It Is VERY Good!

Pastoral

May 8

Written By SBC | Scottsdale Bible Church

Pastoral | May 8, 2025 | By: Kirsten Snarey

I have a good friend who had a sign in her office that said, “I’m not bossy, I’m aggressively helpful!” If you’ve ever given advice to a toddler, a middle school child, or an adult child, your unsolicited advice might not have been received as very “helpful”! As women, we are really good at being helpful. We recently had a women’s retreat, and the majority of women who signed up for the retreat also signed up to “help” in one of our committees. It’s incredible!

I believe that our helpfulness is not only part of our created identity or original design as women, but this trait should be seen as “very good.” Yet when you struggle with being “excessively helpful,” as I do, I don’t always see it as a gift. I don’t accept help well, but I love to offer it. I think this aspect of our design was marred by The Fall. Like every good gift from God, the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). He takes the original, beautiful gift and distorts it. The gift of being helpful then looks more like controlling, or nagging, or domineering. The closer we walk with Jesus though, the more we grow into our original design. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

I don’t accept help well, but I love to offer it.

In the creation account, after each aspect of creation, God stated that it was “good.” Then God “created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:27). The first thing that God says is “not good” is that man was alone. He then creates Eve. On the sixth day, when God had created both Adam and Eve, we hear for the first time God say, “it is very good.” “God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31a). Eve was the answer to the “not good” in Adam’s aloneness. It is very good to have two and not one. It is very good to have community. It is very good to have a helper. It is very good that both man and woman are similar enough to be able to relate, and yet different enough to make it fun and interesting.

The first words God uses to describe a woman is before she was created. God said He was going to make a “helper fit for him” (Gen. 2:18). Often, that word ‘helper’ is thought of as secondary or ‘less than.’ In other words, the ‘helper’ helps the primary or the main one. But that word translated in Hebrew, ‘ēzer, is “helper, aide or strength.” It’s a very strong word that means strengthening others in a way they cannot do for themselves. It’s found 21 times in the Old Testament and 15 times for God Himself in relation to Israel.

Often, the word ‘helper’ is thought of as secondary or ‘less than.’

Just as we would never describe God as inferior or subservient to Israel, God in no way created woman to be inferior or subservient to man. What an honor and an invitation God gives to a woman! God created us equal in value, but with different gifts and roles.

In Psalm 115:9-11, here is an example of where we see the word ‘helper’ (‘ēzer) used for God:

O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

One of my greatest joys is when I see women growing in the truth and knowledge of who God is and who they are in Christ. For a woman to know her worth, her value, and the beautiful plans and purposes God has for her can be completely transformative. The more we learn about who God is and His attributes, the more we understand ourselves and the way He created us for relationship with Him. This understanding of God’s design for women is another amazing example of God’s goodness and faithfulness in our lives, causing us to trust Him even more. He is our Helper, our Ēzer!

As we approach Mother’s Day and celebrate the women in our lives that have helped us, we also can recognize the beautiful way God created every woman to be helpful…in our communities, in our workplaces, in our churches, in our neighborhoods, in our families, and in our marriages. We may err on the side of excessive helpfulness at times, but with humility and grace, and walking with Jesus, we can learn the beauty of being a blessing to others the way God uniquely created women to be…as an ‘ēzer. It is VERY good!