Being a Woman of Action

My wonderful Bible Study and I are going through the virtues of a Proverbs 31 woman. 

We are using the blog Good Morning Girls, and their free ebook, study guide, and videos posted on there. It has been so wonderful and the women of faith who run it are fantastic! 

Here is a snippet from yesterdays ebook reading on Proverbs 31:12 

“She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.”

Written by: Courtney Joseph, 2011, p.8 (italics and underlining added for emphasis)

"Thus far we have seen that a Godly wife is rare and a treasure to her husband and he can fully trust her in all areas. We will now look at her actions. The Proverbs 31 woman 'brings her husband good, not harm.' Where does this goodness come from? It comes from her walk with God – it is a fruit of the Spirit. Doing good is a part of her character. And to whom does she do good? Her neighbors, PTA, or scrapbooking friends? Nope – first and foremost – she does good to her husband! She does not talk about doing good to her husband – she DOES it! She willingly cooks, cleans, cares for the children and stretches a dollar. She willingly submits, respects and praises her husband. She willingly responds to his physical touch and seeks to satisfy him in the bedroom. (okay – I could go further on that one but that’s a topic for another time lol!). She does not criticize him over and over for the same flaws but loves him despite his flaws. She knows the power of her words and would not, in a moment of anger, use them to harm him.

In the very first marriage of the Bible, we see the glaring example of Eve harming Adam. She took the bite of the fruit and invited him to join her in her sin. He foolishly followed her lead! A wise woman understands her power of influence to persuade her husband to do things that without her nagging, begging, manipulating or crying, he would not choose to do. We must not attempt to lead our husbands – but allow them to lead us (Ephesians 5).

For how long does the Proverbs 31 woman bring her husband good? 'All the days of her life.' Are these words heavy to your heart? Is your marriage wavering? Let me suggest that a struggling  marriage means you must draw even closer to God to see your marriage through. If you are wondering how in the world you are going to love and respect this man you married FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE…let me give you the answer. By fearing God.

Your walk with God is the key to having peace in the midst of a struggling marriage. You cannot control your husband’s walk with God – only your own. But when you faithfully pray, read God’s word and obey it, it will change the course of your marriage. So do you need a change of course today? Pursue God, pursue the Proverbs 31 woman and pursue bringing your husband good all the days of your life!"

So many truths in what she wrote! My favorite is that we can only love our husbands for the rest of our lives by fearing God. If we love our husbands to make him happy-it wont last. We wont always like him and WANT to make him happy. If we do it to make us happy- it wont work either. We'll get tired, bored, and heck maybe it doesn't make US happy. But if we love our husbands and let them lead because we fear the Lord and want him to be glorified-now that's a strong reason that wont fade with time. It doesn't hurt either that he rewards us for obedience. Serving my husband and loving him sacrificially is so much easier to do when I'm doing it for the Lord, after all he deserves me obedience, even when David doesn't. This is another way I have learned the hard lesson of "marriage is not about me and David". It is about God. When we make it about us- it get hard, frustrating, and I am unfulfilled. When we make it about God, all of the sudden I'm way more patient, loving, kind, strong, and ready for the long haul. Marriage is only hard when it's about me.