Hello again fellow enthusiasts! Not sure why I called you that, but just roll with it.
Two days ago, I finished reading through the entire book of Proverbs. What I did was simple, yet profound, and I'm sure many of you have done this yourself or thought about doing this. I read just one Proverb every day for 31 days.
Now, this endeavor was one I wish I had done a long time ago, because you would not believe how much STUFF is in that book! It's crazy! Proverbs touches on just about every topic you can think of from adultery to wisdom to laziness. If you ever get the chance, I encourage you deeply to partake in this journey.
Here's the crazy part. The reason I did this was actually for a girl....
God has blessed me in so many ways, its not even funny, but one blessing in particular is my wonderful girlfriend. Yes, here comes the cheese, but it's true. It's encouraging as a man in Christ to know there are godly women out there who care more about Him than me. Women who would rather be caught reading the Bible than Pride and Prejudice. Women that dress modestly because they understand that human men are screwed up sometimes. I have the privilege of dating one of these women. Thanks Rachel. :)
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As many of you know, Proverbs 31 applies directly to the kind of girl I've been talking about. If you have a Bible, I'd encourage you to open up to it and just read it. Doesn't matter if you're a man or a women, there are truths that can be learned.
In my view, this chapter doesn't just have to apply to marriage. I think we can live out the principle's set here in any relationship we have. With a friend, a father, a sister, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a roommate, a co-worker; anyone!
But speaking specifically about the 31st chapter I want to outline what God says a godly woman should be. Now, let me put this out here before I get going: Guys, you're not off the hook in any way, shape or form on this one. I'll touch on that topic a little later.
Anyway, back to Proverbs:
In verse 11 it says that, "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value." I think this is the first attribute outlined for a reason, and a good one at that. Here, God is saying that a guy can trust her fully, without doubt that she's being trustworthy. A key foundation to any relationship is trust, without it, the partnership falls apart because you can never know if you can be confident in the other person. Trust.
Continuing on in verse 13-14 it says, "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships bringing her food from afar." In my study Bible, the note for verse 14 says that "she is an enterprising person." I looked up enterprising for you, so here are a couple synonyms: Ambitious, go-getting, aspiring, vigorous, diligent, zealous and bold. This kind of woman has confidence in her Lord and wants to show it.
Let me pause for a second here and tell you that if I outlined ever single attribute laid out in the chapter, you could be reading for a while and I don't want to bore you, so I encourage you to delve in yourself and discover all this chapter has to say. Let me give you a few more that I really enjoyed.
Skipping over to verse 20, "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy." Here's where a little of my thoughts come in. Let me tell you, there is nothing sexier than a woman who loves to serve others. I want to give an example from one of my friends here at OBU. Her name is Abby and she loves to cook. No, this is not another generic statement about how women should be making me a sandwich, rather its a thanks to all the great lady cooks out there. For instance, over a short break we had, I would go over to Abby's place and she would make me food (mmmm, grilled cheese). We had all kinds of fun dishes, and I am so thankful and grateful it. Not only does she make food, she wants to be a missionary. Talk about service right there.
Verse 24 says, "She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes." The reason I wanted to stick this one in here is because of my mother. Oh my goodness, my mother, I swear, is the queen of bargains. I hope she's fine with me using her as an example, but when you've got an awesome role model, it's hard to pass up. I can't even begin to explain how awesome our house looks, and at a fraction of the price you would think. Her interior design blows me away at how professional it looks. Also, she makes costumes! How cool is that? I don't want to get on a soap box about how awesome my mom is, so I'll get to the point, haha. To be a godly woman, I don't think you have to know to sew or make be an awesome interior designer, but something I want to pull out of this passage is the fact that she uses her gifts. A godly woman will capitalize on the opportunity to put to good use what God has gifted her with because she knows it's all for His glory.
Finally, verse 26 outlines one of my favorite attributes: "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." That's right, she's wise. If you read through Proverbs, the key theme throughout the book is wisdom. God LOVES wisdom. Real men love wisdom. Real women love wisdom. It would take an entire book to outline what wisdom entails (which it did, by the way), but I want to leave you with this. Wisdom is born out of love for God and for others. I think it's a conscious effort to do things right. It's not being lazy or uncaring, but a true passion for those around you. A wise person will WANT to learn more about God and how to serve Him. If you take a look at Proverbs, you gain a better picture of what I'm talking about.That's all I have for today, and next week it's the guys turn. Ya, that's right, I haven't forgot, you're not off the hook yet.
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To finish, I want to acknowledge the wonderful and godly women in my life right now. First, my dear mother, there aren't enough words to express how amazing you are and how encouraging you've been. And too all the other ladies in my life, Rachel, Cheyenne, Abby, Haley, and my wonderful sister Alicia, thank for showing me what a godly woman is like. From all the guys out there, thanks.
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." -Proverbs 31:30
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