The girl we all want to be. The girl who wakes up early, who is on fire for God, who is not anxious but trusts the Lord. The girl who works out and treats her body like a temple.
But what if I told you that you don't just wake up, turn on a switch, and suddenly become this woman of God? Maybe you're feeling like it's something that isn't attainable for you. Listen, we can all become women of God.
Proverbs 31 women live their lives with diligence, faithfulness, and intentionality. And today I'm sharing with you the seven habits that will be an absolute gamecher when it comes to growing closer to God and becoming the woman of God he created you to be. Using scripture and research to back it up.
Hello y'all. If you're new here, welcome to my channel. My name is Ashley.
I have a faith-based series here called The Holy Girl Diaries where I encourage you to grow closer to God and become the best version of yourself in him. I love Jesus so much and I live my life every day to honor him. However, this was not always the case.
I spent years of my Christian journey being lukewarm, going to the bars on Saturday nights and then scrubbing the stamps off my hands before going to church in the mornings. I have taken steps towards God and then taken a million steps backwards. I have dealt with temptation and I have struggled to hear his voice and I hope to share my journey with you so you can live a life where you are on fire for God and your healthiest and most joyful self.
If that sounds like you, know that we are on this journey together. Make sure to click subscribe so you can join the fam and so you don't miss another video. Habit number one, the wakeup.
A woman of God wakes up before the sun rises. Proverbs 31:15 says, "She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day's work for her serving girls. " I think this is part of being a woman of God that we all want to just like act like it's not in the Bible.
For so long, I was the girl who would wake up 5 minutes before class in college, run to class late with a granola bar in my hand. I just considered myself to be not a morning person. But when I became a Jesus follower, I learned about the Proverbs 31 woman and I was like, hm, this girl wakes up early.
And I also found that I wanted to get into reading the Bible in the morning, but I just like didn't have time to do that throughout my day. So, I thought that it would be better to read it in the morning, but I just was struggling to wake up. Here is what you need to know.
You can become a woman who wakes up at 5 or 6:00 a. m. It is a limiting belief where you believe that you're just not a morning person.
If you speak that over yourself again and again and again, it is going to be very, very hard for you to step into your era where you are waking up while it is still dark out. You can be that woman who wakes up early, who is responsible, who is faithful. You can be that woman.
There are so many benefits that come from waking up early. For example, more time to exercise, more time to get things done. You can actually make yourself a healthy breakfast versus opting for a granola bar that you just run out the door with.
Research says that people who tend to sleep and wake up later are more likely to experience anxiety and depression than those who sleep and wake up earlier. But as much as these benefits are, I think the biggest benefit to waking up early is being able to spend time with God. And that brings me to habit number two.
Put God first. I used to be the queen of putting other things before my Bible. My Bible collected dust on a shelf and I just always thought that it would be too intimidating or too difficult for me to read.
And so in the morning I would read like a fun little poetry book or I would listen to a podcast. But I realized that if I really wanted to become this woman of God, I needed to put spending time with God as my first priority. Proverbs 31:30 says, "Charmm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
" You can become a woman of God who puts the Lord first at the beginning of her day through prayer and Bible study. Developing a heart that fears and trusts the Lord. If you want to become like someone, you need to spend time with them.
So, if we want to become more like Jesus and really step into these women that he created us to be, we got to spend time with Jesus. So many people ask me, they're like, "How do I stay on fire for God? " Fan the flame of your faith by reading the word of God, by praying, maybe even fasting, just doing these spiritual disciplines that are going to draw you closer to the heart of God, knowing his will and his plan for you.
If you don't have a Bible plan, I have a Bible study community where I give you a Bible study to read every single day so you never have to wonder what to read. And I also provide you with a community where we do weekly live Zoom calls. And there's a whole group of girls who are also pursuing Jesus.
So, if you're tired of not knowing what to read in the morning and you also want a good community that is going to push you closer to God, then you can join us in the link in my description in the tree. We will welcome you with open arms. And if reading the Bible is too intimidating for you, I recommend that you read my devotional, The Joy of the Inet.
I have scriptures at every single day. So many of you guys have told me how much this devotional has blessed your life and it can be a really great way to spend time with God in the mornings that isn't overwhelming. You can find that devotional attached to this video right down below.
And before we move on to the next habit, this also includes putting him first when it comes to temptation. When I was in my lukewarm era, which basically means I was one foot in the world and one foot in my faith, I was partying a ton, doing things with guys I shouldn't have been doing. It's kind of like if you have a husband that you absolutely love.
You make all these vows to your husband and you love your husband and you're like willing to, you know, do anything for your husband, but then sometimes you entertain things with other guys even though you love your husband. That was like me with my relationship with God. I had pledged myself to him.
