She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:12-KJV)

She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:12-NIV)

How many a woman long to have had a fruitful day when they finally lay their head on the pillow and call it a day each night? What is the secret to a fruitful life?

Hold on just a little. By the end of this blog post, we should have answered that question.

In today’s blog post, we want to look at rhythms and routines. We are looking at rhythms and routines in relation to the verse above.

This blog post also happens to be a build-up of what I wrote in the previous blog. You can find it here. It forms a wonderful foundation for this blog post.

If you’ve read my posts before, you might have come across these two terms. Let’s however define rhythm and routine.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines routine as:

A sequence of actions regularly followed.

I found this particular definition very relevant to what we are talking about today. Let’s continue.

Rhythm on the other hand is:

A strong regular repeated pattern of movement.

Take a choir for instance. Perhaps they are dancing, swaying to the music they are singing in a particular way. Their dancing then forms a rhythm.

Having defined the two terms, let’s now look at routine and rhythm concerning the Proverbs 31 woman.

A quick look at the Proverbs 31 passage reveals certain things this woman does rhythmically. Certain things are then said about her.

One obvious one is the one stated in the above verse, that she does her husband good. She became so consistent in doing good to her husband that it formed a part of her character.

I am convinced that for us to achieve this kind of consistency portrayed by the Proverbs 31 woman, we need to have a certain pattern that captures our day-to-day living.

This is the kind of pattern or way of life that I follow day after day. I will follow it not because I necessarily enjoy it every single day.  I follow it because it is achieving the desired result of doing good, and doing it consistently.

What better way to practically capture such a pattern than through rhythms and routines that we engage in each day?

Consistency is often achieved not because we necessarily enjoy the process. It is achieved because we know something good is getting achieved at the end to the glory of God.

Isn’t this the principle that’s standing out in scripture and our day-to-day lives?

(By the way, in case you’d like more insight into the Proverbs 31 chapter, you can buy our book based on this passage right here on Amazon.)

Consider a farmer. Before he gets to enjoy his crop, he has to prepare the land, plant, weed, and water, monitor the growth of the plants to ensure the plants have all they need, wait until the harvest, then harvest before enjoying the fruit of his labor.

Now consider this passage of Scripture:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1Cor. 9:24-27)

Here on, I want to outline several routines that might as well have been part of the Proverbs 31 woman’s life from my reading of the Proverbs 31 Woman passage.

These will help us grow, developing the godly noble character that pleases God.

1. The Early-Rising Routine

In verse 15 of Proverbs 31, the Proverbs 31 Woman rises while it is still dark. I will write about this in-depth in an upcoming blog post when we get to that verse. (Verse 15) Look out for that post!

Nonetheless, let me address a few things about this routine.

Just like the Proverbs 31 Woman, rising early has been a game-changer for many a woman. I know this because I am one of “those” women.

A quick read through Proverbs 31 has caused many women to get intimidated by what this woman is capable of accomplishing each day. How is she able to do all that? I hear one woman muse.

Keep in mind though that she is a prototype; a model of sorts for us.

But because this passage is part of the holy scriptures, we know that God wants to teach us through Proverbs 31, the secret to a fruitful, productive life. One of the secrets is rising up early as a way of life.

The Proverbs 31 passage does not only reveal that she rises up early but we are also told how early: While it is still dark. (NIV) KJV renders it as While it is yet night.

Ever since I learned this secret, I have resorted to rising early with amazing results.

 

I recall what a relief it always was to have finished many mundane household tasks before our toddler then would rise up.

I will talk more about this in that blog post coming soon.

2. The Routine of the Intake of God’s Word

How did I get to know that consistent intake of God’s Word was part of the Proverbs 31 Woman’s routine?

Well, Proverbs 31:26 tells us that the Proverbs 31 Woman opens her mouth with wisdom and that the law of kindness is on her tongue.

Where did her wisdom come from?

The opening chapters of Proverbs reveal to us that wisdom comes from God.

When we read God’s Word further, we get to know that Christ is the wisdom of God. (1Cor. 1:24) We also get to understand that Jesus Christ has become wisdom for us from God. (1Cor. 1:30)

The Bible continues to reveal that Jesus is the Word of God. (John 1:1, Rev. 19:13)

Therefore, this woman’s wisdom must have come from a consistent intake of God’s Word.

Such wisdom doesn’t come from a casual observance of God’s law but constant feeding as it were, on God’s Word and obeying it.

How does this apply to us?

