We live our faith in bodies. We rise, kneel, carry, labor, and endure. Strength is not separate from holiness. It can become a form of it. If you picture a woman like Ruth, the Hebrew word used to describe her is chayil. It’s a word used to refer to armies, warriors, wealth, and power. This is not ornamental strength. It is functional strength. Strength that builds, carries, plants, protects, endures. And to see what a woman of chayil looks like in motion, we look at Ruth.
Ruth gleaned in the fields from morning until evening. She bent low, lifted grain, carried loads, walked dusty roads as a foreign widow with no guarantee of life-long provision until Boaz uttered these words:
And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.” Ruth 3:11 ESV
When Boaz calls her a worthy woman (an eshet chayil), he is not praising her appearance. He is recognizing her courage, endurance, initiative, and resilience. She was strong enough to:
- Leave her homeland.
- Work long hours.
- Risk vulnerability.
- Sustain hope.
- Build a future from scarcity.
Her body carried her faithfulness.
Functional fitness is strength with purpose. The Proverbs 31 woman is also a woman of chayil, “girds her loins with strength and makes her arms strong” (Prov. 31:17). In the ancient world, girding the loins signified preparation for work or battle. She makes her arms strong because her life requires it. Her strength is for provision, endurance, and building.
Our life journey is about being women of chayil, strong in body so we can be strong in calling. Strength that serves is sacred. It is forged in the holy fire of faithfulness. And functional strength gives us the power to lovingly serve Him well.
Reflection Question: Where in your life right now are you already using functional strength?
*For those of you who prayer walk, as you walk, pray: “Lord, make me a woman of chayil.” Take note of what the Holy Spirit reveals along the way.
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