“Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.”
Proverbs 31:10 Amplified Version

Number 2 in the series “God’s Virtuous Woman
“Does my life glorify Jesus Christ?” This is a question that believers need to ask themselves frequently. This is the second in the series on becoming a virtuous wife, a study of the Proverbs 31 woman.

I previously said how amazed I was when I found out the contextual meaning of the word virtuous. It means: “army; disciplined; moral courage; a woman of strength; a woman of resolution who is wedded to God’s principles and stands firm in them; a woman made strong by God’s wisdom, grace and the fear of God.”

God gets no glory from weak women who are undisciplined in God’s ways and who allow their emotions to rule their lives and destroy their families. God also gets no glory from feminist women who reject God’s design for their lives and become bitter and militant. I see both in the church when I travel and speak in churches of many denominations, and neither glorify Jesus Christ.

God wants to bring His divine balance into our lives, that we would be women with what 1 Peter 3:4 (KJV) calls a “meek and quiet spirit,” and at the same time to be disciplined and strong in the wisdom and ways of the Lord.

When I put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior, my marriage was on the brink of divorce. It had been close to divorce for eight years. Since I wanted my life to glorify Jesus, I cried out to God in prayer to help me. All I knew about being a woman and a wife I had learned from television, movies, books and magazines. None of it was good, and it did not glorify Jesus Christ. God’s amazing grace led me to read, study and obey Proverbs 31, and the Holy Spirit transformed my life and marriage.

Let’s look more closely at the meaning of virtuous: “an army, God’s army.” 2 Timothy 2:1-4 tells us that God has chosen us to be soldiers in His army. An army has to be disciplined and under the authority of their commander. I placed myself under God’s authority and the authority of His Word. According to Ephesians 5:22 I submitted myself to my husband as unto the Lord.

Richard had a very imperfect life at that time, but so did I. But Richard was God’s responsibility, not mine. All God holds me responsible for is for me to obey Him and His Word.

As I read and obeyed the Bible, God started to bring order and discipline into my thoughts, my emotions and my entire life. This greatly affected my marriage for good. The Holy Spirit gave me the moral courage and strength to stop reading books and magazines that did not glorify Jesus. He gave me the power to stand firm, to discipline my time and to stop watching violence and immorality in programs on television that were destructive to my moral well-being and my home. He gave me His wisdom, grace and the fear of God when talking to my husband, as I submitted my thoughts, words and emotions to Him.

Stay with me as I continue this series and allow the Holy Spirit to transform your home as He has mine, even if your mate never changes. We’re not responsible for our mate’s actions or lack of them; we are only responsible for our actions, words, thoughts and emotions. Men, can I challenge you to apply the same principles to become godly husbands and fathers?