The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (2 page)

January 1

Fresh Start

     
For attaining wisdom and discipline;

          
for understanding words of insight

     
for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,

          
doing what is right and just and fair;

     
for giving prudence to the simple,

          
knowledge and discretion to the young—

     
let the wise listen and add to their learning,

          
and let the discerning get guidance.

January 1: the very first day of a brand-new year. Picture with me this year laying out before you like a blanket of clean white snow. As yet, there are no mistakes, no new regrets, no fresh wounds to mar your path. This is the perfect time to let the past go and start afresh. As we begin in Proverbs 1, above, Solomon explains the purpose and life-changing effect the Proverbs can have.

But if you look around you, the pressures and influences to go in the wrong direction are strong—very strong. People are making foolish choices. Morality and integrity are ridiculed. God is mocked, the Bible neglected. Hosea said, “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7,
NIV
).

Therefore, we must choose. W. C. Fields once said, “Remember, a dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live fish to go against the flow.” So choose wisdom! God has not left us to chart our course alone. He’s given us his Word. Let me invite you to pick up a One Year Bible. It lays out a very doable reading schedule. It is simple and yet life changing. So today will you open your Bible to the first chapter of the book of Proverbs and begin this year as a journey to becoming a Woman of Wisdom?

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Will you take a moment right now to personally picture this new year as a field of fresh snow? Now picture a ray of light marking the path. God has a promise to help you start your year right. He says, “Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come” (Jeremiah 33:3). Will you pray right now? As you pray, be aware and excited that God hears and is waiting to help.

One Year Bible Reading

Genesis 1:1–2:25; Matthew 1:1–2:12; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 1:1-6

January 2

Godly Reverence

     
The fear of the L
ORD
is the beginning of knowledge,

          
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

“The fear of the Lord.” On our journey to becoming women of wisdom, it is vital that we truly understand what it is to fear the Lord. First of all we must know what it isn’t. To fear the Lord is not the same as being afraid of him like he is mean or selfish or harsh or cruel. Nothing could be further from the truth.

To fear God is to know that he is righteous and he hates wickedness. God is holy. God hates sin because it enslaves us and destroys our lives. Sin separates us from his love. Jesus said, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17,
NKJV
).

So what is it to have a proper fear of God? It is to have a deep reverence for him. It is to be in awe of him because he is awe-some. It is to understand that he is the God of the universe, and we are not. He is the Creator, the King Eternal, the Only Wise God. When we respect him for who he is and live under both his authority and his love, there is no sweeter, safer, more peaceful way to live. This is truly wisdom.

A holy fear of a holy God—it does our souls good to have such an awe-inspiring reverence. Tonight, look up at the stars and know they all can fit in the palm of his hand. As the song proclaims, “Our God is an awesome God; he reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love. Our God is an awesome God” (song lyrics by Rich Mullins).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

There are two kinds of people in this world. There are Big God-ers and there are Little God-ers. David, Daniel, Moses, and Mary believed that God can move giants and mountains and men. Do you? Or do you live with a greater fear of men than you do of God almighty? Now the important question is, Will you choose to embrace him not just as
an
awesome God but as
your
awesome God?

One Year Bible Reading

Genesis 3:1–4:26; Matthew 2:13–3:6; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 1:7-9

January 3

Peer Pressure

     
My [child], if sinners entice you,

     
Do not consent.

     
If they say, “Come with us,” . . .

     
Keep your foot from their path.

This is a warning. Be on guard. Don’t be influenced or pressured into doing something you know is wrong. Sin has a powerful lure all by itself, but when others try to pull us in, it can become even more powerful. Does this happen? All the time. Sometimes sin comes in the back door through friends—the wrong kind of friends.

I’m going to list some of the ways that we sometimes yield when we have friends who influence us to do things that aren’t the best. Do you have a friend who shops till she drops? When you’re together you, too, shop too much. You spend too much money, and you buy things you don’t need.

Complaining. Do you have a friend you complain with every time you are together? Both of you feel free to complain about your husbands, relatives, friends, people at church.

Do you have friends who compromise? Do they entice you to compromise by recommending R movies or trashy books? Do they invite you to join them for a drink at the bar? Or—warning!—do you have anyone in your life who is flirting with you, stirring you up to unhealthy desires?

Dear sisters, two things: (1) Pay attention to the red flags of danger. Do not have a friend who entices you to sin. And (2) be careful about the type of friend you are. A godly friend is a good friend

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

What’s wrong with ungodly friends? Didn’t Jesus intentionally spend time with sinners? Yes, he did. But his intentions were entirely different than just letting his hair down and fitting in. He brought light and truth into every atmosphere. He loved sinners and they knew it. He was grieved by the emptiness and pain he saw on their faces. Darkness did not drag him down; instead, he used light to lift them up.

Let’s Pray

Lord, seal my heart against compromise so I can be a vessel of your light in a lost and dying world.

One Year Bible Reading

Genesis 5:1–7:24; Matthew 3:7–4:11; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 1:10-19

January 4

Wisdom Calls!

As we read the proverb for today, picture wisdom as a woman—a woman like a mother standing on firm, solid, safe ground. She is calling out to those she cares deeply about. She knows, as every loving, wise, godly mother knows, that if they do not choose the higher ground of wisdom, they will be swept away by foolish, dangerous choices. So listen and picture the voice of God’s wisdom calling out to you in today’s Wisdom for Women.

     
Wisdom calls aloud outside;

     
She raises her voice in the open squares. . . .

     
She speaks her words:

     
“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?

     
For scorners delight in their scorning,

     
And fools hate knowledge.

     
Turn at my rebuke;

     
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;

     
I will make my words known to you.”

Did you hear both the warning and the promise? Right now I feel an urgency. This year may be indeed the most complicated and challenging year we have ever faced. There are dangerous changes brewing in our world. Do not let circumstances, or others, or the ungodly world around you pressure you into making wrong choices. Do not let the lines between right and wrong become fuzzy to you just because they are blurry to others. Choose wisdom!

If you do, God himself promises that he will pour out his Spirit upon you and make his words known to you. Choose wisdom!

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

What is the antidote for the toxic and demeaning role models that are broadcast to us as women everywhere we look? God’s Word! God’s Word teaches us that women have a place of honor. We can be amazing influences for good. When God’s Word is in you, you realize that the false images and values shown in the media are just cheap substitutes.

Look at the One Year Bible Reading list on this page. It gives you a simple, easy-to-follow guide. Try it. God’s Word is God’s love letter, God’s truth, and God’s light for your life. God’s wisdom is calling, Will you listen? Will you follow?

One Year Bible Reading

Genesis 8:1–10:32; Matthew 4:12-25; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 1:20-23