Virtuous Woman ~ Lesson 2

*Boys, Please beware that there are some explinations that are a little “vivid”.*

“The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.”

The word spoil here is the word used for trophies or prizes taken from the enemy in a battle. You may say, “But I’m not in a battle.”
We ARE in a battle. It is a battle between the devil and the Holy Spirit inside of us. It is a battle between God and the devil.
What this verse means, is that the husband can trust that he will not come home to a house torn by the devil. His house will be filled with the glory of God. There will be singing, not blaring rock music that makes you get a headache. There will be kind, loving words, not arguing, or yelling.

You may not think that this is something to work on now, but I beg to differ. If you can’t do something now, then it will NOT be easy to fix later!
Starting now is of utmost importance. Now, I realize that Young Ladies my age aren’t married, so they don’t have a husband, but this can be used in the same way with fathers and brothers.
If your father or your brother cannot trust you now, how will your husband be able to trust you?!!
If you do not already have the trust of the males in your life, then you need to work to gain it.
First of all, can your father trust you not to let out a family secret? Maybe he told you about a surprise trip you will be taking. Does he wonder if you went and told another sibling who wasn’t supposed to find out? What about your best friend? Did you say, “Don’t tell anyone………..” or, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but………..” If you did, you just used your fathers trust. If he finds out, he will think twice next time about telling you!
Can your father trust you to not spend more than he wants to pay? So, he gives you a hundred dollar bill, and tells you that you can spend 50. You spend all of the 50, but still have the change and see something else you want. Do you say, “Oh well, I’ll pay him later.” Or” Oh he won’t mind, its only a dollar over.”
You just used your fathers trust.
Your father, and your husband, should be able to give you his trust.
If you let the devil get in charge of you, or a decision you make, then you are letting him spoil, not only you, but your father or your husband.

Another way the devil can spoil your husband of what is his, is in the way you dress. If you are revealing things that belong only to his eyes, then YOU are ALLOWING the devil to ROB your husband of that.
This is a touchy subject nowdays, but it MUST be addressed. I myself have not always dressed properly. Sometimes still, I get a little edgy if someone criticizes my clothing. Sometimes I unknowingly wear something that used to fit, but now is a little tighter than it used to be. When I realize, I try not to wear it anymore, and get rid of it.
It has been sad for me to watch some friends turn their back on this important issue. On our travels we have returned to one church in particular several times. At one point I got to know the pastors daughter quite well, and we started writing to each other. When we first started going to the church they were quite conservative. Their clothes were modest, and their music was good. The past few times I have been there, I have noticed the hemlines crawling up their legs, and their necklines sliding lower. The side seams are moving in and squeezing what shouldn’t be shown Their music has gotten bumpy, and more bumpy, and draws the attention to the singer instead of God.
This has hurt a lot to watch. It hurts to see their standards dropping, and dropping, and changing- all for the worse.
When you wear revealing clothing you are revealing things that really aren’t yours to show. It should be kept for your future husband, and he should be the only one to see that. When you wear sleezy, tight clothing, you are stealing what should be your husbands, and giving it to other men to “play” with.
The Bible says “Thou shalt not look upon a woman to lust after her”
Watch your clothing. Don’t wear what isn’t right. The Bible doesn’t have specific guidelines for modesty, but after hearing and being in contact with some young men I have been able to try to compile a sort of guideline from things that they have said draws their eyes, or what they have to turn away from.
1. Shirts that are snug around the chest area. If you can distinctly see two spots, then it is too tight. You can wear it under a jumper, or vest, or even under another shirt.
2. Skirts that are tight around the hips. I try to make sure I have 8in ease (on one side). If you don’t it draws attention to that area. Sometimes you can wear it under another skirt as a petticoat, or you can make something else out of it.
3. Shirts that are to low. I normally try not to wear my shirts more than two inches lower than my colar bone, but that is low for me! Be careful with blouses especially. If you have so many buttons undone, you will be able to see more, and if you look in a mirror, it points down to the chest area. Also, bend over and see if the shirt falls away. This is very hard for me to see. Make sure you can’t see down your shirt when bending over!
4. Skirts that are to short. If you are wearing a to short skirt, when you sit down it will come above your knee, and if someone stands in front of you, they will be able to see all the way up it. NOT the best thought. I make sure my skirts come at least 3 inches below the knee. Or make sure they are thigh width below your knee when you sit down.
5. Shirts that are to short. I test my shirts by lifting my arms above my head. If it rises above my waistline, I don’t wear it alone. I will wear another shirt under it, or wear it under something.


