“She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms.”
Proverbs 31:17
There are many life applications that are found within this one chapter of Scripture but one specific area that the Lord has really been convicting my heart is in regard to “seeking Him to satisfy my every desire instead of seeking to stuff myself with other things.” Matthew 6:33 says “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Thus begs the question, “What does it mean to “seek the kingdom of God?” Romans 14:17 tells us “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The Nelson Study Bible explains this verse, “The kingdom of God does not consist of external things like food, but in spiritual realities like righteousness in action and thought, peace that seeks harmony, and joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. Those who understand the spiritual realities of the kingdom will not choose the brief joy of satisfying selfish desires over the spiritual joy of putting aside those desires for the sake of others” (p. 1906).
In our focal passage, we learn that the Proverbs 31 Woman is “girding herself with strength.” What does that mean for us today? Let’s begin by examining two types of strengths: physical and spiritual. How do we obtain physical strength? We gain strength by eating properly, exercising, and getting proper rest. Those are each important aspects of keeping us strong and healthy; however, these are merely temporary fixes. Even if we eat properly, exercise, and rest every day, we will still get tired, hungry, and need to exercise again. Right? The Proverbs 31 Woman understood that she needed more than just physical strength to serve the Lord and glorify Him through her daily life. She recognized her need for spiritual strength. Spiritual strength is a gift from the Lord. When the Lord strengthens us to do all that HE has called us to do, then we are completely filled and every need is met by the One True Living God.
Life Application Question:
What do you do when you are tired, overwhelmed, sad, depressed, lonely, unappreciated, and/or unsatisfied?
If the answer to that question is anything other than “running to the Lord and feasting on Him,” then you are seeking strength outside of the Lord Jesus Christ!
How can we learn to feast on the Lord in order to find complete fulfillment, satisfaction, and strength?
The answer is to seek the Lord with all your heart, with all your mind, and all your strength. “Seeking God…can be defined as studying God’s Word, making earnest prayer to Him, and confessing sin” (The Lord’s Table, p. 12).
The Proverbs 31 Woman feasted on the Lord and she sought Him above all else. What does it mean to “feast on the Lord”? Here is an accumulation of the responses gathered through a couple of Bible studies I am involved in:
• Feasting on the Lord means to approach His table with celebration
• Feasting on the Lord means to put aside all distractions and come to His table with an appetite for Him alone
• Feasting on the Lord means to “prepare” ourselves through prayer, praise, confession of sin, and repentance
• Feasting on the Lord means to “soak Him in”
• Feasting on the Lord involves obedience to Him
• Feasting on the Lord means we do not come to His table “already full” of other things
• Feasting on the Lord produces joyfulness within our hearts and soul – even in the midst of trials
• “Your words were found, and I ate them, An Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16).
Feasting on the Lord means that we are seeking Him to fill every part of ourselves. We are studying His Word, making earnest prayer to Him, and confessing our sins. We are learning to discern His Word and apply it to our lives. We are making daily decisions to die to self and to live for Christ. We are exchanging our self-seeking ways for His perfect desire for our lives. We are willing to crucify our flesh in order to reflect Him more accurately to those around us. We understand that our lives have been bought with a price and we are not to live for self but our lives are now living sacrifices to the Risen Lord.
What are some things we can “feast” on rather than the Lord Jesus Christ? Here are some of the answers from both of the ladies’ classes: Food, children/grandchildren, relationships, friends, popularity, jobs, material possessions, fame, wealth, ministry, hobbies, television, computer, Facebook/Facebook games, travel, exercise, youth and processes to keep us young, religion, education, satisfying the flesh in any manner (gluttony, sex, overspending, etc.). This is certainly not a complete list but it does give us a starting point to begin evaluating the things in our lives that could be taking the place of an intimate relationship with the Lord. God’s Word says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image-any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:1-5a).
My Friend, do you realize that when we desire anything more than we desire to know the Lord God and find complete satisfaction in Him, we are bowing down to idols?! Whatever our heart desires more than seeking the Lord is an idol that we have “carved for ourselves.” God commands that we do not make anything an idol in our lives because that idol will become our god. We will be bound to it and our flesh will crave it. We will seek it with all our hearts, minds, and souls, and that will lead us away from the Lord into death and destruction. Man cannot serve two masters (see Matthew 6:24). We may think we can “keep a balance” in our lives but the truth is that we are weak, powerless creatures and whatever we seek will have dominion over us. We will bow down to the desires of our hearts. The only “balance” that we will find is at the feet of Christ…Crying out to Him to satisfy us completely and to teach us to be content in all things because HE Himself has said, “Never will I leave you nor forsake you” (see Hebrews 13:5). “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8).