I pledged my life to him. I had said, "I want you and nothing else. " And then I was like, "M, but I can go get drunk.
" But I can go do this with this guy, even though you blatantly tell me in your word that I shouldn't be doing that. Okay. I was literally cheating on God.
Being lukewarm is like cheating on God. No one wants to say it. When we have temptation that comes in our way, you've got to look at it and say, "Doing this is not going to help me grow closer to God, and that is my goal.
" So that means I'm going to get as far away from this temptation as I physically can. If that means that you take a break from that group of friends that always leads you to do something stupid or to gossip about someone, if that means you don't even go to the bars because you know if you step in there, you're going to take all these shots. It's just going to happen.
And one of the biggest things that's helped me with resisting temptation, it's praying that the Lord will give me the strength, resisting that temptation, removing myself from that situation, and then speaking the word of God over myself. When temptation or peer pressure comes, make the decision of the woman that you want to be to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. And you want to become a woman of God.
There are things that women of God just do not do. So, you're not going to do it either. It's worth it to stand out for Christ.
It's worth it to be weird for him, even if you're the only person not partaking in something. The more that you prioritize the things of God, the closer you will be to God. Habit number three, work hard.
You can become a woman who works hard and is never lazy. Proverbs 31:17 says, "She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure her dealings are profitable.
Her lamp burns late into the night. It blatantly describes Proverbs 31 woman to be someone who is not lazy. We can look at that as inspo for putting in the effort when we don't want to.
You know, if we need to finish a project, it's crunch time. Like, we're going to sacrifice. We're going to wake up early.
We're going to get it done. You have been given gifts by God. And the Lord does not want you to let those go to waste.
Even if you are a mom, you can even apply that work ethic in your leadership over your home. And if you're like, okay, I kind of want to do a side hustle. I kind of want to have a hobby.
I want to have something that supports my family. P31 was doing that. She was contributing to the home.
So you can consider like what is something that I can do that would actually help provide for my future family. And also this just comes down to serving others. Like serving others is hard work.
The Proverbs 31 woman served her family. She served the poor. She served those around her.
She was a good steward of her home. If you're waiting for your man of God, if you're waiting for your husband, like you can in this season love the people around you and love the family around you by even making meals for them by serving them. How can we expect God to bless us with our future husbands if we're not even blessing those that are in our home right now?
You can love the family that God has given you right now while you wait for God to give you your future family. Habit number four, pray instead of worry. You can become a woman who doesn't fear the future but ultimately trusts the Lord.
I love Proverbs 31:25. It says, "She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. " Before really going allin in my relationship with Jesus, I was always anxious about something.
Like I was always worrying about something. And it wasn't until I really discovered the power of prayer that completely freed me from my anxiety. The Bible continually tells us to pray instead of worry.
It says in 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. " God tells us to cast our anxieties on him. Whatever it is we are nervous about, he says all the time in his word, "Do not fear, but trust me.
" It also says in Philippians 4:6, "If any of you are anxious about anything, present your requests to God with thanksgiving, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. " I want you to think about it. Whenever you have a worry or anxiety, you need to just throw it to God.
And if it comes back, you throw it back. When you are stressing out about something, you have the control. When you pray and you give it to God and you say, "God, I need your help with this.
" God has the control. Research suggests that people who pray may experience a reduction in worry and anxiety potentially due to the calming effect of prayer and the sense of connection and support it can provide. Research even backs up why prayer is good for you.
As for me, a way that I'm practically doing this is fears will pop into my head throughout the day. I'm a normal person. Like what if an earthquake comes to California?
What if I never get married? What if my husband never shows up? What I have to do is I have to say, "Okay, God, I'm not going to worry about this.
I'm going to throw this on you. God, I pray that you keep me safe no matter what happens in California. " I'm like, "Okay, I don't have to worry about this because God has it.
" Habit number five, the words you speak. You can become a woman of love and kindness who speaks with wisdom and gentleness and ultimately has incredible character. Proverbs 31:26 says, "When she speaks, her words are wise and she gives instructions with kindness.
" Your girl used to have a potty mouth. It's just the truth. And I realized over the years that class doesn't cuss.
If you want to be a classy lady, you are not going to have profanity in your vocabulary. And some people might be like, "Oh, well, like Christians can cuss. It's fine.
Christian, I love Jesus, but I cuss little. " Like some people say that. Whenever I hear that, I think about James 3:10.
It says, "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. " My brothers, these things ought not to be. So God wants the words that we say to bring blessing.
And he doesn't want there to be like some blessing and then a little bit of cursing. Like he wants it to be all blessing. It doesn't bless those around you for you to be cursing.