These are the quidelines I follow, but like I said, there are no set ones in the Bible, these are just what I know don’t attract attention to the wrong place.

Don’t let the devil, or anyone else for that matter, spoil your husband.


PROJECT 1.
Go through your closet, and ask your father or brothers whether they are modest or not. Or use standards to figure it out. If your clothes are so bad that noone should wear them, throw them out, or use the material to make something. If they someone else might be able to wear them, give them away, or to goodwill.

Virtuous Women~ Sarah

Sarah is a very godly example. She was patient. She waited years for Gods promise, of a son to become a reality. She was faithful to her husband. She could have easily left him.

Most women nowdays want security. Her life was very insecure. She never had a house, because they were always moving. Abraham was very rich, so he could have easily afforded to build a house. (Genesis 13:2)

Most women nowdays want someplace to call their own. All that Sarah had was a tent, and that was constantly moving! (Hebrews 11:8-10) If a woman nowdays had to live in a tent, she would most likely leave their husbands, and almost certainly would if he had the money. But Sarah stayed faithful. She stayed with her husband.

Sarah had faith that God could do the impossible. She was 90 when she gave birth to Isaac. (Gen. 17:17) It was something that, humanly thinking, was impossible! But God still did it!

The world has their Halls of Fame. The baseball hall of fame, music halls of fame, etc. God doesn’t have a hall of FAME, but a Hall of Faith. It is found in Hebrews 11. Sarah is one of the only women mentioned here, along with the other great men of faith; Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph. It would be a great honor to just be mentioned in this great Hall of Faith, as Enoch was, but Sarah was not just mentioned, there are 6 verses that are in this chapter wholly because of HER!

“Through FAITH also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was passed age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” Hebrews 11: 11

Sarah had a LOT of faith! As you read her story you will notice she made a lot of mistakes, but as always God forgave her. She earned her place in the Hall of Faith in her later years. She learned FAITH was the key, after her name was changed from Saraii to Sarah. AFTER she had faith she still had to wait. AFTER she learned to have FAITH, and AFTER she waited, she was rewarded with a baby, a child to love. After she had faith, she was given a place in the Hall of Faith.

God may not reward us now, but it may be because we are missing something. Could it be faith? I know part of my problem is. Way to often I find myself wondering where my place really is. I am the kind of person who likes to plan ahead. I like to know things way ahead of schedule! I am constantly asking “When are we leaving?” and “What time are we leaving?” I just feel like I HAVE to know, NOW! I have been working on this a lot lately. I am constantly biting my lip to keep from asking. If I am answered with “In a little while.” I will leave the room so I am not tempted to ask again.

So, what can we learn from her?

1. Be Patient. Just because you don’t get what you ask for right away, doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to get it!

2. Wait. This is almost like Be Patient, but not totally. You can wait, but you can do it without patience. We need both!

3. Be Faithful. We need to be faithful to do what GOD wants us to do, and not do what we want.

4. We can be content without a place to call our own!

5. Have Faith! Trust God! Focus on the LORD!

Projects

2. Think about the women around you who have a lot of influence in your life. Ask them to share their testimonies with you. Ask them what things they think makes a woman so priceless.

3. Ask your brothers for a list of qualities they will be looking for in a wife someday.

Helpful little links

Sarah- by Wayne Blank

http://www.keyway.ca/htm2002/sarah.htm

Women of the Bible- Sarah

http://www.wordlibrary.co.uk/article.php?id=170&type=bible

Sarah- Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah

Answers.Com- Sarah

http://www.answers.com/topic/sarah

Bible Character Study-Sarah, by Amy Kreger

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/216882/bible_character_study_sarah.html?cat=9