The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (18 page)

March 4

Wicked versus Righteous

     
What the wicked dreads will overtake him;

          
what the righteous desire will be granted.

     
When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone,

          
but the righteous stand firm forever.

“What the wicked dread.” Isn’t that an intriguing phrase? What then do the wicked dread? Think about it. When you lie or steal something, there is that constant dread of someone finding out. If you say something mean about someone, what if they hear about it? What if you get a bad reputation for being mean?

Dread. It is like a big ol’ black cloud of darkness, a fear that that thing you did will come back to haunt you. Isn’t that the way of sin? You think it will add pleasure, but instead it rips you off. It does, it really does.

In contrast, living right, doing right, has its own sweet rewards. I love that our proverb tells us that doing right gives us stability. The definition of
stable
is “constant, able to maintain or return to a strong position, not likely to fall.” Stability. “The righteous stand firm forever.”

Let’s let Jesus give us a clear picture. He said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25,
NIV
).

Now that, my sisters, is standing strong even in shaky times!

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Talk is cheap. It is time for us “to walk the walk.” As Jesus explained, we must hear God’s Word and then put it into practice. For example, James 1:27 gives a clear directive: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble” (
NKJV
). How can we apply this? Ask the Lord to show you. He might prompt you to buy some school supplies for a single mom’s kids, or take them to youth group, or just look for them in the hall at church and give them a word of encouragement. Righteous living is doing right things.

One Year Bible Reading

Numbers 2:1–3:51; Mark 11:27–12:17; Psalm 47:1-9; Proverbs 10:24-25

March 5

Lazy Procrastination

     
As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

          
so is a sluggard to those who send him [or her].

W. C. Fields said, “The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves.”

A sluggard is like a slug, lazy. The definition of
lazy
is “to dislike and avoid work or activity.” Procrastination is the sluggard’s method of operation. My Missouri grandmother used to say this is “living a day late and a dollar short.”

If there is someone who works with you or for you who operates like this, it can be annoying and frustrating, like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes.

So let’s apply this to ourselves and let it prompt us to not be the cause of this kind of irritation. There is joy in being faithful and diligent, even in the little things. Is there something that someone has asked you to do, and even though you said you would, you’ve put it off? Well, get to it. Really. Write it down and get to it. And do it with joy, because then everyone wins. It will be a pleasure to get it off the to-do list, and it will be a pleasure to the one who has been waiting for you to do it.

Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37,
NKJV
).

And in Colossians 3:23-24 we’re told, “Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward”(
NKJV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Diligence is steady effort and perseverance. It is the opposite of lazy procrastination. One of the keys to diligence is to find some habits that help you become self-managing and organized. Here’s one tip. I use small yellow writing pads to order my day. In my quiet time with the Lord in the morning, I often think of errands, calls, and must-do tasks. As things come to mind, I write them on a pad. Once I see them on paper, I can tackle them and then have the reward of checking them off. There is a sweet taste of victory—especially when I cross off something I have put off.

One Year Bible Reading

Numbers 4:1–5:31; Mark 12:18-37; Psalm 48:1-14; Proverbs 10:26

March 6

Don’t Waste Your Life

     
The fear of the L
ORD
adds length to life,

          
but the years of the wicked are cut short.

     
The prospect of the righteous is joy,

          
but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.

Abraham Lincoln said, “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

Some people think that living the godly life will only matter in eternity. They think if they shut God out and live for themselves, life will be better here. That’s not so. Really, it’s just not so.

I recently saw a picture of the late hotel billionaire Leona Helmsley. She looked miserable. She’s not remembered for any good she did with all that she had. She is remembered for cutting two grandkids out of her will and leaving twelve million to her dog. Now that is a wasted life.

Ladies, do you know someone who has lived a mean, selfish life and now has nothing that is meaningful? They are a good example of a bad example.

God has a different destiny for us. Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly.

Listen to what God gives us as a beautiful yet simple path for a godly, meaningful life here on earth: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the L
ORD
require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8,
NKJV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

I like to walk in old graveyards sometimes. The messages on the tombstones really make me think. I heard someone say, “There’ll be two dates on your tombstone. And all your friends will read ’em, but all that’s gonna matter is that little dash between ’em.”

You are writing your legacy, a page every day, by the things that you do and the words that you say. Today, will you ask God to help you live with eternal purpose?

Let’s Pray

Lord, I want my life to count for more than just the sum total of my trinkets and toys. Please fill my life with your purposes and use me to bring your message of love to others.

One Year Bible Reading

Numbers 6:1–7:89; Mark 12:38–13:13; Psalm 49:1-20; Proverbs 10:27-28

March 7

The Ways of God

     
The way of the L
ORD
is a refuge for the righteous,

          
but it is the ruin of those who do evil.

     
The righteous will never be uprooted,

          
but the wicked will not remain in the land.

Today let’s focus on the phrase, “The way of the Lord is a refuge.” Many people never understand God’s ways. They read Isaiah 55:9, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways” (
NKJV
), and they think he is too mysterious to know. But the real point is that God’s ways are grander than ours; therefore we can’t put God in a box. He has understanding and resources and ways of accomplishing his will that are wonderfully fresh and entirely independent of human management. Ladies, we try to run our lives with far too tight a grip on the wheel. We need to loosen up a bit and give him some room to steer.

One of the methods God uses to accomplish his great plan in our life is waiting, which involves patience. But we love quick fixes and instant gratification, not patience. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It took forty years in the wilderness to prepare Moses to lead. And even Jesus waited until he was over thirty to begin his public ministry. If you’ve been frustrated with the waiting process, wishing God wasn’t so slow, Isaiah 40:31 has a good word for you: “But those who wait on the L
ORD
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (
NKJV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Another phrase in our proverb today is “the righteous will never be uprooted.” In the plant world, trees with shallow roots die in times of drought and are blown over by strong winds. Trees with deep roots have an anchor and aren’t dependent on shallow, surface water. The message is, don’t be a shallow Christian who is blown along with fads of false doctrines because you don’t know your Bible. Be a Christian who searches the Scriptures and stands strong in the truth.

One Year Bible Reading

Numbers 8:1–9:23; Mark 13:14-37; Psalm 50:1-23; Proverbs 10:29-30