If we want to be full of wisdom, then we too must go to the very first source and fountain of all wisdom; the Lord Jesus Christ.

We then must constantly tap into God’s Word, the Bible, daily eating and drinking of it to our fill.

The more you fill yourself with God’s word and live it out, the more the Lord fills you with His wisdom as you ask him. (James 1:5)

The constant and consistent intake of God’s Word, from what we have just said, must have formed part of the Proverbs 31 woman’s daily rhythm.

*Bonus routine*:

I cannot quite say that the routine I’m about to mention was part of her routine. However, because of its value, I thought it wise not to exclude it at this point.

This is the discipline of Journaling.

Writing, especially when you intend to articulate what God is saying to you through his Word, has the invaluable benefit of not only clarifying and affirming the lessons you are learning, but you will also have captured them in a way that you have a reference point and pattern to refer to in case you have forgotten.

I will talk about journaling in a future post.

I like to write down what I hear the Lord saying to me as I read scripture. When I write it down, I find it easier to internalize and live it out in a practical way.

Previously, I would just read the Bible and not note down anything. The result was I would mostly forget what I had read.

Since I began journaling, I have been able to articulate what I am getting from God’s Word. Obeying God’s Word has come easier when I can tell not only what to obey but how to obey, simply because I wrote it down.

You may want to include journaling as part of your consistent Bible reading routine.

3. The Routine of Prayer

How would we know the Proverbs 31 Woman was a prayerful woman?

For one, the noble character that has been articulately captured in this chapter is impossible, humanly speaking, without the hand of God at work in this woman.

I know this because I am a woman, born of the seed of Adam, and very keenly aware that except for the work of God through his Son Jesus Christ in me, I have no capacity nor capability to do anyone good consistently, let alone a husband.

It’s the humility that comes with prayer, where you and I as women cry out to God for help, knowing how prone to sin we are, that God steps into the picture and helps us. He then does His eternal work of making us like Himself; to be consistent in doing good, all for His glory.

Remember, God gives grace to the humble.

Because we honor God, we honor his Word. The scriptures remind us countless times to pray.

God reminds us through his word to pray because he knows that we not only need His guidance in our everyday lives but also because there is something He is working in all of us; the kind of character described in Proverbs 31.

We understand that the prototype that is Proverbs 31 is only possible for the woman who gives herself to communion and fellowship with God in prayer and his Word.

4. The Routine of Fasting

In the Jewish culture, a culture that must have formed the context that the Proverbs 31 Woman was in, fasting formed part of their worship to God.

The Bible has several accounts of how God intervened because his people fasted. Fasting was hence both spontaneous, when divine intervention was needed swiftly, and also structured in that it was part of their calendar as it were, of their year.

Here is a classic example of Jesus communicating to his disciples albeit discreetly the value of fasting:

The disciples had without success tried to cast out a demon out of a boy.  Jesus finds them on the scene. He casts out the demon and the boy is set free.

The disciples privately ask Jesus why they couldn’t cast the demon out. He tells them that this kind can not go out except by prayer and fasting. (Mark. 9:14-29 KJV)

The immense benefits of fasting, including what God does in making me into the woman he wants me to be, are beyond what we will ever really know or measure here on earth.

I can attest to character flaws God has continued to deal with in my life, including what the Bible calls fits of rage because I have trusted God to embrace fasting as part of my worship to him; a command too from him.

I will talk about fasting in a future blog post.

Why would God choose such a difficult or an uncomfortable way to help us grow in character?

Fasting deals with the sinful nature that fans our appetites into flame. These appetites often hinder the work of God in us. Only as we fast can we have the strength and power to put to death the sinful nature.

No wonder Paul wrote these beautiful words to encourage us during our weak moments; moments that are common when we fast:

“…My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…” (2Cor.12:9)

5. The Routine of Exercise

The Proverbs 31 Woman girdeth her loins with strength and strengtheneth her arms. (Prov. 31:17) Verse 25 further says that strength and honor are her clothing.

We will look at verses 17 and 25 of Proverbs 31 in greater detail when we get to these verses soon.

The woman who mentored me some time back used to say that the work of handling a household is heavy and that we need women who are strong to do this.

How true I have found this to be as I run my household, and especially when you have any number of children!

Most women reading this have several modern conveniences. Most of what women in past generations used to do physically has now been automated.

Unless we become deliberate in engaging in a physical activity consistently, an activity that guarantees a healthy body, we might not be growing towards being like the Proverbs 31 Woman; as God would have us do.

