Strength and dignity

Proverbs 31:25-26

Strength and dignity

are her clothing,

and she laughs at the

time to come.

She opens her mouth

with wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness

is on her tongue.

Momma had taught her well and there was no man, woman, or child who was gonna take from her what God had put into her.  She looked out the window of her home and saw the life that lay outside of it for what it was, a battlefield.  So many hurting.  So many dying. Everybody wanting. Wanting someone to see them, to hear them, to join them in whatever war it was they were fighting in.  All of them feeling justified.  All of them feeling right or wronged whichever the case may be.  

She wasn't interested in their wars.  

She was a warrior, that much was true, but what her eyes could see wasn't where her battle lay and she knew that.  Her armor wasn't worn against her skin but within her heart.  Her weapons were not made to harm, but to heal; to expose lies with truth and love.  (Lots of people do one but not the other.  Love without truth is enabling.  Truth without love is condemning.) To give comfort to the comfortless. To give dignity and grace to the disgraced.  To give strength to the weak.  To give back kindness in the face of hate. 

Yes, her Momma had taught her well. 

She had passed down the ways of the only kind of warrior who can bring peace wherever she goes, because she taught her who she was fighting for and against.  Her enemy wasn't the people who lay waste against each other in the streets, that would be too simple, too easy to be able to draw that line between"us" and "them".  Those lines are what lets the real enemy attack, because people stop looking for him and fighting against him.  They get too caught up in the chalk they hold onto while drawing line after line.  Then they forget who they are really fighting against and begin to fight over the line drawn out of chalk dust.  

She was given too much responsibility and authority just to spend it fighting over dust.

There at that window she sank to her knees, because she knew that is where the start of every victory begins.

It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

2 Samuel 22:33

dig·ni·ty
noun
the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.



A final word:
 Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able
to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies,
but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world,
against mighty powers in this dark world,
and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore,
put on every piece of God’s armor
so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.
Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
Stand your ground,
putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.
For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News
so that you will be fully prepared.
In addition to all of these,
hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
Put on salvation as your helmet,
and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.

Ephesians 6:10-18