Grace-filled Virtues

What words, thoughts or images come to mind when you think of the Proverbs 31 woman? As with the start of each New Year, I am blessed to share the new theme for my blog ministry. This year’s theme is, “Virtues of a Virtuous Woman.” Late last fall, the Lord started speaking to my heart about what it really means to be a virtuous woman based on true biblical understanding. As I prayed about direction for the blog ministry, not only did He prompt me to change the name to Warrior Woman Blog, but He also clearly spoke the theme, “Virtues of a Virtuous Woman” for 2021. I am sharing the first post to kick off the year, but am also happy to share you will hear from several guest bloggers each month.

When you read Proverbs 31:10-31, it’s easy to start a mental list of all the things she did. It’s also easy to silently run a comparison checklist against our own lives and wonder, “How do I measure up?” But I want to challenge us to push beyond only observing what the Proverbs woman did and take a closer look at how her actions revealed who she truly was as a God-fearing woman, surrendered to God’s purposes for her life.

I have asked myself, “How was she able to fully embrace God’s plan for her life?” The answer that keeps surfacing: she embraced God’s grace. The virtuous woman described in this passage reflected godly virtues that allowed her to do so many wonderful things and live a life poured out with meaning. What’s even more significant is how the grace of God empowered and favored her to accomplish all of the things God place in her heart to achieve.

When we evidence grace-filled virtues as we walk out our life’s callings, we understand the emphasis is less on our “do” but more on our “who” in the process of joyfully following the leading of the Holy Spirit. God is concerned about who we are – the kind of character we have as His daughters more than any “good thing” we produce, even with intentions of honoring Him. It is our love for God that leads us to obey Him in fulfilling His will for us, through His amazing grace that is so all-sufficient in helping be the women of God He desires.

It is the grace of God that equips us to be the best version of ourselves, not a picture perfect idea that is an unrealistic illusion of our authentic self. It is the grace of God that grants us the ability to be a virtuous woman who blesses God, blesses our family, and blesses others placed in our paths. It is the grace of God that teaches us how to be His definition of a Proverbs 31 woman for His glory. We can do this boldly, fearlessly, and confidently because every virtue we display is never self- filled, but rather, it is grace-filled. My sisters, may our grace-filled virtues radiate in all we set our hands and feet to do in 2021 so that God may be pleased with the motives of our heart as reflected in the lives we offer back to Him.