“She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.” (Proverbs 31:18)
We all want to be profitable as women. We all want to go to bed at night feeling that our lives have impacted others through what we do day by day. We also want our needs met in the process.
The Proverbs 31 woman’s trading was profitable. Her lamp did not go out at night. She continues to be the role model we look to, the bar we each are looking to God to reach.
The Proverbs 31 passage presents before us the will of God for the woman. Part of that will is that we women would be profitable in the ventures we undertake.
How possible is that?
Well, that question would have been a little difficult to reflect on several decades ago when most women’s occupation was taking care of the home and ensuring their households were nourished in every way. The man brought in the “profit” from his work outside the home.
Today’s woman has multiple opportunities to work outside the home, bringing in a profit too. Working from home is fast becoming a huge option for many women as well. The 2020 pandemic brought this reality home for many of us. Many corporates have adopted the work-from-home model for many of their workers even after the pandemic.
Is it even necessary therefore to talk about verse 18 of Proverbs 31?
Jesus, in John.17:4, declared he had brought glory to God by completing the task God had sent him to do. Paul follows suit. He also declares in 2Tim.4:7 that he has finished the race.
Looking at the lives of these two men, by worldly standards, we could argue for the fact that there was no profitability in what they were doing.
What I learn from these stories is that there is a kind of profitability God is looking for. It is not a worldly kind of profitability where we are talking of monetary profit.
The profitability from God’s perspective is what I want to discuss a little more today.
Does this mean God doesn’t want us to get monetary profit? Far from that! God’s kingdom stands to benefit from the monetary profit God’s people have made over the years and continue to make.
This is why I want to share with you 4 ways a godly woman ensures her venture is profitable, at least by heaven’s standard.
- A woman must ensure that all she’s doing is for God’s glory
We live in a fallen world. What this means is that a lot is going on under the sun that has nothing to do with honoring God. From business ventures that propagate drunkenness to those that take a woman away from her little children for long hours on end. (When a mother can do something about it)
You and I, therefore, know that there are those ventures that may be profitable, but they’ll dishonor the name of God.
A woman wants to ensure whatever venture she gets into will bring glory to God.
How does she know what venture will glorify God?
We have talked a lot before about a woman’s walk with God. Fellowshipping with God in his Word and prayer will help you have clarity of the will of God.
When you have clarity of the will of God, God can help you discern whether what you are doing is for His glory or not.
One of the ventures God led me into was writing a book on the Proverbs 31 passage after leading a Bible study on this passage with young women on campus for several years.
I knew I needed to capture in writing what God had taught me through our study of this passage with these younger women.
I knew it was God’s will that many other women would benefit from our reflections and lessons.
Not only has this venture been profitable, bringing in a little profit now and then, but God has also been glorified through the testimonies I have heard from those who’ve read the book. You can find it here.
What venture has God put on your heart to do, not only to meet your need but to be a blessing to others?
Doing a venture for the glory of God will not only give you fulfillment, but you will also know it has the blessing of God. God will cause it to succeed for His glory.
- A Godly Woman will View all she’s Doing in Light of the Great Commission (Matt.28:18-20)
Having completed the work he came to do here on earth, our Lord Jesus Christ spoke these final words to his disciples:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)
You and I, as women who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and who are seeking to walk faithfully with him, must have the above words of Jesus at the heart of all that we do.
Living in light of eternity will be about making disciples, not just converts.
If my venture isn’t connected with Matthew 28:19-20, then I need to check again whether what I am doing is profitable.
You and I can already tell that our profitability must not be measured by the standard of this world. It must be measured against the heavenly standard.
If we don’t measure our business venture by the heavenly standard, we will fall into the same fate as the man Jesus referred to as the rich fool. Take a look at his account below:
“And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” (Luke.12:16-21)
Viewing what I am doing in light of eternity may well mean setting aside part of the profit and investing it in a worthy cause such as supporting ministry work, missionary work, and missionaries. It could be investing part of it in meeting the needs of the needy such as the poor, the orphan, a needy family, and the like.
It could be investing part of your time perhaps in hospitality, reaching others with the gospel, or offering a place to rest for those who are on the frontline of ministering to others.
God will show you how to ensure your venture is profitable as you view it and run it in light of the Great Commission.
- A godly Woman will Prioritize Investing in People
Right from her household, a woman who wants her venture to be profitable, at least from the heavenly perspective, will value people above her venture.
I’m certain you’ve encountered women who have been profitable in a given venture. The venture has been so profitable that their families have suffered in the process.
Such a woman’s time gets swallowed up by her venture as she pursues more and more money.
It’s God’s will that as he grants us profit, the money will not get to our hearts. Remember, the love of money is the root of all evil. (1Tim.6:10)
We must be willing to establish boundaries early enough as to how far we can go with a venture. We then have to guard our hearts above or else as we walk with God, so that our relationships, will not suffer as a result of a business venture.
God can supply our needs with what our venture will bring forth. So, let’s trust Him that our profitability will be in line with his will for us to invest in others with our time.
- A godly woman will Operate Within her Calling in the Lord
God has uniquely called and gifted each of us. Getting to know our calling in him will be very critical in helping us experience greater fruitfulness and profitability in our business ventures.
Understanding my calling has helped me focus on ministering to women. I have found that whatever venture I pursue as I sense his leading, will often mean most of the recipients of what I do will be women.
My growth in the venture is almost always, to a huge extent, limited to the needs of women.
Recently God enabled me to create a Proverbs 31 course that teaches women the basic principles of biblical womanhood.
By God’s grace, I would say I have thrived in this venture because it resonates with my calling from God to minister to women.
You will thrive when you are operating from your calling from the Lord.
Have you established what God has called you to do? I hope to address this in the next blog post. Meanwhile, ask the Lord to show you and lead you into his calling.
Because he is still at work, there is a possibility that your venture might be connected with what he has called you to do, especially if you are faithfully walking with him. He faithfully leads His own.
Knowing your calling will help you know whom you are targeting, and what you’d want to see happen in their lives as a result of your venture, together with helping you set boundaries in terms of your limit, in the business venture.
I’m hopeful I have helped you gain some clarity in ensuring that whatever you do will be profitable from God’s perspective, yielding eternal fruit unto eternity.