It doesn't bless those around you to be gossiping. It doesn't bless those around you to use the mouth and to use the words that God is giving you to say in a way that will not benefit those who hear. This woman of God, she spoke with intentionality.
She was kind. She was gentle. She used her words with purpose.
And so we can really model after her when it comes to how we speak and the words that we say. Habit number six, get stronger. You can become a woman who is strong and you can be strong in your body, in your mind, and in your soul.
You can actually exercise and stay in good health. Proverbs 31:14-15 says, "She is like a merchants's ship bringing her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household.
" I'm going to bring this back to Proverbs 31:25. She is clothed with strength and dignity. It specifically says strength.
And then let's just go back to Proverbs 31:17. It says she is energetic and strong. It continually refers to P31 being a woman of strength.
And I believe that wasn't just about her being strong in character and her being strong spiritually, but also her being strong physically. She wasn't afraid to roll her sleeves up and get to work. It is so clear how many benefits there are to regularly exercising.
Just a few benefits are improving cardiovascular health, reducing the risk of chronic disease, strengthening bones and muscles, improves balance and coordination, boosts energy levels, reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, promotes better sleep quality. These are just a few of countless benefits that come from working out regularly. And it's just so clear that God made our bodies to move.
In this day and age, a lot of us, we sit at computers all day and we're not actually physically getting up. And this can be very detrimental to our health. You can be like the strong woman of God and you can go to the gym and you can commit to a workout plan.
I know you might be saying, "Well, Ashley, I don't think that's possible for me. I'm just not someone who likes the gym. " Y'all, I've been working out at the gym for around seven years now, and there are still days where I'm like, I don't want to be here.
I don't feel strong. I don't want to lift this weight. But I commit to it anyway because I know that in the long haul, it is going to be so good for me to show up and get stronger at the gym.
But what I recommend you do is start small. If you're just starting out with working out, commit to a plan that is reasonable for you. Maybe that's you want to do three walks a week outside.
It's 20 minute walks. Maybe you want to commit to three 20 minute YouTube exercise videos. Whatever it is, make a realistic workout plan for you and just commit to showing up even on the days you don't feel like it.
And also, you can learn how to cook healthy recipes for yourself. And if you're single, you can even learn how to make recipes that will bless your future man. I used to think that I needed to have a boyfriend to learn how to cook a steak.
And I realized I didn't need to wait to learn how to cook a steak. I could learn how to cook a steak right now. And if you are so clueless when it comes to eating healthy foods that are also yummy and easy to make, I have a cookbook called Holy and Whole that you can get in the description below.
I have over 60 easy, healthy, and yummy recipes that you can learn how to make in your everyday life. Habit number seven, you can become a woman who shows up in her best dress and ultimately takes good care of herself. Proverbs 31:22 says, "She makes her own bedspreads.
She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. " I totally should have worn a purple gown for this video, but I love how the scripture included what homeg girl wears. We could have read Proverbs 31 without actually knowing what she wears.
Like, if that wasn't important for God to include, he wouldn't have included it in his word. But there's something about when a woman who loves Jesus so much has like such a cute, classy, modest outfit, you like look at that woman, you're like, "That is the kind of woman that I want to be. " When you dress like the royalty that you are, you show up in a way that not only looks good, but makes your heavenly father look good.
Because ultimately, we are made in his image. If we were to wear a trash bag every day, never comb our hair, never shower, how much glory would that give to God? When we show up and we look presentable, and we have an outfit on that is respectable and is giving royalty, it turns heads.
That doesn't just turn heads to you. It turns heads to the Lord, to the one who created you. Esther didn't have to be getting ready for the king for an entire year.
But she did because she was looking presentable for the king. And ultimately she had favor with the king and because she had favor with the king. God had favor with the king.
And when Esther asked for the entire Jews to be freed, the king was like, "Yeah. " It was the way that Esther presented herself. She was a woman of character.
She was a woman of dignity. She's a woman of modesty. And the way that she presented herself gave glory to God.
And it gave her favor with people. And ultimately, it made people look at God. I have another video on how to dress as a woman of God that you guys can watch that I'll link right here.
But ultimately, this woman of God dressed like the royalty that she is. And even if you are not married, like you are royalty, not because you have a ring on your finger, but because you're a daughter of the king. Now, all of these habits are amazing, but what if you don't know how to implement them in your daily routine?
If that's you, you might want to watch this video here or this video that's been handpicked for you specifically based on what you're interested in. And if you enjoy this video and want to be a part of the fam, subscribe by clicking here so you don't miss another episode. And make sure to follow along on my Instagram for more content just like this.
Thank you guys so much for watching. I love y'all so much. And just remember, Jesus loves you more.
