“She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle” (Proverbs 31:17-19).
Our Heavenly Father, our hearts rejoice over Your love for us. We thank You for considering all people, made in Your image, to have a part in Your work. Please help us to be willing to surrender our all to You, that You may use us for Your honor, and Your glory, at all times, and in all places. We have asked this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today, we will look at several traits of the virtuous woman:
She is a strong woman, physically, as well as mentally, and emotionally. We know it is a decision she has made, to be strong! Scripture says of her, “she girds herself with strength, and strenthens her arms”! This is so much more important than we believe! We have the right to decide, by the grace of God, what we want to be, and what we will accomplish in life, by God’s grace! All around us are voices telling us, “what we are not, and what we cannot do.”
It is time we tuned those voices out, and tuned in to what the Word of God has to say:
This is what you and I are to God!
“For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye” (Zechariah 2:8, KJV, emphasis supplied).
“Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 17:8, emphasis supplied).
And this is what He says about our ability!
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, emphasis provided).
Let us not forget any of this!
- She is confident! She knows that her product is very good! That is very important! Be your best you! Do not accept mediocrity! It takes a lot of time, to do your best, but what a sense of healthy pride you feel, when you have done a great job! This is what the woman feels. And this really comes as the result of hard work!
- The statement that, “her lamp does not go out by night,” is not necessarily saying that she is not getting sufficient rest, but, most likely, that she puts in all the time necessary, to get the job done to the best of her ability! Obviously, her standard is excellence!
- Her goal is to be a “Jill of all trades,” and “Master of all! (a paraphrase of Jack of all trades, and Master of none!)* When I read verse 19, I imagined it was something that had to do with fabric, but I wasn’t sure. We had already established that the woman is a seamstress, but this seemed to go beyond regular sewing. Therefore, I went to the dictionary for help:
“distaff: 1) A staff having a cleft end that holds the unspun flax, wool, or tow from which thread is drawn in spinning by hand. 2) A woman’s work and domain.”
“spindle: 1a) A rod or pin, tapered at one end and usu. weighted at the other, on which fibers are spun into thread. b) A pin or rod holding a bobbin or spool on which thread is wound on a spinning wheel or spinning machine.”
I also discovered that this flax is, 1a) “a plant having blue flowers, seeds that yield linseed oil, and slender stems from which a fine, light-colored textile fiber is obtained.” b) “The textile fiber obtained from flax.”
In our Part 2 devotional we discovered that the woman seeks for wool and flax and works willingly with her hands. I believe that the information in our Scripture for today is some of what is being referred to in that verse. Which means, that she even has a part in the designing and fabrication of the material she uses in making the family’s clothing!
She is indeed a woman of excellence! All I can say is, “Wow!” “What a woman!”
*All of these definitions were obtained from Webster’s II New College Dictionary, Third Edition.
Note: Some modifications have been made to this devotional. If necessary, a re-read is recommended!