“Throughout
Proverbs, wisdom is always referred to as a woman. She teaches,
instructs, creates, calls out to fools to come in her house to learn insight
and to understand knowledge. What a great picture of what God
created women to be and to become—civilizers of people, influencers of
generations, shapers of nations.”
(Sally
Clarkson’s article, “Exceptional Women Feed the Souls of Others from the
Richness of their Souls”)
Learn to do Well
So where do
we start to fulfill this God-given task? We can begin with Isaiah 1:17, “Learn
to do well.” As a woman, I am naturally a teacher, and I should always be
putting myself in a place of learning. God directs us here to learn to do
“well”. The primary root of the word, “well”, is “to make sound, beautiful.”
Dig further, it means: “be accepted, amend, benefit, make cheerful, comely.”
The root spreads more: “be content, diligent, find favor, give, be glad, do
good, make merry, shew more kindness, make sweet.” God says to learn to do these
things; to use our life to actively grow
in these areas, impacting our sphere
of influence with a living model of the
kingdom of God.
Begin at the
beginning. Learning things is hard work. If you don’t understand something,
don’t let pride swell within manifesting itself in self-hate or discouragement;
rather, let it fascinate you. Be in childlike awe that so much is beyond that
horizon, so much to learn and see and do and
share. “Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out
about? It just makes one feel glad to be alive—it’s such an interesting world.”
(Lucy M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables.)
Grow Upwards Towards Christ and
Spread Outward Towards Man
Let’s start
with the question of how does one learn to do well? There are two areas: grow upwards
towards Christ, and seek to spread knowledge and wisdom outward to others. How?
As does a tree, we are to become rooted and grounded in His Truth. The trunk of
the tree is the vital connection between its roots and its leaves. A healthy
trunk points upward and hosts the life-giving nourishment from the root system.
Our strength comes from a close and vibrant relationship with God. Connection
to the root and the effectual deliverance of nutrients to the branches and
leaves is vital. The leaves and the fruit picture how we benefit others and
interact with the world.
Again, “Seek
the LORD and His strength, seek His face continually.” (2 Chr.16:11) We are to
seek His face continually. What other Scripture comes to mind? “Pray without
ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5: 17) Or, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will
I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.” (Psalm 55:17) This living
relationship is a continual, never ending, life-giving part of our life. The
tree is ever seeking the water of life and transforming it to nourishment for
the leaves and fruit. The tree is a living and growing thing. Our relationship
with God is a living and growing thing! To be effective we must remain
connected. A tree with no active root system is a dead tree.
God is the Source
Let’s first discuss the question of how
to grow closer to God? First, know that He is the Source.
Psalm 63:5, “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.” (Expectation: cord, hope) Not from
others, from Him. He is your Teacher. To learn from Him you must spend time
with Him. Be patient with yourself. Building new pathways and connecting
bridges in the mind takes time. To go from spoon fed to eating on your own is a
process. Different muscles are used; a new determination must be summoned.
Practice the presence of Christ; that constant conversation with Him.
Efforts Produce Results
Secondly, know that effort will produce results. “Be
not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also
reap.” (Galatians 6:7-8) Diligent effort will have its rewards. First and
foremost, spend much time in His Word, taking note of what He is speaking to
you about, and spend thoughtful time pondering this. “To read without
reflecting is like eating without digesting.” (Edmund Burke) Saturate yourself
in the Word of God.
Act Upon That Which You Have Learned
Thirdly, your daily walk is the exercise, or the
living out of this time spent with Him. Women are wonderfully and specifically
constituted to draw close to God in sensitivity of spirit and to comfort,
cradle, gently guide and instruct the ones He has placed around them. Grow
towards God. For with Him you can handle
anything; without Him you can handle nothing! As you mingle with people you
grow closer to God, for these relationships are used of Him to bless, correct,
admonish and change you.
Turning the Chin Upward
“A woman who
thinks and read, who takes the time to build a reservoir of wisdom and knowledge
in her own heart, soul and mind, will serve others well and invest in those in
her sphere of influence. (S. Clarkson article) We come to the second portion of learning to do well: spreading
knowledge and wisdom outward to others. Just as gravity in the physical
world is constantly pulling downward, so too in our spiritual lives, everything
tends downward. It takes concerted effort to keep pressing onward and upward. You
spend time with your God and you see how faithfully and patiently He instructs
and guides you. Naturally then, you long to have others see Him as you do but the
great question is how to pull others out of their world into His? How do you
help them look beyond the four man-made walls constraining their life:
selfishness, fear, doubt and shortsightedness? How? Get close enough to them to
turn their chin upward for a glimpse of the eternal. You can neither save nor
change a person by sheer will, but you can, with gentleness and care, touch
their downturned chin and lift it upward. Find where God is and point their
attention there! Show them there is more to life than what we see. Learn to see
beyond:
That is not a blue sky you see, it is
the mere underside of the carpet of heaven!
That is not a tree you see, it is an
act of worship in creation: trunk pointing upward, and limbs, as arms, uplifted
in praise to the Great God!
The trill of the songbird is a chorus
of praise in an unknown tongue!
That is not a sunset, it is but a
dimmed reflection of the lower lights in heaven!
Those are not stars above, they are
but tiny pinholes in the canopy that separates our dark world from the bright
streaming glories of heaven!
That is not a trial you are facing,
it is an opportunity to grow closer to your Father.
Understanding = True Communication
Your gentle
touch has a great impact. Turn your attention to others. I’ve found the secret
of great communication: seek to understand the person with whom you are
speaking. When you seek to understand the reason behind the tone, the concerns
that grip the heart, the hopes and plans in the bosom, you begin to understand
the person and therefore can communicate with greater efficiency.
Expanding Your Sphere of Influence
Through Genuine Interest
I have said
before, “If you want to be interesting you must be interested.” Being interested
not only in life and beauty and knowledge, but in people and their deep needs, makes
you a very interesting person to those with whom you speak, therefore increasing
your influence within their life. Here
is an account of a meeting with such a person. “She approached me with an
attitude of expectancy that made me instantly eager to fill her hopes and
flattered me by her very evident belief that I could. And under her warming
interest I forgot lacks and limitations and expanded into a creditable version
of what the Creator intended me to be, because she called out the best of me
and made me pleased with myself. The fresh cleanness of her seemed an
out-picturing of an inner cleanness and clarity.” (Margery Wilson, Charm)
As you are interested in others, your sphere of influence will expand.
Women were
created and consecrated (set apart) for a special task. The cry that began in
the 1970’s was, “I am woman, hear me roar.” I say, “I am woman, see me love.”
See me stand with strength and dignity upon that which is true, right and just.
See me learn to do well in my home and abroad for the love of God and man,
thereby becoming a “civilizer of people, an influencer of generations and a
shaper of nations.”
