“A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.” Proverbs 12:4 NIV

For the purpose of this article, I will focus on the responsibilities of being a wife. We are to prioritize out relationship with our husband before our relationship with our children.

This is not implying that our children are any less important, but when we have a marriage that is standing firmly on the foundations of the Lord, in His love, the love that flows from this marriage will be like rivers of water running through our children, reaching their hearts and minds and setting an example of a solid, strong relationship. A relationship that is held together by Jesus, or as my son once commented about my husband and me, ‘It’s like there is a rope of Jesus that pulls you together.’

A Wife of Noble Character Encourages with her Words

As much as I am thankful to God for our son’s vision of his mum and dad, I am also aware that sometimes, by my own fleshly faults, I hinder the compassion and encouragement towards my husband with words of discouragement. I am challenged by the verse in Proverbs 12:4, in that “a wife of noble character is her husband’s crown”, because I know that I can be “the decay to his bones” through my words.

 Proverbs 12: 18 states, ” The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” I can certainly relate strongly to this proverb. Words can be painful, and yes, they can pierce like a sword. They can truly hurt. Harsh words are not from our perfect, compassionate, loving Heavenly Father.

Thankfully, we have a loving Father, who ministers to our hearts and points us in His direction, teaching us His wisdom so that our tongue can bring healing, instead of decay.

I picture a wound breaking down when I think of decay. It is unclean, infected, painful and has a strong odour. It makes you want to move away from it. Without the cleansing of Jesus, without his purity and outpouring of His righteousness in us, our marriages would continue to decay and the rope that my son speaks of would break. We would not be held together by his faithful love, a love that never fails. 

A Wife of Noble Character Walks Closely with Jesus

 Proverbs 12 is a proverb that speaks of the righteous. God gives us His righteousness, and as an outpouring of His Holy spirit. When we seek to follow the Lord’s steps each day, and the desires within our hearts are aligned with the His will, we are righteous in Him, through Him and for Him. Seeking to live through the righteousness of Jesus will allow us to bring encouraging and healing words to one another, protecting us from pain and anxiety in our marriage relationship.

Proverbs 12 also speaks of the repercussions of those who behave in wickedness. Many times, we will make sacrifices in our marriages, but sometimes we will resist the right choice and be tempted to choose what our flesh wants to go with. This can not only separate us from each other as husband and wife but put a barrier between our relationship with Jesus.

Thankfully Jesus has made the biggest sacrifice we will ever know, and through His forgiveness, we can learn to forgive one another. God’s word tells us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from unrighteousness, allowing us to walk in the light and have fellowship with Him, giving us a crown of His glory! We can be confident in the Lord’s promises. His faithful promises are our armour and protection. I hope and pray that you will be encouraged through this to walk closely in fellowship with Jesus as a wife of noble character.

Scriptures for Reflection:

• Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. John 15:4I
• Pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19
• Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, Thank you for your word, teach me your ways so that I can grow in knowledge and wisdom. I pray for my marriage, that you would strengthen it, and my husband and myself in your love and promises. I pray we would be of sound mind and that our words would be like a river of pure running water, and sweet like honey, encouraging each other and building one another up, glorifying you Lord. Let our hearts not be crippled by hatred or anxiety but be filled with your Holy Spirit, filled with light so that we can overcome darkness through you, and be united in you. Bind us together in your love Jesus, and let our children see you through our actions and words towards one another. Forgive us for any bitterness that we have in our hearts and set us free from our iniquity in your precious mercy and grace. May the Lord bless us and keep us and make His face shine upon us and be gracious to us, may the Lord turn his face toward us and give us peace. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Find more Wisdom in Proverbs for Moms devotions here.

Guest Blogger Bio.

Francesca Price is a wife, and a mother to three young children, who is passionate about kingdom writing, bringing the hope of Jesus. She writes to encourage in motherhood and family life with Faithful Steps. Francesca loves to read and review books. You can find out more about how she can write for you.