Digging into Proverbs 31:15 – A Hard-Working, Diligent Heart

“She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.” Proverbs 31:15

How many of you after reading this verse just got a little more tired thinking about waking up earlier than you already do? I am a night owl, and thinking about getting up early… like before 7… makes me feel exhausted! I can do okay running on six or seven hours of sleep. But I can’t imagine going to sleep at 1 a.m. and waking up at 5. No thank you! But I have good news for you (and me…yay!). This verse is steering us toward a principle that is mentioned over and over and over again in the rest of Proverbs. So we’re going to look at what that principle is, what it means to have a hard-working and diligent heart that doesn’t require us losing more and more sleep, and how this verse relates to us as Proverbs 31 women today.

Don’t get exhausted just yet!

“She rises while it is yet night” makes it sound like this Proverbs 31 woman woke up at 3 a.m. to go cook food for her entire household. Many scholars have concluded that the woman talked about in this passage was most likely a woman of hierarchical importance. And that is very apparent in this verse as we see she has maidens (servants, paid helpers around the house). Can you imagine waking up super early to cook for not just a family of 4, but for 10-20 people? No wonder she has to wake up early, right?

But, thank the Lord, this is not exactly what this verse is meaning. God isn’t saying that this is a standard or expectation we must meet, waking up before sunrise and cooking in the kitchen every morning. Let’s look at some other passages to get a deeper insight into what God is pointing out here.

The principle here: warnings against laziness

If you were to sit down and read all of Proverbs in one go today, you’d see a lot of repetition of many tid-bits of wisdom. One in particular is the warning against laziness, slothfulness, and sluggardness. Over and over again, the author of Proverbs relates laziness to sleeping. Here’s some examples:

Proverbs 20:13 – “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty. Open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.”

Proverbs 19:15 – “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep and an idle person will suffer hunger.”

Proverbs 6:9-11 – “How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”

Do you see how each verse relates laziness and idleness to sleeping? Can you see the connection between these verses and Proverbs 31:15?

You don’t have to lose sleep to be a hard-working, diligent woman

God is pointing out to us that we need to be women who work hard, who are diligent in life. This doesn’t mean that we need to be losing sleep in order to accomplish this. Remember, God designed us to need rest and provided us time to do so. But that rest is something we can abuse. It’s easy to neglect doing the laundry or dishes and instead choose to lay on the couch all day watching Netflix. Being lazy is tempting. But its consequences are great.

A hard-working, diligent heart

So what characteristics do we see here in the verse about being a Proverbs 31 woman with a hard-working, diligent heart? What can we glean from the Proverbs 31 woman to apply in our own life? 

First, we see that she is not idle.

She’s choosing to not sleep – in this sense, choosing not to be lazy – for the sake of taking care of her household. She understands that there is wisdom in being diligent. She knows that if she were to do what she wants all day, her family and household wouldn’t be provided for. We should not be idle either. That doesn’t mean working 24/7, never getting any sleep. But it means choosing to serve others instead of doing what we would rather do. It means taking care of what God has given you instead of neglecting it for the sake of you staying in bed all day.

Second, we see that she takes care of her household well.

Look back up a few verses to verse 11. Her husband trusts her. He’s trusting her to take care of his household. And because of her fear in the Lord, her heart’s desire is to take care of what he’s entrusted to her well. Regardless of whether you’re married or not, we need to be taking care of our household (the things God has blessed us with) because we have been entrusted with it. We should, as a result of our faith in Christ, want to take care of our household.

Third, we see that her diligent heart has made her prepared.

She is prepared to provide food for her family. She’s not lazily trying to scrounge something up last minute out of a lack of care for those in her house. This doesn’t mean there won’t be times when we can’t think of anything for dinner or forget to take something out to prepare for dinner. Remember, it’s the heart attitude behind her and our diligence.

How does the Proverbs 31 woman’s hard-working heart relate to fearing the Lord?

God doesn’t call us to be idle, but to work for Him with all our heart. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men… You are serving the Lord Christ.” He wants us to serve others. Because of our faith, fear, love, and hope in Christ, we serve Him in obedience by serving others in the capacity He has called us to (mamas, military wives, youth leaders, wives, grandmas, roommates, etc.). And in doing so, we are serving Him. 

God created us to work (Genesis 2:15). He didn’t create us to be idle or lazy. Since the beginning of time, He has given us things to work for and work on. Even now, God has created you to work, whether that’s taking care of children and/or a husband, working at an office, running your own business, cleaning the house, or doing laundry. And from our work, God blesses us. Have you ever experienced the satisfaction from your hard work??? That is from God! Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 & 13 says, “I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time… also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil – this is God’s gift to man.” It is a blessing to work. And from it God provides.

Out of obedience to the Lord, we choose to work hard rather than remain in a constant state of idleness. 

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You know where God has called you to work for Him. You know how you need to be diligent as a result of your faith and desire to take care of what He’s given you. It’s okay to need rest. It’s okay to sleep in every once in a while. It’s okay to stop at the drive thru on some nights. It’s okay to receive help from your husband, your mom, or your friends. It’s okay to sit on the couch after a long day. We aren’t perfect. But we can be Proverbs 31 women who work hard in obedience to the Lord, serving Him by serving others.

During the pandemic right now, you may be feeling lazy as you’re running out of things to do at home. That’s okay too! Use some of that time to catch up on things you haven’t been able to work on. Things like projects you’ve wanted to start, spring cleaning, or even sleep (if you need a nap, take one!). Or you can use some of that time to pray, read your Bible, catch up on your Bible study, or do some Bible art/lettering.

(To view other in-depth Proverbs 31 verses, click here!)