It’s Free Friday! Today is the day you let go of the things in your life that keep you down or hold you back from all God has for you. To celebrate, I’m giving away a copy of “The Measure Of Success: Uncovering The Biblical Perspective On Women, Work, & The Home” by Carolyn McCulley and Nora Shank. Keep reading to find out how to enter.
I’ve always heard people talk about a “Proverbs 31 Woman”. My mom was described as one. I’m sure someone you know has been described as one as well. To some guys, she seems as mythical as a unicorn! To others, like me, we’ve seen them firsthand in our home or we’re married to one. In any case, I want to share a few of my favorite verses in that chapter and my thoughts on them.
She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks. (Verse 15)
When I read this, I think of my mom. I don’t care what day it was, if I got up early, I would find her on the couch with a cup of coffee and her Bible. She spent hours reading, marking, dog earring and putting notes in her Bible. She spent time gathering spiritual food for herself and the household. She had us memorize scripture and quite it to her. She wanted to make sure that each of us knew the Bible inside and out. A Proverbs 31 woman trains her family to gather spiritual food.
She girds herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task] and makes her arms strong and firm. She tastes and sees that her gain from work [with and for God] is good; her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night [of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt, and distrust]. (Verses 17-18)
A Proverbs 31 woman is mentally, physically and spiritually tough. She knows that raising a family is hard work and she’s up for the challenge. She does the things necessary to help herself to be prepared for what God has called her to do. She reads books on parenting, managing money, raising responsible kids as well as finding time for herself and her husband. There’s a certain instinct in women that can sense danger. I love that this says, “Her lamp goes not out.” My wife can be fully asleep and wake up if our son isn’t breathing right. I’ve slept through him falling out of the bed and hurting himself. God has given Proverbs 31 women an instinct to protect their own.
Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised! (Verse 30)
To me, inner beauty is far more important than outer beauty. If you ever saw the movie “Shallow Hal”, they did a good job of showing this. Hal was so concentrated on physical beauty that he couldn’t see inner beauty. He got hypnotized and saw women from the perspective of their inner beauty instead. This verse tells me that’s how we should see Proverbs 31 women. They are women who care about eternal things rather than the temporal. When she learns to worship God with all she has, her inner beauty can’t help but shine through into her outer beauty. Such a woman is to be praised and honored. She should be cherished and not objectified.
If God has blessed you where you have a Proverbs 31 woman in your life, honor her today. Let her know you are appreciative of all she does. When you read the whole chapter you will see that she works hard, gets up early, stays up late, finds time to balance her life, her relationships and her spiritual life. If you are called to be one, keep fulfilling your God given tasks. It’s not impossible for you to be this woman. You may feel like you fall short more often than not, but I am confident that if it’s your desire to be this kind of woman, God will give you the strength to do it. You were made in a His image after all. You are a strong and capable person who is an heir to the King of Kings. You are loved by a God All Mighty and His grace is sufficient for you!
If you would like to win “The Measure Of Success”, go to my Facebook page here and tag the Proverbs 31 women in your life. Tomorrow (8/16), I will select one person randomly who has tagged someone else to win the book. I will then post it on my site. If you haven’t liked my Facebook page, please do that as well to be able to see when new posts come out.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 