Proverbs 31:10, “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.”
Virtuous: honest, wholesome, devout, godly, courteous, gracious; upright. I would like to explore the topic of being virtuous a bit more in my Bible study and the characteristics that causes one to be called ‘virtuous’. I always feel a bit self-conscious in my writing because many times, my Bible studies do not have a ‘happy and light’ kind of feeling. Most times, I am lead to serious topics that lead to conviction and a heart-felt desire to live a more blameless life. Hard work, I know. And not too popular. Writing helps me sort things out and sharing helps me to hopefully reach out to anyone else who may be going through the same sorts of issues in life.
The first characteristic I came across was self-disciplined. There is nothing like diving in head first, right? A lot of unhappiness and distress is in the world due to failure to control tempers, appetites, urges, passions. How many times have I said, “I wish I had stopped myself…” from saying something ugly, doing something hastily? Too many times, I am afraid. I would think that we would want good sense to make right decisions, but what does that even mean? Habits make a monumental difference. And how do I create good habits and keep them? Well, like anything else in learning something; through practice. Practice can be mundane and a hard pill to swallow. But practice brings self-control. Self-control over what? Anger, acting first-thinking later, impatience with God, and other issues I may come across. I leave the door open willing for God to show me.
He (or she) who is without self-discipline or self-control is broken and more susceptible to attack from Satan and all his tactics to take us down. Jesus says that if we have ‘faith as the grain of a mustard seed’, we could move mountains. I wonder if we had discipline as the weight of an ounce, what things could be accomplished for God’s glory. In the grand scheme of things, discipline weighs merely ounces in comparison to the burden of regret. More on this subject in time to come….
let your mind run on them any more than you can help; drag your thoughts away from your troubles—by the ears, by the heels, or any other way, so you manage it; it’s the healthiest thing a body can do; dwelling on troubles is deadly, just deadly—and that’s the softest name there is for it. You must keep your mind amused—you must, indeed.”
Instead of going to bed tonight with all the things that could possibly go wrong, what if I imagined all the things that God could possibly make right? Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
even start classes this semester. It could be a simple ‘fix’, sure. But since the word ‘cancer’ has been thrown out there, even a small chance, it is still a concern. And trying to interpret blood work results can make your head spin! But the God who ensured that the doctors would see this through an MRI that was actually for shoulder pain, and the God who made it possible for him to go back to school, can He not oversee an appointment scheduled at the right time? We both agreed that, yes, He knew about the timing. We even tried to get an appointment sooner, but no openings were available. With His timing, His intention is always for us to trust Him. And we are going to be okay no matter what.