I Want To Sing You a Love Song

It's the middle of the night and I should be sleeping, but I can't get the Proverbs 31 woman out of my head. I was thinking about all the trouble that woman has caused over the years – all the guilt felt by so many women for not measuring up to this picture of womanhood (partially because this is mentioned in the book Captivating). We try to justify our failure with excuses. "Yes, but she had servants." We try to gloss it over with religious ideas. "It's really all about her character. It's about the fear of the Lord, and the rest is just manifestations of the character that comes out of a relationship with the Lord." Well, yes and no. While both these statements may be somewhat true, both miss the point. And I think I am finally beginning to see why.

Proverbs 31 is not a description of the perfect woman that we were all meant to be. It is not a list of expectations or ideals. Rather, it is the description of one woman – a woman who fears the Lord, a woman who is praised. "A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." I am beginning to believe that this is the key to the passage. What if this passage were a love song? Not unlike Song of Songs, I think this is a hymn of praise, from a Lover to His beloved. Imagine reading a hymn of praise to God and then feeling guilty that we don't measure up! Talk about missing the point! The point is not that we are to be just like her, but that we are to allow ourselves to be loved the way that she is loved. We get so caught up in what we are going to sing to God that we so often miss what He wants to sing to us. I think what God is saying to me tonight is that He has a different love song – a hymn of praise – for me too, for each of us as a matter of fact. Do we dare ask Him to sing it? Go ahead. Enter into His presence, and ask for it, "Will you sing me my song?" It gives me chills, and I'm a little afraid (although I'm not sure why), and it feels a little scandalous somehow, but I'm going to do it. I hope you will too.