Lydia's Conversion

We are reliably informed that in Greek origin, Lydia means, beautiful one, or noble one.

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. If you consider me a believer in the Lord, she said, come and stay at my house. And she persuaded us. Acts 16: 13 – 15.

We are looking at Lydia, the conversion of a good woman. We are viewing her, Before, During and After her conversion. Will you be a part of each step of this life? You must accept that the Lord works in ways not understood or fathomed by human minds. The story of Lydia is the story of a good woman, the godly woman, the religious woman, the generous woman, the God-fearing woman.

BEFORE CONVERSION

Lydia was a business woman; a woman of means and substance. She was a dealer in purple cloth, so she must have been a hard working woman. She was a family woman from the city of Thyatira, with a household which had to consist of servants.

She was also a believer, for she was a worshiper of the One True God. She was a regular member of a group that got together on the Sabbath or other days, particularly to share their faith.

DURING CONVERSION

It was a meeting with a difference. In their usual meeting place by the river, outside the city gate at Philippi, Lydia and the other women who had gathered, were having their meeting. Paul and his companions, looking for a place outside the city to pray, found the gathering of those women of God. Paul began to speak to them, and there, among her friends, as those strangers talked, that Paul’s words held Lydia. Then and there, the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. Note! It was the Lord Himself who opened her heart so that she would not just listen and hear, but that she would be responsive to the Word of God, as spoken by God’s servant, Paul.

AFTER CONVERSION

Lydia did not remain in the place where she heard Paul. She returned home, for she had to tell her family and all her household about what had happened. In her position, as the woman of the house, the matriarch, if you like, she and every one of them got baptised. After conversion, she saw herself as a believer and spoke of herself as a believer. If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house. She was bold enough to call herself a believer, before the very one under whom she was converted. Paul and his companions were persuaded by her and became her guests.

Many a Godly person still needs conversion. It takes place as God determines. It took an unplanned meeting place, with strange men, outside the synagogue, for God to send His Word to change lives. Is there anything too farfetched to expect from God?