Widow's Journal

As I began reading about Lydia, this is the question I wanted to know: was she a widow? She was making decisions as head of a lucrative business, determining issues as a leader of her household, and she was already a worshipper of God. As a widow, I’ve learned that when God moves us to use us, we can be sure that He has been designing a connection for some time. Long before the thought or opportunity ever entered our mind, He had been at work setting the stage and preparing hearts. Whether or not Lydia was a widow, she certainly had learned to listen when opportunity presented itself, she’d learned that God could be trusted and should be worshipped, she directed her household with wisdom, and being generous was a response of her heart. There are lessons here for us as widows.

Paul had his heart set on venturing out into Asia with the gospel. As he moved through the area of Galatia, Mysia and other cities in Asia Minor near the Aegean Sea, the Spirit made it clear to him that Asia was not where he would be preaching the gospel. That door was closed to him. In Troas, Paul has a vision that spoke direction from the Spirit for him: a man pleading with him to come help in Macedonia, what is Greece today. He didn’t hesitate, but set out directly for Philippi. Paul and his companions boarded ship to Samothrace, the next day Neapolis, and finally he arrived in Philippi, a city in the eastern part of Macedonia, modern day Greece, and the gateway to the continent of Europe.

Now Philippi was a Roman colony, steeped in paganism as well as emperor worship, and situated on a popular trade route. It was home to many Roman military who enjoyed keeping Philippi as a “small Rome”. There was no synagogue here, which shows that there were few Jews, since there weren’t even ten Jewish men to form a synagogue. Worshippers met clandestinely down by the riverside, outside the city gate to pray. These were mostly Gentile women and others who feared God.

Among these people meeting quietly by the riverside, outside the Philippi city gate would be a business lady of means named Lydia. She ran a well-known business collecting the secretions of murex snails and making the luxury product Tyrian purple garment dye afforded only by nobles and the rich. It is unknown if Lydia was a widow, but she was in a unique situation as a thriving and an independent businesswoman which was unusual in this day. Paul reports in Acts 16 that Lydia was a God-fearing woman. So, on that Sabbath, as Paul found the local women meeting for prayer, He began to speak the gospel and Lydia listened carefully to all that Paul spoke. And it happened that God opened her heart to the gospel as Paul was speaking and she believed. Lydia was the very first convert in Europe.

As the head of her household, Lydia exhibited faith in action. She not only heard and responded personally to the gospel, but she made sure her household also heard the good news. She and her household took the step of baptism.

Not only did she make the choice to surrender her life to Christ, but she also opened her home to Paul and those who travelled with him. Her hospitality and willingness to provide her home as a meeting place for early Christians in the area was evidence of her generosity. As a quiet leader, God used her to begin what would become the church in Philippi.

Lydia is a wonderful example of a single woman who heard the gospel, who responded with belief, and then acted on her faith. She used her wealth to stand for Christ, even though it would have been risky. Paul and Silas would find this out when they were beaten and jailed in Philippi for speaking boldly for Christ. They saw the jailer and his household come to faith in Jesus, and when they left the jail, they were welcomed into Lydia’s home where they told their story to those gathered there.

Lydia, a woman of wealth and influence, head of her household, chose to share her home as an anchor for the gospel reaching into a new continent. She is only mentioned in Acts 16, but Paul’s letter to the Philippians carries the thankfulness he felt at his every remembrance of them. He is especially thankful for their generosity and their partnership in the gospel. And these are definitely the fingerprints of a single woman who heard the gospel, believed, and acted in faith to serve Jesus Christ.