Our June Devotion, Day 4

Friday, June 11, 2010

Are We A Crown to Our Husband?
Proverbs 12:4

Are we as a wife, the kind of wife or woman we want for our son? “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies”. Proverbs 31:10 I know the verses used in this devotion are more well known as scripture used for Mother’s Day. But, as a mother raising four boys, and Father’s Day approaching, I thought they are still the perfect scripture for us ladies who have sons and grandsons, etc. They will one day be husbands and fathers and here in the 31st chapter of Proverbs, we have the words that were taught to King Lemuel by his mother concerning what to look for in a future wife. Now for those who have a least one daughter like me, this is for us also. Whether we mothers are married, divorced, or widowed and whether our children are young or old, single or married, I believe God never relieves us of our duty of being an example of this virtuous lady. These verses show us this. If we have a least one daughter, we are to teach her to be the kind of lady we expect our sons to marry.
What is a virtuous woman? a lady with moral integrity: having or showing moral goodness or righteousness. Can we say we are a lady who has high moral principles or standards? Can we say we are women who have earned the respect of others by how we dress and through our actions. I Tim-othy 2:9,10 says we are to be “women professing godliness”. Not too long ago I heard someone say, godliness, is what is missing in our homes and churches. I could not agree more.
What is godliness- showing devotion to or worshiping God. Ladies, if we really want to claim His name, it must show in every aspect of our life. He must be reflected in the way we dress, our conversation, where we go, etc. Some may say, God sees my heart so what’s the deal with what I wear? Yes God does see our heart, but know one else can. If we are to let others know, we know the Lord, we must let our outside reflect the inside. We can always control our conversations, where we go and what we do. But I assure you, if we still look like the world, we are going to send a confusing message. I believe this applies to everything from our hair to our feet 1Tim. 2:9. We must listen to our hearts and let the Lord be our guide. When it comes to our clothes, I know we may disagree on how low is too low, how short is too short, or how tight is too tight, so here’s a hint: The closer we are to the Lord(the light of the world), the more the ways of the world(the darkness)will bother us.
“The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life”. Proverbs 31:11-12 This says a mouth full. Have we given our husbands any reason not to trust us with anything? Have we proved our fidelity and faithfulness in deeds as well as words? Have we tended to our home and family so that they have no need to take from others? Has our love and companionship enriched our husbands lives to give them reason to be happy?
Have we honored and served our husbands to the point they have no reason to believe we will do anything contrary to their wishes? Have we spent all of our days with devotion to our husbands? Have we kept our vows of marriage? Have(are) we done them good and not evil all the days of our life? Can our husbands go about their daily task, knowing that we are their trusted help meets?
In the eyes of our sons, have we made the institution of marriage look like a beautiful partnership with a precious and treasured lady in their life? Have we made the idea of having children appear to be a wonderful blessing or a heavy burden?
Are we “women professing godliness”? I am afraid there are many who are not. As a whole, our society is void of godliness and it doesn’t take much effort to see this.
I believe there is one main reason godliness is vacant in the hearts of our nation today. There is a huge lack of conviction of hearts. Let’s examine this a little. To convict- show to be at fault: to show that somebody is in the wrong in some respect. A conviction- a firmly held belief or opinion.
I know when the Lord has had me under conviction for something, it was not a comfortable time for me. It was especially hard when it was something I did not want to give up or stop doing. It was on my mind quite often. Of course the longer I waited and held on and held on and waited, the worse it was. I knew the Lord was speaking to my heart but, I simply turned a deaf ear and a hard heart to Him.
God began to open my eyes to the many lies Satan had been telling me. I started to see how I could not continue like this. No matter what it was or wasn’t, I did need God every day. When I saw this, with a humble broken heart, I asked God to please forgive me for my attitude and actions and to please take control of my life again. When I did, the dark clouds rolled away. I began to see a beau-tiful rainbow, I felt the warmth of the bright sunshine on my face, and I began hearing the birds singing. What’s more, I began to see God bless me in my life more than I ever thought possible.
If we are someone with a heart that sincerely seeks to please the Lord, we will not allow our heart to be hardened and numb to His voice. We must humble ourselves and open our hearts to His convicting Holy Spirit. We should allow God to give us new convictions-these come as we grow closer to the Lord. As we grow closer to Him, our love for Him grows, and so does our desires to serve Him.
We cannot depend on the world to show our kids godliness. Too often, we can’t even depend on those in our churches to be the godly example we are so badly needing.
Considering our self as the woman we are, would it please our heart if our son were to marry someone like us? If there is already a daughter-in-love existing in our life, what kind of example are we being to her? If she the daughter you always wanted, wonderful. If not, we should pray for her and then examine our selves for any necessary changes? Please allow your heart, as I do mine, to be open to any areas that need convicting.
I ask that you join me in being a “woman professing godliness”. Even if it means being a crowd of a few, may we be strong and bold in our convictions, yet a loving light and a “Woman professing godliness” to those around us.
And last, may God help us to be “a crown to our husband” and a godly example for our daughters(or Future daughters)-in-love.

In Christ,
Stephanie Black