- Accept His will
- Believe in His love for you
- Believe in His plan for you
- Forgive and receive forgiveness
- Look forward to the future
Today, I want to examine verses 23 through 31 in Proverbs 31. By no means is this the only area of the Bible that discusses the attributes of a Godly wife and mother, but it is a concentrated section that gives a lot of inspiration with only a few words! I love verse 23. It reads, "Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land." Is this verse saying that all Godly husbands are elders of the church or strong leaders in the city? Simply, no. I think this verse is an encouragement to wives that we should always be mindful of building our husbands up with prayer, sharing scripture, and our daily attitude towards him. Sometimes, and in many cases, a husband's spiritual walk will grow stronger because of the example that his wife sets for him. It doesn't always start with the man. You see, our husbands live in this fallen world, too. The times where we feel like we can't get anything right, everyone is upset with us, and we are flailing to keep our head above water can consume us. Remember, your husband feels it too. Start a deliberate practice of encouraging and building up your husband. It will be beautiful for both of you! A fantastic book/study discussing the way in which our Lord desires for our marriages to work is called Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. Look it up...it is amazing!
Verse 24 is another verse discussing generating revenue. The Lord esteems this practice by wives and mothers. I'm going to do another post on part-time jobs at a later time, but for now, I feel like the priority of working as a stay-at-home wife and mother is celebrated, yet exploring other avenues for money-making, hobbies, and "you time" is encouraged as well. I call each woman to meditate on these scriptures and my interpretations, and decide in your heart, with the Lord, if you agree or not.
Verse 25 is a celebration of this woman, if I have ever heard one! "She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come." (emphasis added) What a powerful attribute of this Godly woman! Again, two words that I would not mind owning! She laughs at the days to come because she has hope, trust, and faith that the Lord knows what is right for her and her family. Next, she speaks wisdom and gives faithful instruction...two qualities that are essential in motherhood. Verse 27 relates back to "house managing." Idleness (or laziness) is not in this woman's vocabulary! Verse 28 is then a beautiful picture of how she is perceived by her children and her husband..."Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her." How glorious would life be if this were the case every day! Alas, it isn't in my house, but we can take comfort in the fact that the Lord affirms us day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. My son was up five times last night. Did he say "thank you" every time I went in to comfort him? Not so much :-) But, I can take solace in the fact that the opportunity for my husband and I to raise him in Christ will hopefully instill affirming behaviors that he can one day show to those people whom he loves. What a job! And on those days where your husband praises you immediately upon waking, enjoy them and thank God for them!
I'm going to come back to verse 29 at the end of this post, but remember that the woman who focuses on the Lord is to be praised (paraphrase of verse 30). The Lord desires that we take care of our bodies and make ourselves to be presentable among each other and for our husbands, but His true desire is for our hearts. He desperately wants our love and our focus. I discussed yesterday about focusing on the Lord when it comes to learning your true desires. This morning, I read a verse in Isaiah. It reads, "...Your name and renown are the desires of our heart." (Isaiah 26:8) That is where He wants our focus. His Word clearly states over and over that if our heart is turned towards him, all else will fall into place according to His will. He wants to praise you, He wants to affirm your hard work that you do on a daily basis. So, make it a point to spend time with him, and let Him to do that. He loves you so much and is so proud of the choice you have made to follow the calling of being a wife and a mother, staying at home or not. Let me end with this scripture for the day. Verse 29 says,
"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
Thank you for reading, ladies. Be blessed today!
No comments:
Post a Comment