Recognizing the Praiseworthy Woman, Proverbs 31:10-31

I want to welcome everyone in celebrating Mother’s Day. This is a wonderful day to celebrate and give thanks for the mothers that God has put into our lives. We certainly think first of our own moms, but God has also put other women into our lives to nurture and teach, to protect and train us. I personally appreciate all the grandmas and aunts my children have here at Prairie.
I think it is important for us recognize this truth, that God can use each of us to reach into another’s life to minister. Whether you are a biological mom, or a Sunday School teacher, or a compassionate neighbor, God has people for you to minister to, and He has people to minister to you!
Our text today is the description of the praiseworthy woman. She happens to be a wife and mother, but those are not her defining characteristics. Every woman can be praiseworthy in the life God has prepared for her.
Verse 30 summarizes this description “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Her value is not in her marriage or in her motherhood, but in her respect and trust in the Lord. All her actions proceed from that relationship with God.
As we unpack our passage, we will see a woman who works, not for fame or wealth, but because it glorifies her Lord. I challenge you to strive to live in the same way, and I also challenge you to recognize the godly ladies in our midst and praise them accordingly.