Proverbs 31:11

Many of us as women are at very different stages in our lives, and one thing I’ve learned is that it never hurts to be prepared! Sometimes we tune out a message or let something with real truth go in one ear and out the other – and why? Because we feel like it doesn’t apply to us or at least not to where we are right then. College graduates are applauded for their accomplishments yet at the same time are warned about the importance of starting their retirement fund. However many don’t feel the urgency to do so because retirement is “so far away.” Come retirement time, I’m pretty sure that the sooner they started that fund the happier they will be. The point is you don’t have to be at a certain stage in your life to start thinking about it…like marriage.

If you desire to be married at some point in your life, don’t be mislead that you can’t or shouldn’t start preparing now to be that godly wife. There are many things you can be doing, and the main one is becoming a woman of God who is rooted deep in the Word and ready for anything. Our Proverbs 31 woman is married; we can tell because verse 11 says The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. Let’s take a closer look at how this woman is a good wife.

Right off the bat we can tell from this verse that she is trustworthy, an extremely important characteristic to have in a marriage, and if her husband trusts her I think we can assume that she is faithful too. She is obviously an excellent mate and a good lover seeing as her hubby isn’t going anywhere other than home!

The Hebrew word for heart in this verse “includes not only the motives, feelings, affections, and desires, but also the will, the aims, the principles, the thoughts, and the intellect of man” (from the Strong’s Concordance) which basically includes everything. This tells us that everything in this man trusts his wife; what an awesome testament to her!

The word trust in this text means “to be reliant, be unsuspecting” (from the Strong’s Concordance). Trusting is not always an easy thing to do, and naturally we tend not to completely trust people we just meet. We observe their actions and reactions in different situations and at some point decide whether or not they’re worthy of our trust. I’m sure this husband did just that with his wife, and over time he found her to be reliable and dependable. I like the way the Strong’s Concordance put it: to be unsuspecting. This woman earned her husband’s trust to the point that he didn’t even suspect anything bad; he didn’t even think those kinds of thoughts toward her. As much as it is the other person’s choice to trust or not to trust you, it is even more so your job to prove yourself to them and show them you’re worthy of being trusted.

Because of his trust, this man has no need of spoil. Spoil here represents private gain. He is not looking to go out in search of “private gain.” In other words, he has all he needs at home. He desires nothing else because his wife keeps him satisfied in every area, and treats him like the king he is instead of like the fool he could be. My pastor says that in every man is a king and a fool, and whichever one you speak to most is the one that will surface. Even when your “king” is acting like the fool, remember which one to talk to!

Many times you can learn a lot about someone just by listening to what those closest to them have to say, and this verse speaks volumes to us about this Proverbs 31 woman.