By finding our identity and acceptance in Him we are free to do good and not harm to our husbands. My fierce friends, let’s be encouraged and built up in the knowledge and goodness the gospel brings to our souls. She’s not who I thought she was…She’s more! When he sits among the elders of the land.Ģ4 She makes linen garments and sells them Ģ5 Strength and dignity are her clothing,Īnd the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.Ģ7 She looks well to the ways of her householdĢ8 Her children rise up and call her blessed ģ0 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,īut a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.Īnd let her works praise her in the gates.
With the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.ġ8 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.Ģ1 She is not afraid of snow for her household,įor all her household are clothed in scarlet. Her soul is one that is overtaken by His goodness and she is being both observed and encouraged in all that she is, not who she is striving to be.ġ1 The heart of her husband trusts in her,ġ4 She is like the ships of the merchant Now I realize this may seem like a lot of scripture, but friends, let’s read these words again, from an understanding that these are words describing a woman who’s entire being is completely rooted and found in Jesus. There is no pressure or standard I am striving for, it is who I am because of Jesus. When I go back and read these verses through the lens of the gospel, it is rich, life-giving and renewing. I don’t know about you, but this is a liberating epiphany to my weary soul. She is who we are when we die to ourselves ( Colossians 3:3) and our lives are hidden in and renewed by Jesus ( Colossians 3:10). She is not someone we are striving to be like she is us. These are not prescriptive words for us to try our best to live up to because I’ll be the first to admit failure. The beauty here is that there’s no pressure to do in order to be a Proverbs 31 woman, you simply are because of Jesus and who He is. In other words, the woman who fears the Lord – who’s heart has been infused and saturated with the gospel will bear fruit and simply be the woman described in Proverbs 31:10-31. Either way, we hope it blesses you! No More Striving So, feel free to listen above or read on below. Note: The above podcast episode is based on a previously written blog post.
Read the Full Transcript Read the Shownotes These words were never meant for us to live up to, but rather, they are the fruit produced from the gospel at work in a woman’s heart.
When has the gospel ever been something we strive for? As I go back and reread all of these verses my heart is lifted and the weight is shifted. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” Pretty sure my sassy-sour response to my husband this morning doesn’t qualify as doing him “good.” Honestly, I think I’ve simply been reading this chapter wrong my entire life. Take for example, verses 11-12, “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
Looking at the craziness of this season of our lives with lovely little babes, I’m not always sure how to connect the dots between my day to day messiness and the Godly wife described here. I feel the weight of striving to be the “godly wife” described in it and honestly, it sounds impossible. Whenever I read Proverbs 31:10-31 it can be pretty demoralizing.