Great Because I Am

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Bible study at our church for the summer session. We were looking over Proverbs 31. You know, that passage. The one about the “perfect” woman.

It was such a great discussion. And it was also a hard one. That Proverbs 31 woman! She seems untouchable. And in my mind, if I’m being honest, a little out of touch. My first thought when I hear “Proverbs 31 woman” is a woman that I actually don’t want to be.

But, then I actually read the passage. I know. I shouldn’t have such harsh criticisms of a Proverbs 31 woman when I’m not totally familiar with the passage. But I’ve never been interested. I’ve always been a woman who wants to be wild about the Creator, unchained by one passage in scripture. I wanted the entirety of the Bible to be my cornerstone. And I also have a lot of pride. So really, I should blame myself for being against a Proverbs 31 mindset and no one else.

Here’s what I want to describe me: a woman after God. A woman who knows she is great because she knows who is the Greatest. A woman who has the characteristics of a Proverbs 31 woman but isn’t bound by them. A woman who knows God is limitless, even when it comes to His word. 

It’s easy to feel less than when you read the chapter. The enemy works hard to make me feel that way. But here’s what I know is truth:  I already am a Proverbs 31 woman. I already am the good and worthy things described because the same God who made that woman made me. The same Jesus died for me. The same power of Christ is in me just as it is in her.

So maybe I’ll stop thinking of it as a list of requirements to be holy. I already am, because He says I am, His blood covers me. I’ll consider myself equal to her. I’ll consider that I have all the qualities of that woman within me, even if they are displayed differently. I can’t be the same as all women who ever were, are, or will be. I am me. Great because I am.