At our last Sisterhood bible study, we learned about stress,
agony and Jesus’ solution for both. We learned some key things about stress:
1) It
started at the Fall of man, its root is sin
2) It
is associated with your job/work (“by the sweat of your brow”)
3) God
sees it as unclean
But we also learned that although stress is seemingly ingrained in our DNA, it has also been overcome by the blood of Jesus!
1) Jesus
experienced extreme stress and agony in the Garden just before His crucifixion
2) Jesus’
physical body was under so much stress that He sweated blood – the first blood
He shed was to redeem us from the “sweat/sin” of Adam
3) We
can have freedom from stress through Jesus alone
Today we are going to talk about something new – but it is
connected to our previous study. When you think about managing or overcoming
the issues (or stresses) of life, do you find yourself saying: If/Then – “If I
do this….then this will happen…?” I fall into this trap a lot, more than I
would like to. There is nothing wrong with solving problems or taking
initiative. But when we take control of the situation before asking and seeking
God’s will on the matter, we are setting ourselves up for (you guessed it!)
major stress.
Let’s read Proverbs 31:10-13
10 Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no
lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her
life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works
with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food
from afar.
When I started reading this familiar passage the word
“merchant ship” stood out to me. In practicing my
lectio divina this week, I meditated upon this word. I immediately
thought that God was showing me that in order to handle/deal with all the stuff
(stress) going on in my life, I need to increase my capacity so I can be like a
merchant ship. After all isn’t that what a merchant ship was in this passage –
a holy example of a woman with the capacity of a great big boat that carries items
to and from far off places? Yes, this made perfect sense! I wasn’t handling
“stuff” well so I was going to focus on increasing my capacity! I took out my
concordance and lexicon and looked up “capacity.”
Did you know that the word “capacity” is never used in the
Bible? Instead it uses words like “effort”, “skill” and “ability.” Interesting…
So why does God challenge us to be like a “merchant ship” (a
carrier of goods from one place to another) if capacity isn’t involved? Isn’t
that what being a merchant ship is – having a huge capacity?
Ability, adequacy, capability, competence, qualification,
talent…those are all synonyms of capacity. They speak of things we can attain
on our own, with our own efforts, hard work and intelligence.
God is such a beautiful and specific author. Every word in
the Bible is intentional. If He would have told us in Proverbs 31:14 to have capacity,
we’d figure it out on our own. He would not need to be included in this critical
statement. Capacity speaks of the human potential that is needed to complete a
task; filling up our lives with skill, talent, knowledge and experience.
God tells us to be merchant ships! Being a merchant ship
requires more than just having capacity. Merchant ships do not build
themselves. They must be designed by a master architect. Then, they’re built by
an experienced worker, on a dry dock, empty
for a long period of time. When the Master completes His plan, it is He who
pushes the merchant ship onto the high waters. After all, merchant ships are
meant to go far out to sea. He fills it with cargo. It can weather any storm
brought against it because it is made strong, can carry much and is not
affected by the seasons.
So how does this translate to your everyday life? We must
empty ourselves to make room for Jesus. More Jesus. It’s always the answer. When
life get stressful – more Jesus. When you fall into sin – more Jesus. When you
need more hours in the day – more Jesus. When you need healing - more Jesus.
We all have the capacity to succeed at our endeavors to some degree. Its
human nature. But God does not want us to rely on our capacity to get through
life. He wants us to rely totally on Him. Each and every one of you was
designed and crafted as a merchant ship – now its time to start living that way
J
Imagine yourself as
a merchant ship…
15th Century Merchant Ship
Modern day Merchant Ship
Proverbs 31:14 says that a wise
woman is like the merchant ship.
Merchant Ships are
big, strong and not very pretty. They are built for life, to last for long periods of time. God has given you a measure of gifting that goes with
the responsibility of being the big ship. We are ingrained with the desire to move heavenly cargo (the fruit of the Spirit) from one place to
another. Our capacity is
not just for us to do stuff, but for us to love Jesus more.
He is the goal. Our relationship with Him is the goal. When
you are ready to venture out and live your life, God’s desire is that you are healthy and
whole. Your priorities are right – you spent time allowing Jesus to build
you into a strong ship, with much capacity to love. Only then are you
ready to charter out into the deep waters of life without sinking.
The word “merchant” in Hebrew here (סָחַר [cachar /saw·khar/]) has two meanings (similar to how words in English have double meanings). First it means what you think it does – “to go about to and fro in trade.” But at other times it can mean (pealal) pound, throb, i.e., the palpitation of heart as a non-linear movement, with the associative meaning of anxiety, fear, or over-exertion. This totally confused me – how could it mean two seemingly opposite things?
