Yesterday we focused on adding value to the lives of those we love. We specifically focused our attention on our attitudes and on our verbal expressions. Perhaps you thought of other ways you add value to your loved ones.
Today we move to verse 11 and to the issue of trust. The verse tells us that our unnamed role model is trusted by her husband. Which means she must be someone who is trustworthy. And so I've been thinking about what that means and a couple of things have come to mind. If I am to be a trustworthy woman, then I must be a woman of my word. In other words, I should do what I said I would do when I said I would do it. There should be no cause for people to wonder if, when I say I will do something, I will really follow through.
Another thing I thought of in the area of being trusted has to do with knowing when to keep my mouth shut! When to speak and when to be silent! It seems to me that being trustworthy means that if someone shares a confidence with me, there should be no reason for them to wonder whether or not I will keep that confidence or if I will betray their trust.
The verse we're examining today says the Proverbs 31 woman is trusted. And while what that means seems fairly obvious, I decided it would be worthwhile to get out my word study tools and see exactly what the word "trust" meant in the original language. So I looked it up and found that the word translated here as "trusts" means to trust. (I can see you rolling your eys and saying "duh!") It also means to feel confident, to take heart and to be of good courage. That sounds a lot like encouragement to me. So, maybe it's not to be a stretch to say that one way I can apply this verse is to be an encourager! How interesting that this is at the top of the list! Yesterday's verse told us that a good wife (or a "virtuous woman", depending on which translation you are reading......in any event, these are truths that apply whether married or single!) is more valuable than rubies. Today's verse begins to list qualities that make her so valuable. And right here on top of the list..........she is trustworthy, she is an encourager!
So, once again, I've scanned through Proverbs for more verses than support this thought. Here are some I discovered and am meditating on today. You may find others. If so, please share them in the comments section and be an encourager to the rest of us!!
- Proverbs 19:14
- Proverbs 11:22
- Proverbs 14:30
- Proverbs 31:12,25, 28-29
When I think about the attributes of this Proverbs 31 woman and how I measure up, I realize that some days I do a pretty good job. Some days, not so much! As I said yesterday, I'm still a work in progress. How about you?
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