Today's Passage: “She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet” (Proverbs 31:21).
Today’s passage in the description of a virtuous woman states that she is not afraid of the snow. Why? Because her household is prepared with warm clothing. There are several lessons that we can glean from this single statement.
First of all, a woman of God prepares for hardship. She is frugal, storing up food and saving money during the times that she is prosperous so that she and her family will be prepared if hard times hit. Even if she never experiences hard times financially, others around her may need assistance and she is ready to help them. My husband, mother and I learned firsthand how frightening hurricanes can be while living in Houston last year. We were unable to evacuate during hurricanes Gustav and Ike due to my need to be near the medical center as I recovered from a bone marrow transplant. Many homes were destroyed and residents were without electricity for several days. Residents with generators invited others into their homes and shared their food with them, church members joined together to assist with home repairs and volunteers served food at food banks set up around the city. Many families had hope restored to them through the love of neighbors and friends or even strangers.
A virtuous woman is prepared to help during these times because she has faith in God as well as the peace that comes from the fact that she has made provisions for hard times. God takes care of us and sees us through hard times, but we must strive to do our part by storing up for such circumstances. By being prepared, we can focus on the vital things during a catastrophe instead of worrying what we will eat or how we will manage without any savings. Just as the foolish virgins of Matthew 25 were not prepared with extra oil for their lamps and were thus left behind, so we too must be prepared if we are to expect to be assisted, if it is within our means to do so. This parable, while teaching us the necessity of being prepared for Jesus to return, also shows us that we must take care of our responsibilities. The ones who were prepared, in this case, did not have enough for themselves and the ones who had no extra oil and thus were unable to help. Because the people of Jesus’ day understood the importance of these women being prepared for a wedding banquet, the example could be used to teach them about spiritual preparation as well. This preparation is no less important in our day.
Certainly, a woman of God should not base her faith in the things that she has done to prepare. An example of self-praise is found in Luke 12 when the rich man trusted in his possessions and his own deeds instead of glorifying God. It is wise to remember God’s condemnation of him: “But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21). It is God who gives us the ability to make provisions for ourselves and all praise is due Him; however, we must make the most of our opportunities to prepare for our own and others’ hard times. An interesting statement is made by Solomon to “sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” (Ecclesiastes 11:6). This is a call to take action while we can and prepare for the reality that we may not always be successful in our endeavors.
A prepared and faithful woman has great peace because she knows that she has done what she could to please God and has taken care of her own. Romans 2:9-11 assures us that those who do evil will suffer trouble “but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good…” (Romans 2:9-10). Additionally, we are told in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” If we are faithful in our walk and trust God to take care of those things beyond our control, we can have the joy and peace and hope that only the Spirit of God can give us.
Even those of us who may be short of means but who do the best with what we have been given will please God. God knows of our past and current capability to provide for ourselves and others and does not require more than He has given us the ability to do. We can find cases in which widows in the church needed food so the church assigned men such as Stephen to see that their needs were met (Acts 6:1-4). These widows were not denied help because they could not provide for themselves. Neither are we condemned if we are physically unable to care for ourselves. However, if we have been given the talent to provide for our family, we are required to use it.
Both the servant who was faithful with two talents and the one who was faithful with five were rewarded because they did what they could with their blessings. It will be said of us who are faithful with our blessings, “'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'” Matthew 25:14-30. On the other hand, for the servant who wasted the talents given to him, a serious punishment was dealt him and should cause us to ensure we are faithful, frugal and prepared.
May the study of faithfulness and peace in a woman of God encourage us to always be busy providing for our families in whatever talents the Lord has given us. Further, may you and yours find the peace that comes from doing God’s Will today and every day. Thank you for studying with me today. As always, this lesson has been a wake-up call to me as well to use my talents for God, my family and others.
