Smiling at the Future

It is often said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  While the Bible has no pictorial illustrations, it repeatedly uses word pictures to paint a richer, fuller portrait of the thought being presented.  You can find one of these delightful word pictures in Proverbs 31:25.  Describing the excellent wife, whose worth is far above jewels (verse 10), it says, “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.”   I have always found this word picture quite interesting, and so have borrowed this phrase for the title of my blog.

Why is this woman smiling?  The key to this woman and all her admirable qualities is seen in verse 30,  where it says she fears the Lord.  Because she has a right understanding of who God is, and who she is, God is the focus of her attention.  She lives to please Him, not herself.  She has confidence in Him.  She trusts Him.  She can smile at the future.

She smiles at her eternal future.  Fearing the Lord describes a believer, someone who knows salvation from the Lord.  She can say, along with Paul in 2 Timothy 4:8, “In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

She can smile at the future in the midst of difficult circumstances.  She knows that God is in control.  She knows that He is at work in her life for her good.  The Israelites were taken into captivity in Babylon as judgment for their sin.  Yet God tells them in Jeremiah 29:11, “’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’”  Even in the midst of captivity, they could smile at the future.  No matter how difficult our circumstances, so can we.

She can smile at the future regarding the people in her life.  When you read Psalm 31:10-31, you will see this woman is totally devoted to her family.  She works hard to take care of them, to do nice things for them.   Yet she doesn’t worry about them.  In Psalm 37:1-8, we are told three times not to fret.  Instead we are to trust in the Lord, do good, cultivate faithfulness, delight yourself in the Lord, commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, rest in Him, wait patiently for Him.  The focus is on God, trusting in Him, and depending on Him.   We must do this with our family and the people in our lives.  Our sovereign Lord knows and cares about our loved ones much more than we do; we can be confident in Him.  We can smile at the future.

Like the Proverbs 31 woman, I have confidence in God.  I have seen Him work in my life, drawing me to Himself, growing me and changing me to be more like Christ, through good times and bad.  I have seen Him work in my family in amazing ways.  Because of Him, I am smiling at the future.  Are you?