“Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies” -Prov. 31:10
A woman would not be considered praiseworthy if she didn’t have an exemplary spiritual life. After all, God’s reckoning of a person is the only one to make an eternal difference.
With all the duties a woman has, when is there time to build a relationship with her Lord? Like anything else of importance, this essential relationship must be given top priority. Before a woman can consider her role as wife, mother, worker or community member, she must find herself at the feet of her Maker being outfitted for these monumental tasks.
Setting aside quiet time for prayer, Bible study and more prayer can be difficult. Our home is filled with people clamoring for our attention. When those voices are silent, the dirty floors scream out or the laundry glares accusingly. In order to gird ourselves to meet all these needs, we must learn to tune out the world so we can tune in to God.
“She girds herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task]” (Pro. 31: 17, AMP)
I love reading Proverbs 31:17 from the Amplified Bible because it shows there’s a clear order for a strong woman. She must equip her spirit before she can outfit her mind, and then this emotional strength will lend a hand to “physical fitness.”
My routine on a work day puts my physical exercise first. When the alarm goes off at 5am, I say “Good morning, Lord,” then I roll out of bed and put on workout clothes. One reason this works for me is because the physical exercise helps my mind wake up.
Before I feed my physical body, I have my quiet time. I’ll be the first to admit that it isn’t long enough to truly grow my spiritual self. I pray for guidance and then read the scriptures I’ve outlined as my daily passage.
The thing that tends to slide when I’m in a hurry is the final step. This is when I open my prayer journal and pour out my requests before the “throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16). I try not to be mindful of the clock, but since I do have to be to work at a certain time, that can be difficult.
Both of these areas of my life become more consistent and beneficial during the summer when I’m on “vacation” from my job. However, in the current economy, working women can’t let this important piece of equipping us to be Mrs. Virtuous slip.
“She tastes and sees that her gain from work [with and for God] is good: her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night [of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt, and distrust]” (Pro. 31:18, AMP).
As Paul told Timothy, “…Bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things” (1Tim. 4:8). So much emphasis gets placed on our ministry, what we are doing for God, but that is all from a human perspective. God wants to know us and then he can grow us.
All our work must be done with God beside us. When this is the case, our light shines bright, no matter what troubles come our way. If I start to feel overwhelmed in life, I have learned that I need to stop and get in my closet with the Lord. When I’m right with him, inner fortitude bolsters me through the outer tribulations.
“Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Pro. 31:30, AMP).
In this century, everyone focuses on the external. God is clear that all that exterior beauty won’t last. “Life is a vapor” and we “fade like the flower of the field”
In order to have eternal charm and grace, we must turn our attention inward. Do we reverence God? Are we making worship of our Lord a priority? When we put our spiritual well-being above everything that demands our attention, then we are praiseworthy.
“Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.”
Proverbs 31:29
A Pew Perspective 