Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. [Proverbs 31:30 ESV]
Fall has begun and we are all getting into our new routines for the semester. This week I’d like to look at the routine most women hope to emulate: The Proverbs 31 Woman. As we look at this passage this week, I would urge you to take the time to read through the entire passage, Proverbs 31:10-31, on your own since I will only be pulling out thoughts and pieces from this passage.
Oh, the Proverbs 31 woman, an excellent wife, who can find? And really, who can find her? I find that many times when we as women read this passage, we either get encouraged on the steps we’re going to take, get discouraged over a life that does not represent my own, or get prideful in the achievements we have made toward this. But is any of this where we should head when we read this passage? All three of those reactions were a reflection on myself, not on the Lord; about how I see myself, and not how He sees me. How often do I look at the things the Proverbs 31 woman does for her family and see the results or fruit of her labor? Her husband trusts her, her lamp does not go out at night, she has no fear of winter, her husband is elevated in his position in the city, her children call her blessed, and her husband praises her. Yet the key to this passage is in verse 30. “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” It is this woman’s fear of the Lord that has directed her steps in life. It is the Lord who has produced this fruit in her, not herself. She has wisdom (verse 26), yet further study of Scripture shows us that true wisdom, godly wisdom, is the fear of the Lord.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever! [Psa 111:10 ESV]
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. [Pro 9:10 ESV]
She has sought God for her life and what He has called her to do. We are all different and our families look different. Our personalities, our strengths, our bents toward sin, and our spiritual gifts will all be different. Therefore, the life to which God has called us will look different as well, but the beginning for us all is the same: fear of the Lord. Our lists will look different, our fruits will look different, but if it is of Him then through all our lists He will be glorified and praised.
If you come to my house at 6:00 am will you see me up before everyone preparing the day? *hysterical laughter* No! I don’t function well until after 2 cups of coffee (and that’s after my husband has gotten up with the children and made my coffee). Yet do I feel like I will never be a Proverbs 31 woman? As Paul would say, “by no means.” Can a woman be a Proverbs 31 woman if she can’t cook, can’t sew, and has a black thumb and kills everything she plants? It’s not a list of goals to better myself and my family that the Lord has asked of me, it’s that I seek Him and the good works He prepared for me. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” [Eph 2:10 ESV] I have a choice to fear the Lord, seek Him, and walk in the works He has for me (not for the works He has for anyone else), or I have the choice to seek self-glorification through the works I’ve created for myself.
Reflection Questions:
- Have you prayed to God to ask what work He has for you today?
- Do you want wisdom? Fear of the Lord is the beginning, but James 1:5 also tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Start today by asking God for wisdom, then trust Him that He will give it you.
Reflection Song:
