The Proverbs 31 Woman

Today's episode explores the attributes and works of a Proverbs 31 Woman. SheSpeaks Love foundation scripture is Proverbs 31:26 (NLT).

💖Highlights💖
- What does it mean to be a Proverbs 31 Woman?
- How can Queens today become a  Proverbs 31 Woman?
- How can you operate in wisdom, and not foolishness?

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Link to Transcript:  The Proverbs 31 Woman

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Transcript

Proverbs 31

Betty 00:01

Hello Queens. Welcome to SheSpeaks Love Women of The Bible Series.  We're so excited to share these incredible Women of the Bible and highlight their personal story and their legacy. These podcasts will encourage, inspire and share wisdom from God's Word as it relates to women and our unique circumstances. Let's get into their phenomenal story and the power of their voice. 

Today's podcast presents the Proverbs 31 Woman shared by none other than SheSpeaks' founders, Queen Veronica and Queen Betty S, let's get into it.

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? I'm reading the New Living Translation. She is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life. She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant ship bringing her food from afar.  

She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day's work for her servants' girls. She goes to inspect a field and buys it with her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamps burn late into the night. 

Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers are twisting fiber. She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. She has no fear of winter for her household for everyone has warm clothes. She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.

Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders. She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, Whew. Ugh, Jesus, and she gives instructions with kindness.

She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children stands and bless her.  Her husband praises her: "There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all. 

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;  but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.  Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise. 
Thank you. To God Be The Glory. 

Veronica 03:58

Amen! Amen! Well okay, my study came from The Voice Translation  when I first read this, just it just continuously in an effort to just kind of soak it in. It was very overwhelming. And I had to remind myself, that this is not a real woman, and I'm gonna just read what I wrote first.

Veronica 04:31

Let us agree that this is not a real woman we are reading about in this text, but a catalog of attributes. Every mother desires her son's bride to possess, and most women desire to possess these attributes as well. In the first few verses, we learned that this woman is confident and her identity is very well intact.

Verse 11 states in The Voice Translation that she inspires trust; that stopped me just the way it's worded, she inspires trust. It says something more than she's trustworthy to me, and I looked up the word inspire and it had a synonym motivate. She motivates trust. She causes trust. She inspires and persuades trust. Can you imagine that's just a whole other level of trust than I trust you as a woman to inspire trust that involves other people. In my opinion, it's just not me. I'm trustworthy, but if I inspire trust or I motivate trust, I'm doing something that's affecting other people.

And I think this is the thing that we really need to, you know, focus in on is how the characteristics and attributes of this virtuous woman affects other people, because we can get overtaken by all that she does. You know, if you read it, it's like you go girl. Um, cause I'm not trying to do  all that, you know, it's like you're just too much, but she is kind.

In this Voice Translation Verse 4 says she does what is best, never anything  hurtful or harmful. Even though she doesn't have a name, can't we see ourselves taking on those attributes?  If you take a moment and digest that she is kind and that's what we profess to be kind. Our words are kind.

Veronica 07:04

I think what really got me in studying this is if I took a little bit at a time, a bite at a time, she wasn't so overwhelming. If we could take everything that she does and put it in our life, we could very well see, I could very well see myself and anyone on here inspiring trust. I really could. As I look at all the faces, I see everyone could strive to do good by their family to not cause their family and friends any harm, to do the best by them. That's just who we are as women. 

I think it's just who God made us, how he made us. It's harder for us to be unkind  because we're naturally kind.  It takes effort for us honestly. If you really think about it, it takes effort for us to be Unkind or to even become unglued.  It's a process. It's just not who are.  We don't wake up unglued every day, it's a process. 

In Verse 13  in this version, it says, delight attends her work and guides her fingers. I love this translation because the wording is so fluent. It's like, who talks like that? Delight attends her work and guides her fingers. I suspect she loves what she does. I don't imagine delight attends my work when I am working at something I don't wanna do. But I think the trick is loving what you do and doing what you know needs to be done. You know that old saying "if you don't like the way things look, change the way you're looking at them." If we could change the way we look at things, we wouldn't get so frustrated about what we have to do.

Case in point, some kind of way I was deemed the graphic artist when it comes to webinars. And I am by no means a graphic artist. However, I used to get so frustrated when I had to create for a webinar or an event. Putting in place all the bells and whistles for the advertising, for the emails, for the text messages, the after party and yada da the on and on, and you know my confidant, you know, Betty, how does this look? And then it's... well you know, you could..., um, if you, could...  y'all know how she talks. She doesn't ask, she tells you in an asking tone of voice, but she does not ask. She just kinda, say "if you could put the eye before the..., or you could move the hearts over to the left and maybe get rid of the da, da, da, you know?

And it's like at first, I was like oh why won't she just do it then? Since she knows how it's supposed to be. Frustrated. I did not like what I was doing. However, there was a day when I decided this has to be done, and it's me who has to do it. It has to be done for right now it's me that has to do it right now though.

So why don't I decide to enjoy learning how to do this, and that day it changed just like that. When I decided not to get frustrated, when I decided that this was something that needs to be done, it has to be done; what's the problem? Just do it and enjoy it.  And I really do. I wouldn't go so far as to say I enjoy it now; I will say I don't get frustrated now, but I do enjoy the learning process of it all. So maybe, you know I can be called a graphic designer. But it's a process and it's just changing the way you look at things. It was just that simple.

Veronica 12:27

Now TikTok and social media on the other hand... I have to get there. I'm gonna get there. I must get there. The trick to me is if we can take ourselves out of the equation.  I think after reading the Proverbs 31 Woman, it was never about her. It was about her husband. It was about her family. It was about the market. It was about getting the best deal.

Veronica 12:44

Verses 14 and 15, all mothers and wives can check this one. A mother knows what it's like to rise early to fix breakfast for everyone. Get the kids ready for school. Think about work before you even leave in the morning. I remember coming into the house with high heels on starting dinner and not even taking off my shoes, just grabbing pots and that old commercial, 

Betty13:44

I can bring home the bacon,

Veronica13:46

I can bring home the bacon, fried up in the pan and never ever let him forget he's a man, cuz I'm a woman. We can check that one off. Uh, easily. We as mothers care for our children, we wake up when we have to. We stay up late doing whatever it is that we need to do for them. So moms and wives can definitely check that one off the list.

In verse 16 in this version, it tells us how she gets her hustle on. She's in the marketplace. She's looking for the best deal. She has, you know, done the Dave Ramsey and saved some money. Now she wants to spend it the best way to get the best bang for her buck. She has a plan.

What I thought about when I just had that idea. She has a plan. I thought about God has a plan for us for all of us. And I think that the reason why she had, she was able to work out her plan is because she learned to surrender to God first. I mean, she wasn't selfish. She definitely wasn't lazy. You know, that she had to surrender to God first because there's no way she could surrender to everybody else without surrendering to him first. It just doesn't work. You cannot surrender to anybody unless you surrender to God first. 

And I just see her you know, the parts that are not written are the parts that I see in my head that she gets up and she prays, that she seeks God, that she surrenders to God. It's not written in here, but there's no way her life could be all that and a bag of chips without her surrendering to God First. 

When we adhere to God's Word and live our life in a manner of surrender, I think the plan that God has for us becomes clearer. And I think that is what happened with this Proverbs 31 Woman is that what we don't see her doing, um, is what allows her to do what she does.

 Like I said, when I read this, it was a bit overwhelming, but, I do believe that if we live each day with the confidence that our father has already provided everything in our life, on this earth, and we wrap ourselves in strength and carry ourselves in confidence and dignity, working hard and being a good steward over all that we have; we can begin and continue to reach out to those who need help. It's hard to help people when you need help.  This woman didn't need anything. So it was easy for her to help, and I think we don't look at what we have is back to that same thing of how we look at things. We are truly blessed, especially women who live in these United States.

We are truly blessed. We are spoiled, we complain about nothing and I don't mean it, you know, I cuz I complain too, but I realize too when I complain at the end of the day it's truly about nothing when you, when you get down to it.

I believe that we can take success the same way The Proverbs 31 woman takes success.

She knows success and it's good. So who doesn't want to be in that position. And then of course, When she speaks, her words are automatically wise. They're automatically kind because that's what's in her and that's what's in us. We should know and I know I used to say this and when I'm angry I say it still, Holy Spirit gimme the words to say, but if what's in us is kindness that's what will come out every time even in a bad situation, if the love of God is truly in us and we are exercising His love and living in His love every single day, that's what comes out of us when we open our mouths; and when it doesn't, we just need to check ourselves, "Crown Check" what's going on inside? 

But we are truly blessed. No matter the circumstance. No matter the sickness. No matter the pandemic. No matter, we are truly blessed because we can call on the name of God. We can call Jesus and His name is above every single thing we could ever write down, we could ever call His name is bigger, much bigger. It's bigger than a financial crisis. It's bigger than I don't wanna even name names, but it's bigger than all of that. Everything that we come in contact with and we have to deal with in our lives is just a matter of prioritizing it and putting God first in it, whatever it is. He's just bigger and when we submit to Him, the work that needs to be done in us can properly be executed. But it's hard for Him to do the work in us when we're fighting against us, we're in our own way. 

You know  we always say that God is a gentleman. He's not going to push us out the way. He's gonna let us deal with whatever it is we feel like we need to until we come to the end of ourselves, and then it's like, okay, Um, we can do this.

The end of the Proverbs 31 Woman in this translation really sums it all up for me. It reads charm can be deceptive and physical beauty will not last, but a woman who reveres the eternal. She'll be praised above all others. Celebrate all she has achieved. Let all of her accomplishments publicly praise her. And what got me again with this version is it says her accomplishments will praise her. Not people, not a man, not another woman, not a pastor, not a priest, not a husband. It says her accomplishments will praise her. The Proverbs 31 Woman is all of these things as a result of her obedience to God and not the accolades or the works that she provides for everybody else. Of course everyone else is gonna praise her, but that's not where she gets her strength from.

Veronica 21:53

And I think that's another thing that we have to know,  this woman just made me think about my own self and how I get in my own way and how can I make myself better?

Veronica 22:25

I think God has shown us with the self-care. I think he's showing us even more with this whole idea of studying the women in the Bible, because like we were saying, um, you know before everyone got on, when God made men and everything else, he said, it's good. When He made woman, He said, it's very good. 

Veronica 22:55

And that right there just gives me chills. It gives me goosebumps. It gives me the fire that I need. It's like when you know it, I don't know. It's just like when you think of everything else, y'all just good, but me, He said, I'm very good. It so good, but it warrants us to know it and to live in it. And that's the difference between being overwhelmed with reading about a fictitious woman and loving ourselves, and picking up on all of the attributes. I thank God for him showing it and laying it out. You know what We should be and what we should strive for. I thank him for that.

Veronica 23:22

I think all of us can pick out more than one attribute that we already have. And we can just work on the rest. So thank you so much. I look forward to this time of learning about the women of the Bible. So many of them I'd never even heard of and don't even know what they do.  It really makes me excited.  You know Betty got that just as she always gets "that what's next;"And this is gonna be amazing. So thank you all for listening. Betty's turn now.

Betty 24:42

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. I'm so excited about what God is doing. What you shared is just so phenomenal and it reminds us all how so super special women are. We really are blessed and highly favored of God and man for real, for real. The Bible refers to wisdom as a woman. It also points out to have wisdom is more valuable than any jewel, any ruby, any stone, all the jewelry and more exquisite pieces that you could name. Wisdom is more valuable than anything. And we should desire wisdom above all else. The power of woman is phenomenal and we as women, our legacy is a  superpower just being a woman.

 See I know I don't know all the power that God has already bestowed upon us. He gave us dominion authority back in Genesis. You know he tells us to take dominion. We don't,  or I don't often take it, but anyways.  So I too, after reading about the Proverbs 31 Woman, it was really first of all exhausting because she was always giving, always doing, always serving.

Sometimes it's like in the energy alone its like for get about it. It showed me a picture perfect woman who seems to have it all together, and has deep faith and trust in God. She's as I said, full of energy all day long. She makes sure her home, her family, the business, and everything else was cared for, on point, and everything done decently and in order everyday. Exhausting!  I mean, where in it does it say she took any time, any self-care for her own self other than of course, spending that quality time with the Lord, and that makes the difference. 

The Bible does tell us that Proverbs 31 should be a woman of virtue, a woman of noble character, and it refers to us in this 21st century and it's still applicable to us. She's a woman of valor, but above all else, she is a woman first. A P 31 Woman isn't an exclusive declaration for wives and mothers in spite of marriage. at its Proverbs 31 applies to all women simply because the Bible tells us we are all the bride of Christ, so we should all desire to be a Proverbs 31 Woman based on this description.

As women, we have been given major responsibilities and God designed us in such a way that in addition to being fearfully and wonderfully made in His image, He gave us the ability to do more than one thing at a time. You know, nultitask all the day long..... Vee already said we could bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan and never ever let him forget he's a man, and all of that!

Proverbs 31 Woman gives a whole new meaning to multitasking. And then on top of that, she takes care of her physical, mental, and spiritual health as well. If we can only accomplish our assignments and have and maintain the right attitude while doing it, and the attitude should be God first, self second, family and home, church and community, job and business;  And then you can, may have time from, for some extracurricular activities; only if we are staying as Queen Emma always points out if we're staying connected to the power source, who is the Holy Spirit, and by dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and abiding under His shadow can we do all that we have been assigned and given to do? Because the Bible says, it's in Him we live, move, and have our being in him. God has already provided us with wisdom, tools, and resources that we need to build our families and homes and everything else. Wisdom to build and navigate our business, as well as our communities.

