Proverbs 31 - Worth
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Verse 3 – Don to give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
· This is a mother advising her son whom she loves dearly. If we take that same information and apply it to a woman or a Queen what would that look like?
Do not give your strength to men, or ways that destroy queens.
How do we give our strength to men?
o By not knowing our worth is the number one way our strength is taken. We as women sometimes over give, share, and shrink. To the point of sacrificing ourselves, who we are, our morals, our values, our beliefs and standards for men that may be unworthy of a daughter of the Most High God. All of those things I just mentioned are where our strength lies.
o Knowing and standing firm on our standards, morals, values, and worth make a confident queen sure in her decision making and boundaries. This is a description of a woman with virtues, a queen of stewardship, a woman under the management of God’s rule and order.
o Who you believe you are sets the standards and the foundation of your worth.
§ What does it mean to be a daughter of the Creator of the Universe, the Living God?
· I will want for nothing! – Psalms 23, Psalm 34:3-5, Matt. 6:33 – We have everything we need in Jesus. Because our hearts desire the Kingdom of Heaven as our #1 priority, His standards and order guide our decision making and worth. If we do not get this right, deep down in our very soul, then we are going to be easily derailed by our fleshly desires like sex, companionship, money, etc... The other side of it is when we are on fire for the Lord, His Kingdom and our Kingdom purpose, we cannot be stopped, and our mind is clear.
o When we are pursuing our kingdom purpose, we do not have time for foolishness. We do not have time for men who do not have time for kingdom goals, we do not have time for men who do not have a true authentic relationship with God. We do not have time for friends and family that are still tied to this world and its systems.
o We cannot treat boyfriends like husbands, friend-nemies like family, or dysfunction like it is functional. When we don’t choose God’s way over Human’s way we set ourselves up for unnecessary grief and suffering. I pray putting my grief and suffering on front street will help those who are suffering to be comforted by how God has comforted me and to give godly wisdom to others to benefit.
o We must treat trust as a precious jewel to be protected and not handed out to freely. It is usually where we place our trust that opens up opportunity. This opportunity can be positive or negative. Trust is earned not given.
· I will not be snatched! – John 10:28 – Snatching is a forceful action and shall not be tolerated. Jesus said that none with be snatched out of His hand that belong to Him. God does not take kindly to those who abuse or oppress His children. God does not stand for the mistreatment of His image. We are all made in His image and when we make ourselves small to please others, or do not stand up for ourselves we are not treating the image of God right either. I am not victimizing the victim, that is a worldy concept. We are given power but the Holy Spirit of God to be overcomers. We can overcome any adversity through Christ Jesus.
· Our God-esteem will not allow for disrespect, disregard, or degrading. In a humble way we are assertive about how we are treated and for those who cannot tolerate boundaries and wisdom we do not have to stay in relationship with them to be abused and mistreated. We will not be snatched. We are valuable to our Savior and if we stay close to Him, Jesus will not allow us to be snatched from His hands. We will not perish we have eternal life. We will not perish under the strain of loneliness, We will not succumb to sexual desires, We will not be give into being a people pleaser, or allowing ourselves to be mistreated.
· I am ENOUGH with GOD. Hebrews 10:14 - We are not enough to go through the journey called life successfully on our own. With humans nothing is possible but with Jesus everything is possible. When we have a genuine fear of the Lord God, we are wrapped in the righteousness of our Savior Jesus and God sees us as perfect.
o We are enough with God. He is the only one that can make us whole. No person, place, or thing can fulfill what’s missing in our lives. We can stop searching for that right now. It is impossible for anyone, any human being to complete another human being because in ourselves we are all imperfect and therefore lacking. We can only be completed by God and God alone.
o We should not make decisions or limit actions because we are afraid of outcomes. If we move within godly principles found in God’s word we are under the protection of the Lord. This does not mean will not make mistakes or have hard times. This means that if we are walking with the Lord, we will never be alone in the struggle. We know how the story ends, we are Victorious!
o When we understand that with God, we are enough we are not afraid of healthy confrontation. We are confident, firm, and kind. Jesus was the same way when He confronted others about their sin. If someone needs to be called out on their mess, we seek the right time and confront them with love about their actions or inactions. In the bible God confronted people about their sin. He was patient, loving, righteous and just. Because of this there were times in which He allowed Israel and Judas to fall prey to sin and reap the consequences but not without warning.
o It is not mean, unloving, or unkind to confront sin or uncomfortable situations, it is actually unloving not to confront it. The next time the opportunity arises when you have to confront someone consider these three points.
1. Pray before confronting a person and ask for the Lord to soften hearts, open up understanding, and pour out peace.
2. Always confront in love, not in anger or hurt. If you are still upset or hurt give yourself sometime in prayer turning over that hurt and pain to the Lord allowing you to be at peace before addressing the concern.
3. Pray for the Holy Spirit to convict them because that’s something we can’t do no matter how eloquent and sweet our words are. We are not going in expecting our words are going to change people, we are share how someone made us feel and allow God to do the rest.
