Welcome back to The Faith Journey. This Sunday series is about my faith walk, and the things the Lord is teaching me along the way. I am always so happy that you are here! I hope you will continue to join me on this journey and grow in your faith as well.
I am so excited! Tomorrow is my one year anniversary with A TIPical Day! Not only that, but I just realized that Friday was my 100th post! Wow the time has flown by quickly! To celebrate I am going to have a little surprise for you! Make sure to come back tomorrow to find out what it is!
Now, down to business. Over the last few weeks we have been taking a look into Proverbs 31 and what it means for us. If you missed the last two posts be sure to go back and read them.
Last week I gave you some homework. I asked you to read the book of Ruth. Did you do it? Ruth is a pretty good example of what our Proverbs 31 woman should look like. While maybe not completely applicable to today, she has many of the characteristics that we need to aim for in ourselves. Let's take a look at verse 11 and then we will come back to Ruth.
NIV - "Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value."
and lacks nothing of value."
The Message - "Her husband trusts her without reserve,
and never has reason to regret it."
and never has reason to regret it."
There are two things I really take away from these verses.
Self Worth-
He values her. She is worth pursuing. She is precious to him. I think even more important is that she values herself. Isn't that a little vain? No, I don't think so. I know that I have value in the Lord, so I can have confidence in that fact. Because of this my husband may find value in me as well.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care (knowledge). And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." - Matthew 10:29-31
Married or not, we all need to see our worth through God's eyes. Try this exercise. Make a list of 10 things that you believe can be valued about yourself (or just things you like about yourself). If this is easy for you, add another 10 things to that list. Just keep going until it gets hard, and then add 5 more items. On the other hand, if you find this difficult, take some time and pray for the Lord to reveal the value that He sees in you. There is no rush. Take your time and really think about this.
"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made (set apart). Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." - Psalm 139:14
Trustworthy-
The second thing I observe from this verse is that he trusts her completely. He doesn't sit around worrying about where she is or what she is doing. He doesn't question if he can share himself openly with her. He feels safe, secure, and comfortable with her. He doesn't worry about her embarrassing him when they are out in a crowd. He knows she will conduct herself with the utmost decorum. Not only that, he can rely on her to run his house and home. Since her desire is for her husband, she has committed herself to pleasing him. She submits to his rule over her.
I admit, some of this makes me grit my teeth, but it shouldn't. I love my husband, and I want him to be able to have full confidence in me. Sometimes he will ask me to do things I just flat out don't feel like or haven't time to get done. However, if I am going to work on being a Proverbs 31 woman, I need to make myself trustworthy. That means quit the teeth grinding and just do what he asked, and do it happily! Did you catch that last part, happily? It is important! Going beyond the day to day chores, I also need to be vulnerable with him as well. Only then can he full trust me.
Let's go back to Ruth now. Ruth conducted herself in the most honest and Christ like manner. When she left her home and family to move to Moab with Naomi, she showed complete and total devotion to her first husband whom had passed away. She then made herself vulnerable to Boaz when she laid at his feet. He in return called her "worthy" and pursued her. Ruth is someone to be modeled. I think that it is no coincidence that Ruth, Solomon's great-great grandmother, so fully fits this description.
Try this, every night this week, say a prayer for your spouse (future, if not yet married). Ask the Lord to prepare or soften their heart for you, but also ask the Lord to help you to be vulnerable and trustworthy with them. Think about ways that you can please them. What does my husband like? What can I offer him that will be a pleasing gift? Do not go out and buy something. This is about things you can do for this person. As you do this, you will begin to see the Lord revealing areas of your life that you have not been trustworthy. It can be rather humbling. The next step is to actually do these things you have thought up. Maybe it is something simple like taking the trash out so he doesn't have to or washing his car. Maybe it is something bigger like sharing an embarrassing secret you didn't want him to know. As we do this we should find our desire for our spouse growing and in return they will find even more value in us.
Let me also just say this, no one is perfect. If we were there would be no need for Christ. Take this a day at a time and don't beat yourself up. There is redemption in Christ and we can start anew today. :)
Feel free to share with me what the Lord reveals to you. You can email me if you don't want to leave a comment. Don't forget to come back tomorrow for our anniversary surprise! I can't wait!
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