The Excellent Wife

Lesson 21 " Home - The Wife's Domain"

Part Two: A Worker at Home

The following is a summary adaptation of material from "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace. Used by permission.

Last week we learned that a wife's home is her domain (or calling). From scripture, we see that God intended for the wife to be a keeper at home. It's her responsibility/obligation to be a worker at home.The wife is to maintain an orderly and organized home as much as it is possible for her to do so. I believe that whatever God has for you to do, He has already equipped you with the necessary tools to perform it.

Today's lesson goes hand-in-hand with last weeks lesson. Now that we are able to see what our role is in the home, we have to put to action what we know. Being a worker means that I as the wife take on the role of caring for the needs of those in my home. To do this, I must make a conscience effort to put off the old unproductive habits, and to put on the new productive habits as taught from Gods Word.

The wife must be careful to be efficient and not waste her time. She mustn't be lazy. Websters New World Dictionary describes lazy as: "A person who is not eager nor willing to work. Not willing to exert (apply) oneself." Laziness is also similar to being slothful, slack, negligent, apathetic (a non-caring attitude), inactive, neglectful and full of procrastination. Reread over these descriptions and carefully ask the Lord to reveal to you any area where you need His deliverance. Personally, I see several attitudes or conditions here, where I can definitely say I have been guilty of lingering in. When we waste the time God has given us, we are guilty of sin. It's not our time to do as we please, we are to do as God wills for us to do, making the most of our time because the days are evil. The time we waste can never be recovered. Think about it.

That's why it's so important for you to commit your day/time to the Lord. God is concerned about all of your needs. He wants to help you in planning your day. He must be your top priority, and you must ask Him to order your day.

God has placed you in the home for a specific reason. It's not so that you become a burden to your husband, but rather his helpmeet. You as His wife are to help carry the load in the role that God designed you to be in. God has blessed the wife with so many talents and skill. She is to glorify God by using the gifts He's given to her to serve her family faithfully, relying on Gods grace to support her.

If you have become self-indulgent, lazy, not using your time wisely, substituting television, sleep, etc., for your duties as a worker in the home, then you need to repent! Again, It is a sin to waste Gods time. Let's look at Ephesians 5:15-16, where Paul is speaking about the believers walk as a child of God:

"See then that ye walk circumspectly , not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

The word circumspectly has the same meaning as the words careful, watchful, guarded, and mindful. The word redeeming has the same meaning as the words safeguarding, and protective. So the wise wife is careful of how she manages her day. She's mindful of the time that she has been given by God, so that she doesn't waste it on unnecessary things. She safeguards the time allotted to her and is protective of it, because she wants to use it in the manner in which God will be pleased.

Time is a gift given to you by God. It is misspent and lost when it's not employed according to His design. With Gods help, we can turn to Him and ask for His forgiveness. If you have a repentant heart, the Lord will not turn you away. A repentant heart means that you acknowledge your sin and are willing to turn from it and turn to God. God offers you this promise in I John 1:9, that He will forgive you of your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. What a loving Father our Lord is! With the Holy Spirits assistance, you can become self-disciplined in your daily duties.

Next week, Part Three of Home - The Wife's Domain will continue. We will look at "The Characteristics of a Lazy Person versus those of a Self-Disciplined Person." We will consider the truth of the matter as seen in the book of Proverbs.

As I close, I'd like to leave with you this truth from Gods Holy Word:

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we possess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:13 (NIV)

The Lord remains faithful to all of His promises. It's important to let every fruit of righteousness become perfect unto full maturity within us.

"I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5

Taken from "The Excellent Wife " by Martha Peace, pp 74-75. Copyright 1999, Focus Publishing, Bemidji, Minnesota. Used with permission for the purposes of this devotional series only. May not be reproduced or forwarded without the express consent of the publisher.