I find there is just such great blessing in taking one verse, allowing it to marinate in your mind and then having it seep deep into your heart and soul.  Let’s just take in God’s Word with the next verse in our Proverbs 31 adventure.

“She gets up while it is still night she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.”      Proverbs 31:15 NIV

“She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.” Proverbs 31:15 NLT

“She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day.”  Proverbs 31:15 Message

The version of my Bible that I keep close by my side these days is an New International Version (NIV).  This is usually the first and the most frequent edition that I look up Bible verses in.  So this is where I found myself starting Proverbs 31:15 with.

Here were my initial thoughts.  This verse talks about getting up early and preparing for the day.  The topic of food continues with the focus on breakfast preparation.  The idea of female servants is introduced into the Proverb.  Three pieces seemed to be pretty manageable so I decided to continue down that path.

I know exactly why this Proverbs 31 woman was up before dawn.  It is quiet.  I have a household where stillness and quiet can only be found while others are sleeping.  This is precious time.  It is also a time where I have the refreshment of a night’s sleep and clarity of mind because I haven’t been filled with the noise of the day.  It says in Matthew 6:34 “Each day has enough trouble of its own”.  That is so true.  Most days, it’s just one thing after another.

Historically, my habit has been to accomplish all that I could in that quiet golden time.  Cleaning, laundry, balancing financial accounts, catching up on emails, organizing items for volunteer projects, written correspondence, or work that I lugged home with me from the day before.  Those were the first and foremost things that time was dedicated to.   Start fast…get more done.

I must admit there wasn’t a lot of joy in living out that philosophy.  Yes, I was getting stuff done and was truly focused on performance.  But then, I began to wonder if I was giving too much time, treasure and talents to the wrong things.  Maybe I was putting priorities in the wrong order?

What would Jesus do in the early mornings?  Isn’t it awesome when we ask God a question and He responds in His Word, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”  (Mark 1:35)  Jesus got up and prayed.  He organized His day with God first.  I should definitely do likewise, put God first.

God wants to hear from us.  God sees us as so precious.  He’s eagerly awaiting for us to get up and come to Him because He wants to hear what we have to say.  He also wants to share precious wisdom that would help us in our daily tasks.  God loves you so much that he longs to work with you through every item on your to do list, regardless of how tedious it is.

Now it doesn’t say that our Proverbs 31 woman got up and prayed.  It does say that she prepared and organized for her day.  Is there anyone better to prepare with in the quiet stillness of early morning than God?  Because God is ever present we can make breakfast and talk to Him at the same time about all that lies ahead for our day.  I don’t know about you, but I can get a lot of talking in while preparing food.

Yes, we’re talking about food again.  It is such a critical need for our daily living.  As we talked about in verse 14, we can spend a lot of time in relation to food.  This verse specifically mentions breakfast.

Hasn’t it been drilled into us time and time again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?  I know I’ve heard it from nutritionists but also from my own body complaining at 10:15am begging for lunch because I neglected to eat breakfast.

It seems logical that a Proverbs 31 woman would provide a good breakfast for her family.  She nourishes them after a good nights rest and prepares them for the long day ahead of them.  Did you know Jesus said “Come and have breakfast” in John 21:12?  Isn’t Jesus awesome!

Up early…check.  Breakfast…check.  Servant girls…hmm, I don’t have any of those.  Perhaps the thought has crossed your mind as it has mine, a Proverbs 31 woman makes it all possible because she has servants.  Sounds nice doesn’t it?  A team to help accomplish the workload.

That’s just a silly first thought.  If a Proverbs 31 woman really was based upon her servants, would she really be the one getting up early to make breakfast for her family?  Notice the verse says that she not only made breakfast for her family, but for her servant girls as well.  She wasn’t getting as much as she could for as little as possible.  She was treating her servants as though they were family.

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:40.  Two things really stand out to me.  The first is the reference to “least of these”.  I’m sure in the days of Proverbs, servant girls qualified as “least of these”.  Jesus also classifies the least of these as “brothers and sisters”.  He calls them family.

I am absolutely in awe of the way the Bible ties everything together.  A Proverbs 31 woman lives by the example Jesus set.  She uses her home as an amazing place of Ministry and Worship, in addition to lovingly meeting the needs of those around her.  Perhaps it is because she got up early and spoke with God that she was prompted to provide breakfast for her servant girls.  Out of her love for God, His love flowed through her home.

God + me = Proverbs 31  I shall be

Good thing God is the major part of this equation.  I am essentially nothing, but when we are bonded to God through His love absolutely amazing things happen.

Dear Lord,

Thank You so much for this day.  Thank You for eagerly waiting for us to arise so that we could work together.  Thank You for caring about the tiniest details of our life.  Most importantly, Thank You for making us a part of Your family! 

Please help us in this day to draw near to You.  Please shape us and mold us with Your wisdom.  Direct our steps.  Help us to do those hard things whether it is getting up early, slowing down long enough to make & eat a healthy breakfast, or to welcoming the “least of these” not just into our homes, but into our families.

I pray that You remind us with Your grace and mercy that we can only love to the extent that we experience Your love.  May we make coming to You our priority.  May it truly open the eyes our hearts so that we may really see the abundance of blessings showering down around us. 

You are so amazing God!  Thank you for all You have shown us so far on this journey.  We love You! 

In Jesus name, Amen