I’m going to throw these P31 scriptures out here first and then we’re off.
Proverbs 31:13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
Proverbs 31:18a She perceiveth that her merchandise [is] good
Proverbs 31:19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
Proverbs 31:21b for all her household [are] clothed with scarlet.
Proverbs 31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing [is] silk and purple.
Proverbs 31:24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth [it]; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Proverbs 31:25a Strength and honour [are] her clothing;
The P31 passage is not saturated with how good a cook the P31 was. It doesn’t contain a lot about how well she spoke or if she was a writer. It doesn’t even mention how well she did tending to the children. Why? Because those weren’t her areas of gifting (I’m sure she was a great mom, don’t throw stones at me). What we do see is a whole lot about clothing, fabrics, merchandising. The scriptures listed above equal 31% of the passage about the P31. This woman was gifted to design, make and sell textiles. (Impressed with my use of statistics? That’s as far as it goes.)
It is very easy to get lost in life, even lose your identity. But we must make it our mission to skillfully handle all aspects of our life. We cannot put our dreams and passions in a hope chest and ponder on them every once in awhile. We have to make time to develop our giftings and we have to put them on display for all to see. There’s no way we will excel all women in, let’s say, cooking, if you only feed the people in your house. Share with your community, test your ideas in someone’s restaurant. Make a name for yourself.
Being a P31 is no small thing, but it is an obtainable thing. We are equipped to develop our husbands, children, staff and most importantly ourselves. It’s not possible to spend all of our time on ourselves, but we must make an effort to set aside time for our development. If you are unaware of what your giftings are, you must seek the face of God in prayer. Everyone connected to you is impacted by whether or not you walk in your giftings. Your giftings may not bring you money, but as long as it is impacting the lives of others, do it. (Please don’t quit your day job, if your gift doesn’t bring you enough money to pay your bills. God will provide, but you cannot be foolish).
I envision that nothing delights God more than seeing his creation do what it was intended to do. Don’t you hate it when you buy something and then it doesn’t work? You want your money back, right? Imagine how God feels when we don’t live out what he designed us to do. Let’s do what He created us to do ladies!
References: Proverbs 31:13,18a,19,21b,22,24,25a
