Lighthouse

She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. —Proverbs 31:27

She Redeems the Time

How often have we heard the phrase, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop”? Why is that? Note how Proverbs 31:27 reads in the Amplified translation: “She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat.”

These three deadly sins—gossip, discontent and self-pity—stem from idleness. They come from a life that is self-focused instead of focused on God and others. If we find these sins creeping in, then we need to place our attention and focus back to where it belongs. Are we sitting around, watching TV, or reading gossip magazines? Or are we filling our minds up with the Word of God, and concerning ourselves with what matters most to God—building up those around us. We don’t want to waste valuable time.

“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present!”

What am I doing with the time He has given me to make a difference for eternity in the lives around me?

A great philosopher, William James, once said, “The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”

There is no time to waste. We don’t want to have saved souls but wasted lives. We need to be those wise women who build their homes! A lot of things that we do might be good, but they may not be the best that God has for us. We need to be busy about those things that are of eternal value and not just be busy for the sake of being busy.

I was talking to a sweet daughter in the Lord yesterday. She is a single mom, raising two children, and is very busy trying to juggle schedules and make ends meet. She just can’t seem to fit time with the Lord into her already overloaded schedule. I shared with her that if we put God first, then He will order our day. We will somehow find the time that we thought we didn’t have, to do those things that are the most important. Some things may have to go—and God will show us what those things are, if we are seeking Him first.

When the virtuous woman watches over the ways of her house, she knows that she might have the cleanest house in the land; she might be the best cook; she might be the best seamstress, with all her kids dressed in matching clothes with bows in their hair, but . . .

It’s not the food that matters, but the people that are eating it. It’s not the clothes that matter, but the ones that are wearing them. It’s not the house that matters, but the people inside of it.

The virtuous woman looks well over the ways of her household. To “look well” means to lean forward, to peer into the distance, to observe, look up, wait for, or watch. She is not a mere casual observer, but peers into the distance. She is looking way ahead to avert any potential danger for her household.

One of the best ways to watch over the ways of our household is through prayer. Jesus says to His disciples, “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” (Matthew 26:41)

Like a shepherd who watches over his sheep, protecting them from dangerous predators, she watches and prays for her household, knowing the dangers and snares that are in the world. She does what she can to safeguard her home from the influences of the world. Those of you who have teens know what it is to wait until the wee hours of the night.

No one else will pray for your family with the same fervency that you will. We need to be committed to pray, for we have an adversary out there who is seeking whom he may devour!

The problem is that we, as mere mortal women, can’t see everything we wish we could see. That is why we need to commit and entrust our households into the hands of the One who sees all!

I recall a time that I was praying for my youngest son, during his teenage years, when all earthly control was ripped from my hands. All I could do was pray and enlist my other prayer warriors. My prayers were quickly reduced from praying over which college he should attend, to whether he would make it to college, to whether he would finish high school? It then became, would he finish home school, what place to send him away, to “Lord, while he is out wandering the streets, please keep him safe,” and then finally, “Lord, if you have to take his life, then just save his soul.”

Commit to times of fasting and prayer for your family. It is also great (actually, it is priceless) to have a prayer partner or a prayer group to pray with. I can’t even begin to tell you the fruit that came out of our prayer group that met in my home every week! This prayer for my son, and many others, were miraculously answered. The heavens were shaken, the mountains were moved, and lives were changed for eternity!

Watch and pray. Entrust your households into the hands of the One who watches over all!