Proverbs 14:1 says, a wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands. The P 31 Woman is our shero. When it comes to building her home, she got skills. I saw this quote, "wisdom and foolishness are both calling for us every day." We decide which one we gonna answer to. Do we wanna seek the Lord for wisdom, are we just gonna operate in foolishness? When we think and consider our own selves, when we make it all about self, then we're operating in foolishness and not wisdom.

We're either building up or tearing down. Another major way to tear down is with our mouth. How do we speak to our spouse or our significant other? How do we speak to our children? And on top of that, how do we speak to our own selves? I know I don't always speak positively about myself. Why is that?

You know, cause clearly I'm not as deep into the word as I need to be, because if I was, I would know better. And when you know better, you do better. You know, the Proverbs 31 Woman is a woman committed and determine to do whatever is necessary to support her family, whether that's going out to work or staying home.

Oftentimes we think of what it means to be a woman. We focus on what women do instead of who we were created to be. The P 31 Woman is faithful and she loves Jesus with all her heart. A woman who is trustworthy, strong, a generous giver, and who's devoted to her family. The kind of woman who gets up early seeking first, the Lord,  cares for her family, and grinds hard to hold it down with the business.

The P 31 Woman is a woman of wisdom. She again, seeks the Lord to stays connected to the holy spirit as I said before and receive wisdom, clarity, and direction. And then she obeys what he tells her to do. The Proverbs 31 Woman acquired a lot for her husband and her family, but we can learn so much more from her giving and generosity mindset.

The P 31 Woman was never meant to be our idol, or our to-do list, or checklist. You know, it's likely I could check scripture 13, I got that one down. The Proverbs 31 Woman was delighted to serve. She was kind and generous. And although she had a lot of good things going on, the Bible makes it clear, she was not praised for her generosity, her business dealings or her work, or how well she takes care of her home. She was praised for having a heart and obedience to God. Wow. The Proverbs 31 Woman was a wise steward of the gifts God had given her.

She was careful with her finances. The P 31 Woman is created and embraces beauty and Godliness. She remembered that God looks on the heart. He builds up the inner beauty more than the outward appearance. Whew, which is so much more to have the inner beauty when you get that, it just radiates on the outside, and that's clearly the love and beauty of God living on the inside out. The Proverbs 31 Woman is a woman who trusts God and receives courage that's why she can look to the future and smile without fear of the unknown. Because she knows the Bible says since God Is for me, who, what, can be against me?Whew. The Proverbs 31 Woman knows who holds the future. As Lynn had pointed out earlier in the chat this morning, He holds the whole world in His hands and He holds you too.  started to run on a day when I saw that text, it was so, so, so good. 

The Proverbs 31 Woman's joy, strength, and ability to serve comes from the Lord. The Bible says the joy of The Lord is our strength. Her patience helps her make the best decision, and keeping a healthy marriage and keeping a healthy home, even, the single women, this Proverbs 31 refers to all women irregardless of the marital status, it's  not even about that.

Queens, let's normalize seeking and trusting God for our family and everything in spite of our difficulties and the struggles. Let's normalize our attitude and woman up our behavior in order to become the best version of ourselves as a queen, a wife, a mother, or a single woman, because, you know, we are the bride of Christ.

Proverbs 31 Woman's character will always speak louder than what she says. How is our character speaking? What's the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks of you? What legacy are you leaving? What's your disposition on being the best version that God created you to be. Wow!

A Proverbs 31 Woman's character I would repeat will always speak louder than what she says. It's that me addage that says "you should dress the way you want to be addressed thing," because you can dress up and be presentable and the way you carry yourself, or you could be all the way out there in left field, and be a hot mess express. However you show up will be how you will be addressed. For real.

 Let's normalize our life. Walk in the boldness of God in His call for us to be created as His Designer's Original. Let's normalize our goal to shine and show the love of God to the world through our actions, thoughts, and deeds. As Queens, the greatest gift we can give ourselves is to live in the truth that our value is not in what we do. Hallelujah!

Queens, our value is totally in the truth that God loves us simply because He loves us!

Queens. Thank you so much for spending time listening to, the SheSpeaks Love podcast and being part of this amazing sister keeper community. Our heart is to bring you content that is educational, inspirational, and relatable, and it encourages you to share the power of your voice.

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