“She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy” (Proverbs 31:20).
Dear Heavenly Father, we feel blessed to be able to call You our Father! Your kindness satisfies so many longings in our hearts. Before we ask, You already know our need, and comes to our rescue. How blessed we are! You created us in Your image, and invites us to walk as you walked” (1 John 2:6). Please help us not to take Your blessings for granted, but rather, share them with others. We give You thanks and praise, in the blessed name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen.
Today we are looking at the woman as she remembers the poor. Jesus said that the poor [we would] have always, and as all of His words are true, we see poverty everywhere, even in many of the richest countries today! From the moment sin entered our world, poverty became a part of humanity’s reality.
It is not because there is not enough to go around, but sad to say, it is because of the selfishness of the human heart. The prophets of old, were constantly rebuking the people of God, for their oppression of, and the lack of sympathy, toward the poor (Isaiah 3:14; Amos 2:6, 4:1, 5:11, 12, 8:4, 6). A part of the Gospel message is about taking care of the poor (Galatians 2:10); The early church practiced it (Romans 15:26, 27). Jesus took it to a higher level by “[becoming poor], that [we] through His poverty, might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9)!
Here we find the woman practicing kindness by extending her hand to the poor, and reaching out her hand to the needy! She does not wait for them to come to her for help, she goes and offers her help to them! Indeed, she possesses the gifts of the Spirit, as we noted in our devotional last Tuesday. “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: . . . he who gives, with liberality; . . . he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6, 8, emphasis provided).
There is so much to virtue! The woman has been exemplifying beautifully, this quality of excellence. As we continue looking into her life, may we be inspired to, “go and do likewise!”
Note: Some minor corrections have been made to this devotional.