So, we concluding Proverbs today with none other than the amazing Proverbs 31 woman. She is the one we all try to live up to and when we read about her, we feel pretty down ourselves because we lack in so many areas! Well guess what friend, I’m here to encourage you a little bit with something God showed me this morning as I was reading.
When I think about Proverbs 31, I get this mental picture of June Cleaver. If you don’t know…Beaver’s mom, from the television show “Leave it to Beaver”. She always was dressed perfectly, she was in a tidy kitchen cooking wonderful meals and her kids respected her, her husband adored her and her house was spotless. In every episode, she made being a mom, wife and woman look easy and fun.
Fast forward to 2019.
My dishwasher is full of dirty dishes, the sink is, too. Three baskets of clean laundry are sitting in front of the dryer waiting to be folded and put away, while there are several mountains of dirty laundry scattered throughout the rest of the house. The bathtub is growing mildew in the corners and the toilet in my kid’s bathroom…well, we just won’t go there. Oh yeah..and there’s me. My hair hasn’t been washed in two days, I’m in one of the four pairs of black leggings I own, because the other three are in one of those mountains of laundry and I’m almost positive my socks don’t match. Oh yeah…how could I forget the chicken I cooked last night. Y’all. I put so much spicy seasoning on it that it would choke a jalapeño pepper!
Proverbs 31 woman status not achieved.
But wait!
As I was sitting and thinking of all the wonderful qualities that are written in this acrostic poem (the first letter of each line begins with consecutive letters of the Hebrew alphabet) I am reminded that it isn’t to point out how much I am failing. It isn’t to condemn me for what I am not. It is to remind me in beautiful prose of what I am striving to become. Remember where wisdom comes from? Fear of the Lord.
Now listen to this:
“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.” Proverbs 31:30
At the beginning of Proverbs we are told that wisdom comes from fear of the Lord. Now as we close out this book, it is said again. How do we obtain the fear (not a scared fear, but a holy reverence) of the Lord? Continually pursuing what God tells us to do and honoring God in every aspect of our life. A Proverbs 31 woman starts in the heart, not in the kitchen. God doesn’t care if our laundry is clean or if we season the chicken too much at supper…but He is concerned with our soul being cleansed by His Word and how we season this world around us.
I don’t need to sit at the loom weaving to be a Proverbs 31 woman. I need to sit at the feet of Jesus each day (like Mary) and remind myself daily who He is and who I am in Him. I must trust God with all my heart and follow the recipes within His Word. In doing so, I will never have to worry about something in my life not being “done”. It will be to perfection…in Christ.
Don’t look at Proverbs as not being good enough, but being for your good! Those verses are to praise you, not persecute you. You are worthy to be praised…not because of anything you have done, but what God is doing through you! Proverbs 31 wasn’t written with the intent of what you should try to be, but who you can be in the Lord when you seek Him above all things.
Now, who wants to come over for dinner? The husband is cooking.
