14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
The first thing I felt necessary to do before writing this post was to do a little research. I thought it was pretty straight forward...you know..she goes out of her way to bring food to her family. I came across a few good posts about the topic but both seemed a little different. So I thought I would start by looking at the analogy of a merchant ship...
Merchant ships in the day did NOT use propellers. They relied on their sails and ores to get them where they needed to go. I think of my dad in his sailboat. There are times when he FLYS and the waves jump over the sides of the boat and other times where he slowly sits and waits for a little bit of wind to push him 5 feet. There is no telling how long it could take him to go for a "short" sail. I am thinking it was the same in Biblical times as well. It could take a ship months just to get to their destination or it could take just a few weeks.
Talk about relying on God! I think of the young man on the ship who NEEDS to get back before his wife has a baby or the woman who so desperately needs to see her child again. There is no timeline to give their loved ones. They just go. They trust...
TRUST. There is that word again. Trust! They trust that God will get them where they need to go. Not on their own time line but on HIS time line!
The proverbs 31 woman needs to TRUST that God will provide for her family. He will take her where she needs to go to get food for those she loves.
John 15:7-9 says, "7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love."
To remain in God would be to trust God with everything. He has promised that if we trust (remain) in Him, he will PROVIDE!
Another point made about this verse is that the merchant ships often times carried new fruits, spices or grains that were not available at the times. They were nutritious and different from those they ate everyday.
As the other of Keep it Simple says, " Spice it up ladies!". Give your family some variety in the foods you prepare. Make a HOT meal once in a while and actually put some seasoning on that chicken!
My challenge today is How are you going to rely (trust) in God to keep you sailing today?
I am going to pray. Pray, pray, pray. The devil has a way of getting in the way sometimes. Since I have started this journey of becoming the Proverbs 31 woman, the devil has made it VERY difficult to apply some of the principles taught here. My kids will just be plan old naughty and not listen to me so I respond in anger and not patience or my husband will come home grumpy from a hard day at work and I will just snap at him for not helping clean up. The devil has a way of TRYING to get in the way. I need to make a conscious effort to pray in these moments, knowing it is the devil. I will TRUST that God will keep me on my journey and help me provide for both my husband and my children!
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the promise of providing for those who "remain" in You. Just knowing that You will be there at the end of the day can make it all better. I pray that the devil would stay FAR from me. Help me to stand up to him when things are going sour. Help me to provide for my family the way you want me to. Thank you Lord! Amen
The first thing I felt necessary to do before writing this post was to do a little research. I thought it was pretty straight forward...you know..she goes out of her way to bring food to her family. I came across a few good posts about the topic but both seemed a little different. So I thought I would start by looking at the analogy of a merchant ship...Merchant ships in the day did NOT use propellers. They relied on their sails and ores to get them where they needed to go. I think of my dad in his sailboat. There are times when he FLYS and the waves jump over the sides of the boat and other times where he slowly sits and waits for a little bit of wind to push him 5 feet. There is no telling how long it could take him to go for a "short" sail. I am thinking it was the same in Biblical times as well. It could take a ship months just to get to their destination or it could take just a few weeks.
Talk about relying on God! I think of the young man on the ship who NEEDS to get back before his wife has a baby or the woman who so desperately needs to see her child again. There is no timeline to give their loved ones. They just go. They trust...
TRUST. There is that word again. Trust! They trust that God will get them where they need to go. Not on their own time line but on HIS time line!
The proverbs 31 woman needs to TRUST that God will provide for her family. He will take her where she needs to go to get food for those she loves.
John 15:7-9 says, "7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love."
To remain in God would be to trust God with everything. He has promised that if we trust (remain) in Him, he will PROVIDE!
Another point made about this verse is that the merchant ships often times carried new fruits, spices or grains that were not available at the times. They were nutritious and different from those they ate everyday.
As the other of Keep it Simple says, " Spice it up ladies!". Give your family some variety in the foods you prepare. Make a HOT meal once in a while and actually put some seasoning on that chicken!
My challenge today is How are you going to rely (trust) in God to keep you sailing today?
I am going to pray. Pray, pray, pray. The devil has a way of getting in the way sometimes. Since I have started this journey of becoming the Proverbs 31 woman, the devil has made it VERY difficult to apply some of the principles taught here. My kids will just be plan old naughty and not listen to me so I respond in anger and not patience or my husband will come home grumpy from a hard day at work and I will just snap at him for not helping clean up. The devil has a way of TRYING to get in the way. I need to make a conscious effort to pray in these moments, knowing it is the devil. I will TRUST that God will keep me on my journey and help me provide for both my husband and my children!
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the promise of providing for those who "remain" in You. Just knowing that You will be there at the end of the day can make it all better. I pray that the devil would stay FAR from me. Help me to stand up to him when things are going sour. Help me to provide for my family the way you want me to. Thank you Lord! Amen
1 comment:
Great insight! Thanks for linking to my post! There is so much to learn from Proverbs 31!
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