How amazing God is; how good and worthy of praise!  As I am listening to Him, searching for His still small voice, in the quiet I hear, “we are not finished, it is not done”.  I have an overwhelming and eager anticipation that there is so much more to come on my Proverbs 31 journey.

I’m so excited and so thankful that Jesus has helped me through, especially with those steps where I was ready to sit down and give it all up.  It has been such a blessing that you have given of your time and energy to take this journey with me.  I can not find the words to express my gratitude for the gift that you have given me.

I was reminded this morning that there were just a few things that I needed to hear again.  I’m kind of slow that way and sometimes I need repetition to help it really sink deep into my heart.  Sometimes I have to pause and to reflect on where I have been and what God has taken me through on my journey.  While I feel like I could literally write a book on what I have learned, I had to challenge myself to not get complex, but to keep it simple.

Here is what I came up with.

God first, in all things.  This is the biggest lesson that I have learned.  “A woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).  To be a Proverbs 31 woman, it’s not about me.  It’s all about God.  This is where the seed of God + me = Proverbs 31 I shall be stems from.  It’s the heart of the entire Bible.  God first.  If we take this Proverb and make it our personal to do list, on our own strength we will suffer burnout and fail.  We have to trust Him with our own lives, our spouse’s lives and the lives our children.  If we keep our eyes on the Lord, He will transform us into Proverbs 31 women.  We will probably not even know that it is happening.

God’s pace is a romantic stroll, not frantic rushing.  The Proverbs 31 woman “works with eager hands” (Proverbs 31:13) and “sets about her work vigorously” (Proverbs 31:17), but she doesn’t work frantically.  So what’s the real difference in these words.  To be eager is to be enthusiastic.  To do something vigorously is to work with vigor or with an active strength.  To be frantic is to be desperate, insane or mad.  God will give us enthusiasm.  God will bless us with the strength needed for our tasks.  God will not drive us to a point of being insane if we allow Him to be in control and to stroll with Him.

God supplies what we need when we need it, including what we need to give generously.  “She selects wool and flax” (Proverbs 31:13), “she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls” (Proverbs 31:15), “she considers a field & buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard” (Proverbs 31:16) and “she makes linen garments and sells them“ (Proverbs 31:24).  For the Proverbs 31 woman to pass these good things on to her family, to her servants, to those in the marketplace, God first provided them to her.  God will do the same for us.  He provides, not only for the needs of ourselves and for our families, He will pour a generous portion upon us so that we too may, “open our arms to the poor and to extend our hands to the needy”  (Proverbs 31:20).

God will help us sense the worth of our work.  We are dear and precious works of God’s hands.  Even though the world may not seem to care about the work that we do, God cares about us and God cares about our work.  This is why He inspired Proverbs 31 to be written and included in His Holy Bible.  “She senses the worth of her work,” (Proverbs 31:18).  God will affirm us.  He will recognize us.  He will help us to sense the magnitude of what a blessing it is to work for Him and with Him.  “She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth, diligent in homemaking,” (Proverbs 31:19). God made us, he designed us and he purposed us to work in the home, to raise families and to be creatively skillful with our talents.

Fear only the Lord.  “A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”  (Proverbs 31:30).  There are so many things in this world that are scary.  This is not the fear of scary things.  This is the deep reverence that we have for the Lord.  This about where we place our focus.  May we be a people who place their eyes and their hearts upon God.  We can not allow the struggles of the day be it finances, relationships, work loads or our physical ailments to distract our eyes from our Mighty, Merciful, Powerful and Loving God.

Thank you again for sharing the continuation of this journey with me.  I need this review today.  I need to hear God continue to speak through this Proverb into my life.  I have certainly not arrived yet.  I still struggle very much with each and every one of these areas.  I am quick to move my eyes from God to the things of the world.

I have so much pride that tempts me to take back control, to devote my quality time to nagging unimportant tasks, to seek fulfillment from my spouse & children before seeking it from God and to have a good old pity party because no one sees my work as important. On my own, I am broken.  On my own, I am incomplete.  On my own, I am frantic.  On my own, I feel alone.  With God, I am mended.  With God, I am made whole.  With God, I am eager and work vigorously.  With God, I am never alone.

As I come to a close for this day, I just have to tell you this.  You are Beautiful!  You are Loved!  Please be reminded that you are a cherished treasure.  You are a gift.  God, in all His perfection, wove you together in your mother’s womb.  He did it because you bring Him joy.  You bring a smile to His face.  You bring Him glory when you focus on Him.

Thank you for being you.  Thank you for sharing with me.  Even though we may not look each other in the eye in this day, the act of taking your time to read my words is an esteemed gift to me.  With my deepest gratitude and appreciation!  Thank You!

Dearest Lord,

Thank you so much for Your goodness.  Thank You for the way You cause Your goodness to pass before us in this life.  Praise, praise, praise be to You, LORD!  

May each of us who pray this pray be humbled by who You are.  May we not feel unworthy in our hearts but may we openly welcome and receive the love You have for each of us.  May it draw us to You and cause us to be enamored by You.  Out of our captivation for You may we allow Your love to flow through us onto this world by being obedient to the work that You call us to. 

It is my hope that we would come to You, so that we could truly feel the worth of who we are and who we belong to.  May it spur us to pressing on for You in this day.  In Jesus name, Amen!