VIRTUE GIVES YOU STRONG CONFIDENCE - Proverbs 31:21
Proverbs 31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
The twelfth characteristic of virtue Solomon was to look for in a woman he desired to marry is that she is confident and does not allow fear to control her. The virtuous woman is similar to the ant described in Proverbs 6 that prepared ahead of time for the winter. One can properly prepare for winter but still fear the inclement weather. However, one who has the inner strength of virtue in their life will be confident in their preparations and will not allow themselves to be sitting around worrying about whether they should have done more to properly prepare.
You understand that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Solomon also wrote that “In the fear of the Lord strong confidence”. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that God “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Jesus then went on to say “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.”
Jesus was teaching an import lesson in where you should put your attention. HE was not telling you not to prepare, but instead, HE did not want your focus to be so attached to your daily living that you lose focus upon the important things in life. Jesus commanded that you are to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” and that you are to “Take therefore no thought for the morrow”.
It is very easy to allow the concerns of the world to control you. However, when it is your goal to put the things of God first in your life, you will live your life for God rather then allowing yourself to be bogged down by the minor roadblocks that seem to crowd your path. Rather than worrying about the trivial things that might happen in your life, you should be concerned about failing the Lord and not fulfilling HIS purpose for your life.
Just as God brings the sun and the rain, so the seasons affect both those who demonstrate virtue and those who do not. Those who are virtuous will take the time to ensure that they are properly prepared and they will be confident in their preparations and allow their focus to remain upon doing what God desires rather then allowing their fears to paralyze them and prevent them from fulfilling God’s purpose.
It does not matter who you are, trials will arise in your life. However, what separates you from the crowd will be how you respond to your trials. Solomon was charged with finding a virtuous woman to marry and one of the things he was to look for was to see how she responded to the normal trials that confront everyone. Was she confident in her preparations or did she allow worry to control her life.
The world is watching you to see if your faith has made you different and whether they should follow Christ. How you respond to daily distractions will reveal to others whether you are just like them or whether you are different. You must add virtue to your life and understand the principle of having the fear of God in your life so that when the world sees you, they really see God. The world should not see worry and fear control your life but instead they should see a confidence in you as you pursue God’s will for your life.