The Heart of a Virtuous Woman

By Shirley Wilson

The Heart of a Virtuous Woman is a visionary book. It captivates your spirit and moves you in a way that directs and guides you on the path that will take you into the presence of your God given mate. The book magnifies how you will come into the knowledge of who your mate is face to face and heart to heart. It is a book that will promote growth and understanding between you and your mate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 7, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468560541

Shirley Wilson

Shirley Wilson has been Director of the Inner Healing Ministry at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Edmonds, Washington, since 1987. She organized, promoted, and taught the Emotionally Free(r) Course, written by Rita Bennett, every spring for over twenty years. She also facilitates national seminars on Inner Healing each summer for the Christian Renewal Association. In her private practice she works as an Inner Healing Prayer Counselor.

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© 2012 by Shirley Wilson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/28/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-6055-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-6054-1 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Chapter 1 The Character and Meaning of a Virtuous Woman

Chapter 2 Ideal Virtuous Woman

Chapter 3 The Spirit of Lust

Chapter 4 Chelsey’s Story

Chapter 5 Ruth Emerges

Chapter 6 Seeking in the Spirit

Chapter 7 Boaz Finds A Virtuous Woman

Chapter 8 Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

Loving Honor

Birdie Turner, my mother

Victor Hubbard, a dear family friend

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

JOSEPH, DARRELL JR. and Derrick, I thank you for your sacrificial time in creating the book cover for me. Joseph, I am so appreciative to you for allowing me to select pictures from your photo art gallery for the front cover of my book. Darrell, I can’t forget the patience and time that you spent on the illustrations on the back of my book. As you approach completing your Fine Arts Degree at the university, I wish you much success in all that you seek to do. Derrick, I am so thankful for you working diligently along with Joseph in creating the layout and design for my book cover. The support that all of you have given me will always be heartfelt. I love all of you and may God spread special blessings upon you.

AN EXPRESSION OF THANKS

Carmela and Bertina, I thank you for all of the support and assistance that you gave me in making this book happen. I love you, and may God shower His blessings upon you abundantly.

CHAPTER 1

The Character and Meaning

of a Virtuous Woman

THE HEBREW MEANING of a virtuous woman is strength. She is so strong that she was compared to a military when this poetic advice was given to that man in the Book of Proverbs. Perhaps in her readiness to face and overcome challenges was as a military in battle. However, her character tells us that her strength lies in her body and in her mind. According to the Bible, there is a base description for the virtuous woman. She loves the Lord, and she is bonded to Him by His divine choice. She is a woman who He has chosen, and He guides her with favor to perform a work through her for His own glory. She loves what is just and right in the sight of God and that includes longing for and having the husband who will find her. The virtuous woman is God’s woman and the fruit of His spirit is in her. She is God’s sweetness! His love and protection is always with her. This means that He moves her in His standard of righteousness. She is rare and has favor with God. He will place people in her path, known and unknown, to direct her toward her purpose. God is in control!

God allows His virtuous woman to be identified from two aspects. One is the proverbial virtuous woman which we see in the Book of Proverbs. The other is the emergent virtuous woman. The proverbial virtuous woman can be used interchangeably with an ideal virtuous woman. Both women can be functioning in the perfect image of God’s original woman who was Eve before the fall of man. We will refer to the proverbial virtuous woman often as an ideal virtuous woman because it will tend to give the mindset of the character of a Christian woman today. This ideal virtuous woman portrays a trust built on faith that lends itself to show perfect harmony between the ideal virtuous woman and her husband. When Eve fell in the snare of the devil, all women fell. However, the standard didn’t fall. God has a way to preserve His standard. Because He is God, He is in control of everything! The standard is eternally flowing from the throne of God through His grace, favor and mercy, and He allows us to see this standard clearly through the proverbial virtuous woman. The standard never stops because He is being! This means that there has not been a time when God has not existed.

