The Fog Is Lifting

Imagine swimming in a vast lake and getting three or four hundred yards offshore when suddenly a freak fog rolls in and surrounds you. You’re trapped in this tiny circle of diffused light, but you can’t see beyond your arm’s reach.

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A Charming and Graceful Spirit

Clearly, Esther had something about her that caused everyone to “favor” her, from the king to the women in the harem who were competing against her for his attention and affections. I think she must have had a winsomeness about her.

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Modesty and Authenticity

Esther exhibited an unselfish modesty and authenticity. Think of it: no job, no responsibility, no cooking, no clean-up, no washing, no ironing, no errands, no budget-watching, no holding back in any area. Imagine!

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Strength and Dignity

Esther exhibited a grace-filled charm and elegance. In this verse, the literal translation of the original language says, “She lifted up grace before his face.” Isn’t that a beautiful expression?

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Wise Protection

Four hundred men! That’ll probably handle Nabal, don’t you think? When you overdo something in our house, we have a saying, “You’re killing a roach with a shotgun.” You kill the roach all right, but you blow the wall out at the same time.

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Two Perspectives on Stress

There is an old Greek motto that says: YOU WILL BREAK THE BOW IF YOU KEEP IT ALWAYS BENT. Wise words, but how do we loosen the strings? Even when we make every effort to slow down and relax, others place high demands on us. Their “shoulds” and “oughts” and “musts” hit us like strong gusts of wind, driving our lives onto shallow reefs of frustration—and even despair.

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Equally Yoked

In 2 Corinthians 6:14 (KJV), Paul the apostle warned believers to avoid being “unequally yoked” with nonbelievers. He used the image of two oxen—one strong, the other weak—harnessed together to pull a plow. Every farmer at the time knew what the outcome would be: the weaker animal invariably set the pace. The stronger animal, trying to remain in step with its partner, will not pull to its full potential.

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Godly Confidence

The “excellent woman” of Proverbs 31 casts a long shadow for her sisters through history! Not only is she strong, wise, trustworthy, industrious, and successful, but she also “fears the LORD” (v. 30). The Hebrew word rendered “fear” has a wide range of meanings, including the idea of respectful reverence. I learned about this kind of fear when, fresh out of high school, I began my formal training to become a mechanical engineer.

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Industriousness

To be honest, I never quite understood the dogmatic assertion, “A woman’s place is in the home.” While I agree that the responsibility for provision falls upon the man of the house, I see nothing in Scripture that suggests a woman has no part in it. On the contrary, the “excellent woman” of Proverbs 31 is nothing short of a business genius.

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Trustworthiness

In the opening lines of his ode to excellent womanhood, Lemuel expressed his great admiration for someone close to him. He obviously wrote from personal observation of someone truly great—perhaps his own wife or mother. The Hebrew word translated “wife” is the general term for “woman,” and the wise man described the excellent woman as a wife and a mother because, in his culture, most women were both.

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