Paul reminds us in 1Tim. 4:8 that physical training is of some value.

A wise woman wants to engage in some form of deliberate physical exercise that allows for physical training. This is so that she can have the physical strength to manage her household as God would have her do.

6. The Routine of Planning and Goal Setting

Let me reiterate that just looking at what the Proverbs 31 Woman does each day looks like what only a superwoman can do.

A closer look at the result of her laboring reveals one little factor: She couldn’t have accomplished it all in a single day!

Can you imagine this woman completing a quilt perhaps, in a day? Or would she have gathered the resources she needed to purchase land in a day? The answer is a definite no.

Don’t forget she is a prototype; a prototype though that we are looking up to pattern our lives after the will of God.

I, therefore, see a woman who had learned the discipline of keeping at something until she had completed it.

What better way to do this than to plan and set realistic goals each day to accomplish her tasks?

I have often too been awestruck by women who have accomplished so much in their lives, only to get a little peek into their lives. I realize that a lot of what they have done has been the result of goals they have set each day and worked towards accomplishing.

They may not always be perfect at accomplishing these goals each day because they are human, faced with the drawbacks common to man in our fallen world.

They however have risen, dust themselves, and kept at it. A season later, we have been simply amazed at what they have accomplished.

I remember committing to an hour or two of writing each morning before our children woke up. Two years later, I too was pleasantly surprised that I had 3 manuscripts of books, two of which have since been published and one is soon to be published.

A Woman of Noble Character, How Can I Become One? Was one of those books that’s available here for sale. It’s a book based on Proverbs 31.

In a time and season where most of us have been planned for most of our lives, right from school when the school timetable dictated what we should be doing each day and hour, we have to relearn the discipline and practice of goal setting and planning.

We have to determine through our communion with God what He wants us to accomplish, then come up with daily achievable goals that will help us accomplish what God wants us to do.

7. The Routine of Reading and Committing to Listen to Helpful Content

Let’s find out how the routine of reading and committing to listening to helpful content may have applied to the Proverbs 31 Woman.

The Proverbs 31 Woman has lots of skills. We see her negotiating for a piece of land that she bought. We see her sewing and making garments, garments that were so good that she sold them. We see her supplying sashes to merchants. Her trading is profitable as well.

Doing these things must have required skill. We get skills through learning, observation, and experience. The Proverbs 31 Woman must have therefore been a learner.

In her context, she might have learned from those who’d gone before her or the older godly women around her. She had to commit to learning to be proficient at what she was doing.

What can we, therefore, learn from this woman’s aptitude to learn and grow?

Committing to learning by reading and consuming content that would build us up and help us to grow in the skills we already have and to acquire others that are helpful in our context is one way we can emulate the Proverbs 31 Woman.

Seeking to structure our growth and learning in such a way that we will be lifelong learners is what routine and rhythm are all about.

I have had to structure my reading in such a way that I ensure I read a chapter of a book each day; sometimes less if a chapter is too long.

I have structured this into my program because being a mom of small children, that’s the best way I know I can read daily and consistently.

Does it mean I cannot carve out a huge chunk of time to read during vacation or a season of rest? I can. My emphasis here though is the daily consistent discipline of learning as a routine and rhythm.

What about learning a skill? In this digital era that we live in, it has become easier to learn a skill. Platforms such as YouTube, Google, and the like are now coming in handy for this.

Structuring your life such that you are learning from the older women as we are told in Titus 2:3-5, as well as committing to learning from those around you who can teach you a helpful skill for your life and or household will be very helpful.

I learned helpful skills such as working with beads, making mats, baking, and the like from those God strategically positioned around me, including my mom as I was growing up.

Commit to being a lifelong learner. Be teachable. Let this learning be part of your daily routine and rhythm. That way, you will keep learning and growing, to the glory of God.

I pray this has been helpful as you commit to growing to be the woman of noble character God wants you to be!

Recommended:

Why Rising up Early is Biblical: Tracking the Proverbs 31 Woman Series

7 Reasons Why you Need to Rise up Early: Tracking the Proverbs 31 Woman Series

The Most Misunderstood Verse in Proverbs 31: Tracking the Proverbs 31 Woman Series

Are there Cracks in your Spiritual Foundation? 4 Reasons Why your Spiritual Foundation is Weak

6 Components of our Spiritual Foundation

5 Ways to Know that your Spiritual Foundation is Weak

How to Pray for your Husband in the Will of God