SHE STILL SPEAKS

This year I had the joy of meeting and serving alongside Liz Curtis Higgs at several women’s conferences. As the author of Bad Girls of the Bible, I knew instantly that she was a woman that I wanted to call my friend.  Not only is she a gifted speaker and Bible teacher, but also a woman of tremendous wisdom.  When I get to spend time with sweet Liz I make a point to sit beside her and ask her questions about life and ministry …each time I’m blown away by her depth of insight. We at RGM love nothing more than when one generation pours truth into the next. For this reason, we are thrilled to have Liz on our blog  as she shares pearls of wisdom with us for her new book, It is Good to be Queen.

When the queen of Sheba had a convo with King Solomon three thousand years ago, amazing things poured out of her mouth: honesty, humility, encouragement, and praise. It’s impressive.

Kinda like that famous woman in Proverbs who fills the air with wisdom whenever she speaks.

Look, I’m not intimidated by the fact that she “selects wool and flax and works with eager hands” (Proverbs 31:13) or “considers a field and buys it” (Proverbs 31:16). Every woman has her own unique set of skills, right?

But this business about the words she says? Oh my.

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:26

Right now I’m so under conviction, I almost can’t type.

See, I am a woman who speaks a lot—basically, from the moment I open my eyes until I finally close them at night. Hour by hour, I toss out my opinions, plans, advice, ideas, observations, random thoughts. If it’s on my mind, it’s on my lips.

I’m thinking I’m not alone in this. So, do we have anything worthwhile to say, or are we simply talking our way through life?

When our Proverbs 31 sister speaks, she offers something worth hearing. People gladly listen, knowing her words will be “like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

Most days, my words are like stale popcorn in a striped paper bag.

As a mother, the Proverbs 31 woman surely talked about what’s for dinner and whose turn it was to wash the dishes. As a queen, Sheba must have loved sharing her wisdom with her advisors. But the most important thing these women discussed was God’s loyalty, faithfulness, and loving-kindness, glorifying Him with their words.

For those of us with the gift of gab, this really is good news. We don’t have to stop talking (whew). We just need to carefully weave the truth of God’s love in and through our conversations as the Holy Spirit leads.

Of all the things the queen of Sheba said to King Solomon, this statement stands out: “Praise be to the Lord your God” (1 Kings 10:9). Though she also applauded the king and his people, the queen of Sheba reserved her highest praise for the One who made Solomon wise.

These ancient women show us a timeless truth: our words matter, and God’s Word matters most of all.

Liz Curtis Higgs

To be entered to win a copy of It’s Good to be Queen by Liz Curtis Higgs, leave a comment below on what you’d want to learn about the Queen of Sheba. Winner will be picked on Tuesday, August 4th!

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