Summer Study with my Girls III

Today we looked at Proverbs 31: 13-14

13-She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

14- She is like the merchants ships; she bringeth her food from afar.



Did you notice that the Lord used the word willingly? He could have just said "and worketh with her hands" but He added the word willingly. I asked the girls what they thought the word 'willingly' means. Elisabeth said that it means when you work, you want to do it! I thought that was a great definition...wanting. We should want and desire to do the tasks that He would have us to do. God wants us to have a willing heart and attitude when we do the things we're supposed to.
We discussed three of the benefits to working "willingly"

1. When we work willingly we get to Glorify God and serve Him! How amazing! The God who created the whole universe will let us glorify Him just by simply being obedient and willing.

2. When we work willingly we will be a good example to others.
I told the girls to picture Brenna waking up in the morning to her chore (this week she's Chore A, so she must do dishes all week for breakfast) and she finds lots and lots of dirty dishes. They are piled high to the ceiling. Joshua wakes us to his chore (he's Chore B this week and must clean the bathroom) and the bathroom trash is full and there are lots of dirty towels in the tub and the room is just filthy. If Brenna responds with an attitude that says, "Oh! How I hate doing dishes. There's way to many! Why didn't we use paper plates! I hate doing dishes!" There's a good chance Josh will react to his chore in the same way. But, if she choses to do her work willingly as unto the Lord, there's a good chance that Josh will look at his chore with a better attitude too. What power of influence we have!

3. When we work willingly we will have joy in our hearts. Back to that huge pile of dirty dishes. If Brenna reacts with a bad attitude and is grumpy about her chore, she'll probably still be grumpy when she's finished. But if she looks at her chore as a way to be obedient and please the Lord, and she works willingly (She may be singing a scripture song while she works, or thinking of plans for the day, or even thanking the Lord for the meal we were able to eat on those dirty dishes!) when she has finished the dishes she will have joy in her heart. (And I'm sure her chore will go faster, too!)

Of course, we don't always jump for joy at our chores and daily tasks. But, we can, with the Lord's help, desire to do these things and do them with a willing heart.

Our assignments for this week:
Memorize Proverbs 31: 13, 14
Look at your daily tasks with the reminder of the 3 benefits we can have with a willing heart.