I don’t often take into consideration gems or speak about my desires. Nonetheless, just lately I had a gemstone dream so vivid that it appeared surprisingly vital. My pastor husband has challenged our church to write down down our desires and search God about them. So, when my gemstone dream lingered, I recorded it and requested God what it meant. Even now, I see the dream in my thoughts’s eye and listen to its message in my coronary heart. I finally shared this with the ladies of Vanguard Church, who overwhelmingly acquired the dream as a imaginative and prescient to be the radiant, stunning ladies God has created us to be. 

In my dream, my children and I had been touring a museum of nature, like one of many pure historical past museums in large cities. We had been trying on the rock displays, which have at all times been my favourite. I’ve been a rock hound since childhood, and I really like seeing the wonderful rocks and minerals that our Creator designed. 

Nonetheless, in my dream, as we went from exhibit to exhibit, one thing was very odd:  all of the magnificent rubies within the museum’s assortment had been fading. The curators, gemologists and tour guides had been completely perplexed. The rubies’ sensible pure magnificence, which hitherto had been fiery and breathtaking, was changing into boring. 

The children and I went from one show to the subsequent, and, in each case, the rubies had been lusterless, with pale shade and diminished shine. Everyone may see the phenomenon, however no person may clarify it. My household puzzled over the thriller together with everybody else strolling by means of the displays.

After which I woke up.

Looking for the Dream’s Significance

When the dream lingered, I requested God if it had significance. I additionally started to analysis what makes rubies boring. 

What I started to study is that not simply filth and dirt however extended direct warmth can boring a ruby. Rubies are naturally sensible, treasured gems, with a Mohs scale hardness of 9. But, apparently, if care shouldn’t be taken, the gemstone’s energy could be penetrated, its brilliance subdued and its magnificence misplaced.

As I contemplated this, the Lord jogged my memory of the basic verse, “Who can discover a virtuous lady? for her worth is way above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10 KJV). With that Scripture, He nudged my coronary heart that the dream was about extra than simply rock displays. He prompted my spirit that the rubies in my dream signify Christian ladies in our present occasions. 

Reality is, the extended warmth of the pandemic and societal change has not essentially introduced out extra godly luster and deeper brilliance. As a substitute, the excessive temperatures of ache and worry, turmoil and tragedy have too typically lessened our God-given radiance. What’s extra, the filth and dirt of dangerous habits, egocentric pursuits, ungodly pleasure and downright apathy have made many ladies who profess to know God virtually indistinguishable from those that don’t know Him.

All instructed, for a mix of causes, far too many Christian ladies have turn out to be boring of their religion, lackluster of their pursuit of Jesus, diminished of their service for Him and lessened of their effectiveness for the Gospel. 

There are innumerable not-valuable rocks on this world. Folks stroll on them, disregard and ignore them as a result of they’re commonplace. There are additionally, after all, numerous gemstone imitations, lab-created artificial rubies, and fairly however not tremendous spectacular garnets. 

Nonetheless, rubies don’t need to be this fashion! Rubies are intrinsically eye-catching, sensible beauties, glowing with deep, vivid, virtually “stoplight” crimson. Nothing compares to an actual ruby. They’re priceless, treasured and prized.

The Jewels in His Crown

My dream, for me, was a lapidary, gemologist name from God: “Who can discover a virtuous lady? for her worth is way above rubies.” The Hebrew phrase for “lady” on this verse is “ishshah,” which could be translated as lady, spouse or feminine. Whereas this phrase “ishshah” is often translated “spouse” on this verse, I admire the broader translation phrases that the KJV makes use of:  “Who can discover a virtuous lady?” King Lemuel’s mom taught him the traits of a virtuous lady, noting that such a girl is value even extra than stunning, extremely prized rubies. 

Lemuel wrote down what his mom taught him in what we all know as Proverbs 31, and plenty of Bible students assume that Lemuel was really King Solomon. So, maybe Solomon was nonetheless pondering his mom’s query “Who can discover a virtuous lady?” when he wrote, “What I’ve frequently sought, I’ve not discovered; I’ve discovered just one upright man amongst a thousand, however I’ve not discovered one upright lady amongst all of them” (Ecclesiastes 7:28 NET). 

It’s fairly clear from Scripture that Solomon was trying in all of the mistaken locations, however, as for at present, the rubies are right here. The uncommon, stunning gems of virtuous, godly ladies are throughout us. Scripture guarantees, “On that day the Lord their God will save them… for just like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land” (Zechariah 9:16). 

Oh ladies of God, you’re the jewels in His crown! 

And right here’s the factor:  godly ladies shine brilliantly once we put others earlier than ourselves. We radiate once we make our lives Kingdom-focussed as an alternative of self-centered. We sparkle with His dazzling brightness once we love Jesus first and others greater than ourselves. We’re eye-catching beauties once we don’t simply do “random” acts of kindness however once we are sort as a lifestyle. We glow with depth of shade and readability once we disciple the subsequent era God has entrusted to us.

Oh buddies, don’t let your magnificence be lessened or diminished. You belong to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! It doesn’t matter what the warmth of ache or battle you’re going by means of proper now, it doesn’t matter what disgrace out of your previous continues to attempt to cowl you with grime, it doesn’t matter what apathy is tempting you to be lackluster, don’t enable your self to be dulled by the warmth and strain of this world. Don’t let the warmth of turmoil and trial make you fade into the background of faithlessness. Don’t let the grime of sin and disgrace take away your luster. 

No extra boring, fading rubies! As a substitute, be the sensible, radiant virtuous ladies God created you to be!

You’re priceless, you’re treasured, and you’re a prize value way over rubies. So might you shine on this land, for His glory and the great of these He has entrusted to you.

Could such be so, amen!

Be inspired! Tosha ❤️