Guard & Cherish A Treasure

A good woman is hard to find,

and worth far more than diamonds.

Her husband trusts her without reserve,

and never has reason to regret it.

Never spiteful, she treats him generously

all her life long. – Proverbs 31:10-12

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, 

because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced 

that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. 2 Tim 1:12

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23 

My favorite day of the week is hands down Saturday. It’s the only day during the week that I can get up when I want, and not have to go anywhere unless I want to. This past Saturday I woke up a tad earlier than I normally do and decided that I wanted to curl up on the couch, drink coffee and watch a movie.  Then came the decision…what to watch? I decided on Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest. The reason was that there was a scene from that movie that had been playing like a broken record in my mind for the last few days.  The scene was something along these lines: Jack Sparrow and Captain Norington finally find the place where they think the chest of Davy Jones is. After lots of digging of Captain Norington’s part, they finally hit something and pull from the sand a large treasure chest.

I grabbed my coffee and put in the movie and pretty much from the beginning I saw why that was the scene that had been playing in my mind. In a nutshell Davy Jones had “literally” put his heart in a treasure chest, and hidden it. He alone had the key to his heart, and if you had his heart you could control him. So naturally he didn’t want anyone to have it. Makes since. Now, why tell you all that? Good question. For the last few weeks God has been teaching me a lot about guarding, and cherishing a treasure. It came on the heels of a conversation I had with a friend who simply was telling me, in love, to make sure I was “guarding my heart” in a situation. I so hope you have friends in your life that can sit you down and pull your head from the clouds and help put your feet back on the ground, and remind you of the most basic things, things you know, but sometimes in the moment need to remember; like “guard your heart.” Then as I was studying to teach the opening lesson on the book of Jude for the Pillars Girls Bible Study the word “guard” jumped off the page.

The word “guard” is a word picture of a watchman on a castle wall looking to see what is coming in and what is going out. In that particular lesson it was referring to the Gospel, and do we cherish the Gospel in such a way that we cherish it and realizes the message that has been entrusted to us to share and are we going to stand on guard and be on alert for false prophets, but the same word picture applies when you read Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart for out of it flows the wellspring of life.” 

This is where the clip from Pirates ties in…just go with me here for a minute with this analogy: Your heart is a treasure. Proverbs 31:10 says “A good woman is hard to find she worth far more than rubies,” she is a treasure. She is rare. She is not thrown around on the beach for everyone to touch. She has guarded her heart because he knows her worth and value in Christ. She knows she is a treasure worth finding out and cherishing and will not just give away such a treasure to anyone who wants it. A woman who knows her worth and value is in Christ alone, and that Jesus Christ alone gives her purpose, identity, confidence, security, and significance that kind of woman is hard to find and when you find her she is a treasure worth keeping, cherishing, and protecting.

Also, in that same chapter, Proverbs 31, in verse 11-12 it says “Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it. Never spiteful, she treats him generously all her life long” (emphasis mine). She is a woman who not only guards her heart, but she has been faithful to her husband all of her life. That “all of her life” phrase is translated to mean: yesterday, today, tomorrow, a lifetime. She has been preparing all her life for this man.

Back in the day the Ancient Hebrew Bridegrooms went to prepare a place for their bride and when it was finished he would come get her. But, the bride did not know when he was coming so she had to have her garments ready for when he would come...she had to be watching and alert to see when he was coming because as soon as he was done he was coming for her and she better be ready. 

The ancient Hebrew brides would prepare long before the man ever walked into their life to be a wife that was suitable for him. To have herself ready for when he did come through the door. Proverbs is saying that kind of woman…she is a rare find; a treasure to be cherished.

Over just the last year the Lord has been opening doors for me to share my story…which is funny…because for the longest time I didn’t like telling my story of waiting. Somewhere along the way I had become embarrassed and at times ashamed of the desire in my heart to wait upon the Lord.  I had made the commitment when I was 18 years old that I would not get into a serious relationship until I knew it was the man I was going to marry. I was about a month shy of turning 19, and felt the Lord impressing on my heart to start praying for the man who would one day be my husband, and that I needed to start being faithful to him now…not just physically but prayerfully faithful. That was almost 7 years ago.  

Again, I am not sure of when it happened but somewhere along the line I became ashamed of my desire, but over the last year God has been restoring hope to my heart and faith and expectation that He had not for a second forgotten what was dear to me and that He not for one second ,even in all my doubting, tears and moments of unbelief did he ever not take care and guard the man he had for me. The Lord has little by little began to remind me that I am a treasure worth the pursuit of a godly man; that my heart has not been one that has been scattered all over the beach for every guy to grab. Have I had moments of heartbreak, ABSOULTY, but the Lord has sustained me, His grace has been sufficient in my weakness. The Lord has reminded me and shown me in so many ways, even through a movie, that I need to guard my heart, because it is a treasure. That the man he has for me has to seek it out, and be able to cherish it. What you cherish you will take care of and protect. 

I remember sitting out on my back porch one night praying through a situation that I was having a hard time trusting  God with at that moment, and the Holy Spirit pulled this verse out from the back recesses of my mind: Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.- (2 Tim 1:12)

Little by little the Lord has been helping me to not be ashamed on my desire. To not believe the lies of the enemy that girls cannot relate to my story. But, that there needs to be some balance. Yes, stories of people who have been pulled from the pit of alcohol, drugs, sex, and all manner of addiction are powerful stories and we need those. But, we also need some stories of people who by the grace of God alone didn’t take that path and in the strength of Christ alone waited. This is not a pat me on the back type thing, because believe me it’s a miracle I have the story I have in the area of relationships, because just based on statistics alone, because of my family history, and things I have gone through…my story should not be my story, but all the glory to God alone, it is. Jesus is my Redeemer—He is The Redeemer!

I am not ashamed of whom I have believed. It may seem crazy in our world today to hear about a girl who wants to wait on God for the man God has for her, but I know my God is faithful and is the author of romance and he has written a better love story than I could ever come up with on my best day. He has not for a second taken his hand of protection off the man he has chosen for me, and me for. Not for a second. Each day that I pray for the man that I will one day have the honor of calling my husband, every prayer I have ever prayed for him was not in vain. Each day I have woken up and made the choice to trust God with this desire of my heart he has not forgotten. If you are like me I tend to only think of the things I did wrong, times I didn’t trust, and the moments when I fell short, but God remembers the moments of faithfulness. It is not easy, but when I signed up to follow the Lord Jesus Christ I didn’t sign up for easy. But, never once have I ever missed out on anything because I was pursing Jesus with everything I had. Never once! I still get nervous when I share my story because I know that it is different, but I am encouraged and reminded, and pray that others girls who desire to wait on the Lord, will be encouraged as well that: a good woman is hard to find, She worth far more than diamonds. Do not be ashamed of whom you have believed but trust that not for a second has He forgotten what you have entrusted to him. He is able to guard it.  Do your husband good all the days of your life and allow the Lord to mold and shape you into the woman he has called you to be. It is not easy, but that kind of women is a rare find. You are a treasure. A relationship does not give you value and worth, Jesus does. Boys don’t create your beauty, Jesus does. If you haven’t waited there is grace and forgiveness and you can wait from this day forward on the Lord.  Do not be ashamed of whom you have believed, because he will be faithful.