"Should I call her, Dad?" That was a common question as our boys were teenagers. Like most boys their age, they were unsure of what kind of response they would get from a certain girl. I can remember at that same stage staring at the phone for 45 minutes and thinking of the most suave way possible to start that conversation. But when I heard her voice, I would just croak out this "hello." Now there were a couple of girls I just picked up the phone and called, no problemo. It was the same with my sons. There were these rare girls who just knew how to make a guy feel - well, safe.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Woman Power."
God has no more inspiring description of a real woman than the beautiful portrait He provides in Proverbs 31. She is described in phrases such as these; "noble character...she is worth far more than rubies...her children arise and call her blessed...her husband, he praises her." What is this woman's secret?
Part of that secret is found in our word for today. Proverbs 31:11 - "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value." This man is a rich man because he has found a woman he can totally trust. He feels safe with her. There is something priceless and all too rare about a woman who has the ability to make a man feel safe.
We men need that. In just about every life-arena, we're evaluated based on performance - athletic prowess, macho image, career success, always having things under control. The problem is that men just tend to continue this performance thing in their relationships with women, always feeling they have to be strong, together, right, winning. Until a Proverbs 31 woman comes along, a woman with whom he can share his secrets and know they will never be violated, a woman with whom he can risk being scared, frustrated, weak, unsure.
Every man needs a woman who will love the little boy inside. The man seems so self-assured on the outside; the boy inside is more self-conscious, not all that confident. What he doesn't need is a woman who is his constant critic, or nag, or competitor.
The truth is that men can be very lonely people with relationships that are mostly superficial. But God raises up a special breed of women who are able to give a man a harbor, a mother who makes her son feels safe; a wife, her husband; a teacher who builds the confidence of the boy in her class; the woman who is not hunting men or chasing men or using men - but who wants to minister acceptance and security to the men in her world.
And what's the secret of being that kind of woman? Proverbs 31:30 says, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." This is a woman who brings her needs to the Lord. She feels safe with the Lord so she can gently, consistently provide the safe harbor a man so desperately needs. She's the kind of woman you don't have to impress, that you can call on anytime! She is God's instrument to bring out the best in a man!