Lectio divina in action! After spending time in prayer, God showed me that indeed “merchant” can be used in both contexts. The Proverbs 31 woman embodies the first meaning – she goes about to and fro in trade, huge capacity, entrepreneur, etc. She is a daughter completely in love with God, with Him at the forefront of her thoughts, actions and decisions – and THAT is how it’s possible to live like her. To embody all of these traits on our own would be impossible! We don’t have the capacity! Here’s the revelation – when we try to be the “good Christian girl”, follow all the rules, live out of our own capacity/strength/wisdom/experience, that is when we, as merchant ships, take on the persona of the second definition: we are stressed, overloaded and in danger of being shipwrecked.
All of us are Merchant Ships. But who is the Captain of your voyage called life – God or You? God will never overload you with cargo that you are not designed to carry! Allowing God His rightful place as "Captain" of our lives (Savior/King/Boss/Padre, etc) promises the Proverbs 31 life. Doing life on our own void of God's direction guarantees anxiety and fear as we can see above.
ENTER THE DRY DOCK…
There will be times when we are not sailing the high seas of life. Things will just suck. You
might be single & sorrowful, married & miserable, divorced &
depressed…or whatever. If this sounds like you, then welcome to the DRY
DOCK.
(A submarine being constructed on the "dry dock")
Merchant Ships are not built overnight. The
skilled hands of a master architect design the ship for it’s purpose
& a master craftsmen constructs it here. The larger the
purpose, the larger the ship & longer amount of time it’ll take being
built. Dry docks are not pretty. They’re lonely. They’re also not permanent! So what is the application here? Allow God to build you strong while you are in a waiting season. You will sink if you’re not ready to be launched.
What
is your “dry dock?” A ministry opportunity, a job, a husband, a better
marriage, career direction, healing, financial peace?
Some thoughts for single ladies: Do not date Mr. Speedboat!
Often we are sitting on the dry dock and wishing that Prince Charming will come by on his white horse speed boat and rescue us from this ugly place. And the problem with that is that speed boats come and go – you need to meet your match. You’re built for purpose. Don’t go for a zip around the lake on a speed boat just to have Mr. Speedboat fling you off and pick up some one else on another dry dock. If you settle for Mr. Speedboat after doing your part as Merchant Ship – what do you think will happen? Speed boats cannot become cargo ships – only the Architect can change the foundation of who it is. You cannot change him. The only person you can change is yourself. What usually happens when you partner with a speedboat is that you, the Merchant Ship, strip yourself of its purpose and potential and capacity so that it becomes more compatible with the speed boat. Both are “happy” and compatible but both fall desperately short of the true love that will enable their relationship to last the long haul. Stop the speed boat approach to getting hitched. There is another merchant ship that is compatible with you who is a better match to marry. Speed boats are built to show off, impress, don’t last long, are not capable of carrying any weight & most actually crash or burn out.
God’s language in this passage is specific – we are to be merchant ships, not speed boats. In this fast-food society we are ingrained with wanting an answer to our needs “now!” But God does not work this way. 1 Corinthians 13 says, “love is patient…” God is love personified. God is firstly a patient Father. He’s not in a hurry. You are not an Ikea-type project to Him! Building a masterpiece that has value, strength and it’s makers mark, takes time.
Don’t break away from the dry dock early. It's important for you
to spend time here while God works on you
from the inside out. If you launch into the waters of life before you're finished being built, you will sink or be shipwrecked by a storm.
Shipwrecked merchant ship
Shipwrecked. It’s a terrible event to think about. But some of
us might be shipwrecked in our souls today. You sailed the high seas of life
before God finished (or started) His work in you. Maybe you took on a speedboat
identity and you keep crashing because you want the quick solution. Dry docks
are a necessary part of spiritual maturity. Jesus Himself was on the dry dock
at four different times in His life BEFORE He started His earthly ministry.
“Jesus was
born in Bethlehem
in a smelly animal pen
(followed
by hidden days).
He was
circumcised in the Temple
on His 8th day
(followed
by hidden months)
Before
turning 2, Jesus received a visit from Eastern wise men
(followed
by hidden years)
At the age of 12, Jesus got in
trouble for staying in the Temple,
listening and asking questions when He was supposed to be with His parents’
family headed back home
(followed by almost 2 entirely
hidden decades).
18 years after Jesus’ temple incident, Jesus emerged from hiddenness, and His adult ministry commenced by the Jordan river at a wild man’s baptismal service…this starting point is not chapter 1 of Jesus’ life, it is chapter 30…over 90% of His earthly life is submerged in hiddenness.”
When we ask to be more like Jesus, we are most likely not
referring to His years on the dry dock (“hiddenness”)! Jesus embraced the days,
months, years and decades on the dry dock – it was there that He learned to
live an eternally fruitful life.
If you are not in a dry dock season, good for you! But take
heed because every Merchant Ship needs its season in the dry dock – it needs to
be refueled, fixed from damage at sea, filled with new cargo and given new
direction for the next course ahead.
Merchant Ships end their careers 3 ways:
1) Shipwrecked
– A storm takes you out. You refuse the aid of the dry dock. Maybe you align
yourself with speedboats? Maybe you dumped your cargo? We’ll never know what
you were destined for. God's purposes always prevail, so it is likely that another ship is taking course where you sank.
