I don’t usually think about gemstones or talk about my dreams. However, recently I had a gemstone dream so vivid that it seemed strangely important. My pastor husband has challenged our church to write down our dreams and seek God about them. So, when my gemstone dream lingered, I recorded it and asked God what it meant. Even now, I see the dream in my mind’s eye and hear its message in my heart. I eventually shared this with the women of Vanguard Church, who overwhelmingly received the dream as a vision to be the radiant, beautiful women God has created us to be.
In my dream, my kids and I were touring a museum of nature, like one of the natural history museums in big cities. We were looking at the rock exhibits, which have always been my favorite. I’ve been a rock hound since childhood, and I love seeing the amazing rocks and minerals that our Creator designed.
However, in my dream, as we went from exhibit to exhibit, something was very odd: all the magnificent rubies in the museum’s collection were fading. The curators, gemologists and tour guides were absolutely perplexed. The rubies’ brilliant natural beauty, which hitherto had been fiery and breathtaking, was becoming dull.
The kids and I went from one display to the next, and, in every case, the rubies were lusterless, with faded color and diminished shine. Everybody could see the phenomenon, but nobody could explain it. My family puzzled over the mystery along with everyone else walking through the exhibits.
And then I awakened.
Seeking the Dream’s Significance
When the dream lingered, I asked God if it had significance. I also began to research what makes rubies dull.
What I began to learn is that not just dirt and grime but prolonged direct heat can dull a ruby. Rubies are naturally brilliant, precious gemstones, with a Mohs scale hardness of 9. Yet, apparently, if care is not taken, the gemstone’s strength can be penetrated, its brilliance subdued and its beauty lost.
As I pondered this, the Lord reminded me of the classic verse, “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10 KJV). With that Scripture, He nudged my heart that the dream was about more than just rock exhibits. He prompted my spirit that the rubies in my dream represent Christian women in our current times.
Truth is, the prolonged heat of the pandemic and societal change has not necessarily brought out more godly luster and deeper brilliance. Instead, the high temperatures of pain and fear, turmoil and tragedy have too often lessened our God-given radiance. What’s more, the dirt and grime of bad habits, selfish pursuits, ungodly pleasure and downright apathy have made many women who profess to know God almost indistinguishable from those who don’t know Him.
All told, for a combination of reasons, far too many Christian women have become dull in their faith, lackluster in their pursuit of Jesus, diminished in their service for Him and lessened in their effectiveness for the Gospel.
There are innumerable not-valuable rocks in this world. People walk on them, disregard and ignore them because they’re commonplace. There are also, of course, countless gemstone imitations, lab-created synthetic rubies, and pretty but not super impressive garnets.
However, rubies don’t have to be this way! Rubies are intrinsically eye-catching, brilliant beauties, glowing with deep, vivid, almost “stoplight” red. Nothing compares to a real ruby. They are valuable, treasured and prized.
The Jewels in His Crown
My dream, for me, was a lapidary, gemologist call from God: “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” The Hebrew word for “woman” in this verse is “ishshah,” which can be translated as woman, wife or female. While this word “ishshah” is usually translated “wife” in this verse, I appreciate the broader translation terms that the KJV uses: “Who can find a virtuous woman?” King Lemuel’s mother taught him the characteristics of a virtuous woman, noting that such a woman is worth even more than beautiful, highly prized rubies.
Lemuel wrote down what his mother taught him in what we know as Proverbs 31, and many Bible scholars think that Lemuel was actually King Solomon. So, perhaps Solomon was still pondering his mother’s question “Who can find a virtuous woman?” when he wrote, “What I have continually sought, I have not found; I have found only one upright man among a thousand, but I have not found one upright woman among all of them” (Ecclesiastes 7:28 NET).
It’s pretty clear from Scripture that Solomon was looking in all the wrong places, but, as for today, the rubies are here. The rare, beautiful gemstones of virtuous, godly women are all around us. Scripture promises, “On that day the Lord their God will save them… for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land” (Zechariah 9:16).
Oh women of God, you are the jewels in His crown!
And here’s the thing: godly women shine brilliantly when we put others before ourselves. We radiate when we make our lives Kingdom-focussed instead of self-centered. We sparkle with His dazzling brightness when we love Jesus first and others more than ourselves. We are eye-catching beauties when we don’t just do “random” acts of kindness but when we are kind as a way of life. We glow with depth of color and clarity when we disciple the next generation God has entrusted to us.
Oh friends, do not let your beauty be lessened or diminished. You belong to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! No matter what the heat of pain or struggle you’re going through right now, no matter what shame from your past continues to try to cover you with grime, no matter what apathy is tempting you to be lackluster, do not allow yourself to be dulled by the heat and pressure of this world. Don’t let the heat of turmoil and trial make you fade into the background of faithlessness. Don’t let the grime of sin and shame take away your luster.
No more dull, fading rubies! Instead, be the brilliant, radiant virtuous women God created you to be!
You are valuable, you are precious, and you are a prize worth far more than rubies. So may you shine in this land, for His glory and the good of those He has entrusted to you.
May such be so, amen!
Be encouraged! Tosha ❤️
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In