The emergent virtuous woman goes unnoticed among people in complete obscurity. She is complex to understand until God gets ready to put her in position for His glory and service. To keep her hidden is part of His plan! She is flowing from God in His favor and grace too. God, Himself, has to reveal her to men in His own time. During the season when God is positioning her, some people will continually raise questions and form opinions trying to penetrate the mystery around her. They will perhaps question her mental faculties because the lack of knowledge about her doesn’t follow the flow of the concept in their understanding. They have no knowledge that she is a move from God while He is gradually bringing her forth for them to know her. As God would have it, she is a person who people will least expect to have been chosen because circumstances around her makes her an unlikely candidate. She is different! Who are men to try to judge and who knows the mind of God? It is God who moves her and chooses a godly man as the head over her. God will give a worthy man the knowledge to know this virtuous woman immediately when he finds her. This man is already under the wings of God in the righteousness of God. However, it can be a man who has not accepted God, but God has already put his Godly attributes in this man to be manifested in God’s own likeness. It has to be in God’s own timing. When this man has made a decision and has accepted Christ, God will guide him to emerge over a virtuous woman as her head and her God given mate.

Another important factor about the virtuous woman is that she can be called a non-conformist by the standards of society. She just doesn’t fit in with the crowd. God fixed her that way. She has the wisdom to live within the law of the land. She can survive and keep the peace. As it could have been during the proverbial time, the virtuous woman cannot be a candidate for a position in our political system as we know it today. It is common knowledge that some politicians mislead people to get votes. When they get in their positions, they have been known for not keeping their commitments to the people. The virtuous woman’s heart is not in anything that is ungodly or unrighteous. She is in love with her God and the likeness of Him.

CHAPTER 2

Ideal Virtuous Woman

PROVERBS 31:10-31 GIVES us a full description about the ideal virtuous woman. These verses reveal the ideal virtuous woman in a perfect setting with her husband and family. Certain verses, in the context of the proverbial virtuous woman, have been selected to further describe the heart of a virtuous woman. These verses help show the structure in her character and give a more observant way to recognize this type of woman in our complex world today. These verses reveal how she interacts with her family and community. Proverbs 31:10-31 is very meaningful and helpful to the Christian woman in her daily walk with her husband, children and community during our Christian Era.

In the Book of Proverbs, King Lemuel’s mother gave him advice on how to select a virtuous woman. Since a lot of immorality was going on during that time, perhaps she wanted to make sure that her son would be able to identify a virtuous woman to become his wife. She does not identify the virtuous woman and her husband by their names. Evidently, she was a woman of wisdom and knowledge who had observed such a couple. However, this couple serves as God’s model based upon biblical principals when one is choosing a mate. The virtuous woman and her husband show complete harmony in their marriage. Verse 10 sets the tone in summarizing the remaining selected verses concerning her. Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. We will discuss this verse in two parts because of its complexity.

Who can find a virtuous woman? This question addresses whether you have the godly nature to the extent that you are able to identify a virtuous woman. This implies that she can only be found under the watchful eyes and protection of God, and He will only allow one to claim her through His righteousness.

For her price is above rubies. We have to consider the make-up of how the virtuous woman’s character is structured to see why her price is far above rubies. What stands out about her is that the virtuous woman is seeking the truth about herself through wisdom. This means her purpose in God. James 3:17 gives us a description of wisdom, But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Furthermore, the following verses from Chapter 28 of Job’s discourse on wisdom gives an understanding in comparing the virtuous woman with the value of rubies.

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¹² But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?

¹³ Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.

¹⁵ It cannot be gotten for gold, and neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

¹⁶ It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

¹⁷ The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.

¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.

¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

²⁰ Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?

²¹ Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.

²² Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.

²³ God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.

²⁴ For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;

²⁵ To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.

²⁶ When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:

²⁷ Then did he see it and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

²⁸ And unto man he said, Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

(Job 28:12-28 KJV)

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These verses show us that wisdom stretches far and wide, and rubies are immeasurable against wisdom. The vastness of wisdom and understanding lies with God. Romans 11:33 says, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Wisdom is infinite against rubies; therefore,