Marriage and sexuality are not the ultimate expressions of community. —Jackie Hill Perry

A true woman believes TRUTH about her children.

The world tells us that children are a burden, but God tells us that they are a blessing. The world tells us that children cost too much to raise, but God says that children are a gift. —Robyn McKelvy

A true woman believes TRUTH about her emotions.

Sisters, your thoughts are the boss of your feelings. Whatever you are thinking about is going to be what you feel. —Dannah Gresh

A true woman believes TRUTH about her Bible.

Sisters, taste and see that the Word of God is satisfying. The Word of God will align your affections with Truth, just like it was in the beginning. His Word will bring order into your chaos, and it will put everything into place. —Betsy Gómez

A true woman believes the TRUTH about her priorities.

A woman led by distraction is vulnerable to believe lies about God, about others, about herself, about priorities, and about what is important. —Betsy Gómez

A true woman believes the TRUTH about her God.

The Lord never ever leaves or forsakes His own. He will stand by you, and He will strengthen you. —Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Ultimately, no enemy, no matter how powerful, can prevail against our God! —Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

A True Woman in 2018

Our culture, with all of its rants and marches, would have us believe that true women—women who let God decide what is true—are an insignificant, small minority. Our generation would have us believe that God’s perspective on gender and sexuality and marriage and abortion is invalid. Our enemy would tell us that a true woman’s voice can’t even be heard against the world’s wild roar.

But friend, I got to be one of the 7,000 true women who gathered in Indianapolis. I got to be part of the more than half a million women who gathered through livestream around the world. I got to experience the passion and joy rising up from that massive crowd of women, all rejoicing in a God who set them free!

Our God is not pressing us to roar back against culture; instead He’s inviting us to quietly and lovingly embrace the Truth. He is stirring us to live as true women—as lovers of Truth.

Will we model Truth for the next generation and pass the baton on to our younger sisters in the Lord? Will we carry the banner of Truth throughout our churches, neighborhoods, and homes? Will we embrace Truth in the marketplace, online, and the private corners of our homes? Will we hold fast to God’s Word and use Truth to navigate life—not the other way around?

True Woman ’18 has passed, but our mission has not! We have been entrusted with the Truth. Let us be the women who love the Truth and by it are daily set free.