A Woman of Faith

Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him;

But the righteous will live by faith.

Habakkuk 2:4

The woman in Proverbs 31 has many virtues as we saw in my last post on her, and I plan to visit all of those virtues or characteristics in the coming weeks. Today I want to focus on the faith of the woman in Proverbs 31. To many people who read these verses it probably seems like very little is said about her faith, but as I have been reading these verses, I see that these verses are about her living her faith.

The woman is Proverbs 31 lives her life by faith…but how do we know this? What do we see in her life that points to her being a woman of faith?

Everything she does is an action of faith…In the book of James, James says that faith without deeds is dead (Jas. 2:14-26). She shows her faith by her deeds. It is her faith though that produces her deeds. In his book Unstoppable: the Incredible Power of Faith in Action, Nick Vujicic describes it this way:

“I’ve heard it said that our actions are to our faith and beliefs as our bodies are to our spirits. Your body is the housing of your spirit, the evidence of its existence. In the same way, your actions are the evidence of your faith and beliefs.”(p. 10)

Do you see it now? Everything that the Proverbs 31 woman does comes from her faith. It is how she shares her faith with the world.

So I have to ask…what do your actions say about you? Are they pointing to you as a woman of faith or do you they show that you still have a way to go? It is alright if you do. I know that I have a long way to go, but I also know that when I come to the end of my life I want people to say that I was a woman who lived my faith. I want my faith to be a living, breathing feature in my life so that when all look to me they see less of me and see more of Christ.

Would you join me? For the next whoever knows how long, I am going to focus on faith, what it is, why it is important, where does it come from, how much faith do we need, and how we can increase our faith.

The Woman of Noble Character, Part II

A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

Proverbs 31:10 (NIV)

In the last blog we discussed the key to becoming a woman of noble character. Today I want to take a look at who the woman of noble character is.

Let us focus on the phrase “noble character” for a while. What exactly does it mean to have a noble character? How would you define a noble character? Visualize a person that you see as having a noble character. What traits do you see in them? Why would you say that he or she is a noble person?

The Hebrew word used to describe this woman is chayil (pronounce khahˊ-yil). This word means a force, valor, strength, substance, might, power, or valiant. A woman of noble character is in essence a force to be reckoned with. She is strong and confident. She is a woman who knows what she wants and goes after it, but she does so with grace and dignity. She is woman who embodies the fruit of the Spirit.

When I read through the verses describing a wife of noble character, I see 12 different traits that make her noble.

1)       She is a woman of faith. She trusts God. (Proverbs 31:21, 25, 30)

2)       She is a woman of love. (Proverbs 31:10-31)

3)       She is a woman of worth. (Proverbs 31:10)

4)       She is a woman of integrity. (Proverbs 31:11)

5)       She is a woman of compassion. (Proverbs 31:15, 20)

6)       She is a woman of purpose and industry. (Proverbs 31: 13-19, 22, 24, 27)

7)       She is a woman of wisdom. (Proverbs 31:26)

8)       She is a woman of wellness. (Proverbs 31:17 & 25)

9)       She is a woman of resilience. (Proverbs 31:21, 25)

10)   She is a woman of knowledge. (Proverbs 31:26)

11)   She is a woman of self-control and discipline. (Proverbs 31:15-16, 21)

12)   She is a woman of dignity. (Proverbs 31:25)

13)   She is a woman of humility. (Proverbs 31:10-31)

Aren’t all of these traits that we should all be striving to have? Whether we are married or single, being a woman of noble character isn’t as much about what we do as it is about who we are or whose we are. I don’t know about you, but I know that I can’t be all these things on my own. I know who can create these traits in me though and He wants to create them in you also.

As we are developing these traits in ourselves, we need to be acting them out. If you don’t see a trait in yourself that you want to develop, then act as if you are already have that trait. If you want to be a more compassionate person, then act like a compassionate person, i.e. doing random acts of kindness in the community, helping someone who needs help.

We are going to explore these traits in depth in the weeks to come. I am looking forward to it and I hope that you are too.

God bless and I’m praying for you!

Women of Faith

This weekend was the Women of Faith conference in Kansas City so I want to share a few pieces of advice and reminders that I received this weekend.

1) God wants us to praise Him in the middle of the storm as well as in the good times.

2) Every single one of us has an emptiness that only God can fill. Food, sex, men, drugs, or whatever you put before your relationship with God will only fill that emptiness for a short time. Only God can fill that hole permanently.

3) Build up an arsenal to fight Satan's lies. Sheila Walsh suggests writing Bible verses on 4x6 cards and carrying them with you.

4) God lavishes His love upon us.

5) Liz Curtis Higgs suggests that every morning after you get ready stand in front of the mirror and say, "Tada!" She says that it can be life changing.

6) When all we see is dirt, all God sees is hope because He has plans for us.

7) No matter how lost you feel or how far away from God you seem to be He chose you and He can use you.

8) Salvation is all a work of God. It is not about being good enough.

9) Walk Chosen

10) Treat every moment as a gift because that is what it is. Every moment is a gift from the one who took our place and died in our stead.

11) We are all in this together. You are not alone. Christ walks with you and everyone of us is broken.

12) Live fully alive in Christ.

13) God loves broken people.

14) In our weakness, The Lord provides His strength.

15) God's plans for us are greater than our own.

16) Trust Him!

17) Be a living sacrifice.