2) Museum
– You stayed your course and carried cargo as you were intended to. You gave
God control and followed the Christian rules. But when God asked to use parts of you to
build others, you refused. Your story is too shameful - an invasion of privacy was not part of the deal. Deep down, you really want to be immortalized for your
achievements, your legacy, your good works. Recognition and glory were
your goal. You are indeed in a museum on display, but your story and lasting influence is limited...
3) Scrapyard
– Your cargo was the fruit of the Spirit. You carried it near and far. There were seasons of sailing the high waters and seasons of weathering the storms - and with God as your compass, you kept on course and finished well. You
embraced the dry dock when needed so you could grow stronger as the decades passed.
You, the merchant ship, were maintained so well that at the end of your life,
the Architect took pieces of you and used them to build future generations of
Merchant Ships that are carrying cargo to places you never could have on your own.
Where are you at today? Are you on your way toward a
shipwreck? In your pursuit to do life/ministry/career/marriage successfully,
have you lost sight of your Creator, Jesus Christ? Or are you on course, full
of the Holy Spirit and readily allowing God to break and remold you so that
future generations can sail into uncharted waters?
More Jesus. It really is that simple.
Let's remember girls that God designed every one of us with Merchant Ship capacity. It's up to us how we choose to use the capacity He's given us. I pray this has challenged you to invite more of Jesus into your world so you can sail the high seas of life with Him as your guide.
xoxo,
Jenny
(P.S - see below for more thoughts on the "Merchant Ship" that Beth Thompson shared with us today. Click here to check out her amazing blog.)
[Mommy Tip: If you want to teach this principle to your children, read them “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein – the tree in this book diminishes it's capacity and identity in efforts to make the boy happy. At the end of both their lives, the tree and the boy are basically "shipwrecked."]
“She
is like the merchant ships; she brings her food from afar.”
Proverbs
31:14
1.
This verse is comparing women to a powerful vessel that
brings business and wealth to her family; although the woman in Proverbs 31 is
a homemaker, she proliferates her husband’s wealth, and earns an income for
herself, “She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she
plants a vineyard.” (vs. 16).
2.
Not only does she plant a vineyard, she also, “puts her
hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.” (vs.19)
3.
This woman is busy; she somehow has time to be
successful in the workplace and the home.
4.
Although the Proverbs 31 woman has inspired many of us
to rise above the typical woman, she has also created a “do” mentality in the
church today, leaving many women tired, burnt out, and most of all, lonely.
5.
Now, Jesus had an interesting perspective of women.
While he definitely preached a “do” mentality, (the great commission stated in
Matthew 28 applied to men and women), he also understood that we shouldn’t let
our desire to impress others (and ourselves) supersede our desire to be with
Him.
6.
Luke 10 spells out an interesting story about a woman
striving to be like the vineyard-planter in Proverbs 31.
“Now as they went on their way,
Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to
his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to
him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?
Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are
anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has
chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
7.
Martha was trying to mimic the vineyard planter in
Proverbs 31, who was concerned with the fruit and production of her merchant
ship; however, Martha wanted Jesus and his disciples to acknowledge her generous hospitality, and her heart attitude was to
serve with the intention of being gratified instead of serving out of humility
and love.
8.
When she saw her sister sitting with Jesus (with the
men) instead of performing the “female” duties, she was filled with jealousy,
and wanted Jesus to affirm her business and hard work. To her surprise, Jesus
went against the gender stereotype of the day and reprimanded Martha’s pride instead of her
sisters’. Here are a few things we can
learn from Martha in attempting to replicate the Proverbs 31 example:
a.
If we, like Martha, need to be affirmed for our hard
work, we are performing out of pride
instead of the prompting of the spirit.
b.
Jesus cares about our heart attitude more than anything else. If we are performing to a
high standard but are not putting time with Him above all other things
(including “godly” duties like serving our husbands or the church), we lose the
point of being a Proverbs 31 woman.
c.
The 31 woman is effective because God is living and
breathing through her. She does not
perform these duties to glorify herself, but allows God to use her gifting’s to
benefit her family and community.
d.
Jesus did not critique Martha’s work, but her heart; she was “anxious and troubled”
(vs. 41). The busier your life becomes, the
more time you need to spend in the Word and in prayer. If you neglect to
balance your busy lifestyle with the peaceful, restorative nature of the Holy
Spirit, your life (like Martha’s) will become all about you and instead of all
about Christ, and your work will suddenly become an embittering burden.
9.
The “perfect” woman we see in Proverbs 31 is, above
all, a God-fearing woman. Don’t sell you life to business, stress, anxiety, or
fear; instead, allow God to work inside you. Be hungry for Scripture, spend
time in prayer, and let your busy, over-worked heart rest in the “peace of God
that transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7).
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who
fears the LORD is to be praised.” (vs. 30)
