The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (23 page)

March 24

Seek Good

     
He [or she] who seeks good finds goodwill,

          
but evil comes to him who searches for it.

Seeking good is a decision that can become a habit, and then a lifestyle, and then a life. Sadly, we can also chose to seek the bad or the dark or the ugly. This could apply to looking for the good or the bad in a person, a situation or a responsibility, or even your church.

And what are the rewards of seeking good? It is promised that we will find goodwill, or favor. The Hebrew word here is
ratson
, which actually means “delight.” This makes sense. Think about it. There are some people who always look for the good in people. You just know they see the best in you. What happens? I know for me, it inspires me. I think for most of us it helps us want to rise to that view. We want to be that good person. And how do we feel about being around such a person? We are delighted! Because they are a blessing. Ladies, we need to remember this principle.

We also need to remember that when we always see the bad, the flaw, the failure in our husbands or children or friends or church, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We are not a blessing, and we discourage people. Sometimes, they give up. Why try?

The apostle Paul wrote the following words from a prison cell in Rome: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8,
NIV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

A few days ago I couldn’t sleep. So I got up and made a list of people I wanted to pray for. By each of their names, I wrote something I appreciated about them. Then I prayed. My little list made my prayer time one of the sweetest ever as I thanked the Lord for each one. Will you do that? Before you go to bed tonight, sit down and make a list of the people in your life you care about. Then next to each name, write something good and pray with thankfulness.

One Year Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 2:1–3:29; Luke 6:12-38; Psalm 67:1-7; Proverbs 11:27

March 25

The Righteous Thrive

     
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,

          
but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

The first part of this proverb doesn’t warn against having money, it warns us against putting our trust in money. The definition of
to put your trust
is “to put confidence in, to feel secure or safe in, to have your hope in.”

Benjamin Franklin has a reputation for being wise about money; remember, he is the one who said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” But he also understood the dangers of money and warned, “He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.”

So, ladies, are you are going through financial trouble right now? Maybe you’re afraid, insecure. You’re depressed. You and your husband are arguing. You’re angry—maybe even angry at God. When our emotional security is too tightly linked to our financial security, then if our finances crumble, so do we. We fall, and we often drag others down in our tailspin.

Personally, I think we’re going to go through some more hard years. Our economy is not going to recover quickly. Actually Elijah the prophet prayed for a time of drought—no rain for his country. Why? Because Elijah longed for revival. And revival doesn’t usually come in times of prosperity. So back to the question: What or whom do you put your trust in? Corrie ten Boom, who survived a concentration camp, made a remarkable statement. She said, “You will never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

“The righteous will thrive like a green leaf” is our promise for the day. Righteousness here does not mean sinless perfection. It merely describes those who chose to walk uprightly. I have known plenty of godly people who don’t have much money, but their lives are rich with the fruit of the Spirit. As we read the list of fruit in Galatians 5:22-23, let’s pray that God will help us thrive with such spiritual richness. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (
NKJV
).

One Year Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 4:1-49; Luke 6:39–7:10; Psalm 68:1-18; Proverbs 11:28

March 26

Burden for Souls

     
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

          
and he who wins souls is wise.

I am so excited about this verse! “He [or she] who wins souls is wise.” Ladies, as children of God, we need to be about our Father’s business. God loves people. He really, really loves people.

Brandon Heath has a great song that’s really a prayer. It’s called “Give Me Your Eyes.”

     
Give me your eyes for just one second

     
Give me your eyes so I can see

     
Everything that I keep missing

     
Give me your love for humanity

     
There’s a man just to [the] right

     
Black suit and a bright red tie

     
Too ashamed to tell his wife

     
He’s out of work, he’s buying time

     
All those people going somewhere

     
Why have I never cared?

     
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten

     
Give me your eyes so I can see

Now listen to what Jesus said: “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35,
NIV
).

Maybe you are thinking,
I can’t share the gospel with others
. Please let me tell you, God never commands us to do that which he will not enable us to do. The Gospel of Mark 2:14 records the day when Matthew, the tax collector, left his old life to follow Jesus. In the next verse we read that he invited all his old friends to dinner, with one intention. He wanted them to know the Savior too.

The first person who witnessed to me was a high school friend. So many years later when I went to my high school reunion, I prayed for divine appointments, took copies of the Gospel of John to hand out, and told people how Jesus had changed my life.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Prayer is always the first place to start if you would like to share the gospel. God will show you a lonely neighbor, a troubled teen, your newly married niece who needs him. Just keep praying, and God will give you the next step. The first step might be scary, but sometimes we just have to “do it scared.”

One Year Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 5:1–6:25; Luke 7:11-35; Psalm 68:19-35; Proverbs 11:29-31

March 27

Are You Growing?

     
Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge,

     
But he who hates correction is stupid.

Well, I would call that getting to the point! And you know what? Sometimes the truth should hurt. Psalm 32:9 says, “Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle” (
NIV
).

God takes no pleasure in calling us, or anyone else, stupid or a mule. So how can we avoid these pitfalls? By being teachable. An eagerness to learn and grow and change is really a building block of wisdom and the antidote for stupidity.

May I ask you, Are you growing? One of the great thrills of being a Christian is that we can always be growing. I love to be around brand-new Christians. They have a thousand questions. But I also love to be around older Christians who are just as hungry. Have you become dull and stunted? Let me suggest three ways to spark your appetite:

1. Pick up a Christian biography. When I read about a life like D. L. Moody’s or George Müller’s, I feel challenged and inspired. I learn fresh insights from some of the trials and victories of their lives.
   
2. Sign up for women’s Bible study. There are some excellent lessons written by women like Kay Arthur. Her studies teach how to dig into the treasures of God’s Word.
   
3. Become a student of creationism. Don’t be duped by the evolutionist lie. There are some exciting books and videos available that make learning about Creation a true joy.
   

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

“My beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. . . . Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:19, 22,
NKJV
). Let’s be open to exhortation from others and conviction of the Holy Spirit. And then let’s put into action what God has shown us. Let’s be teachable.

Let’s Pray

Lord, help me to really be serious about corrections and change. I don’t want to be stagnant and stubborn. Help me to be hungry to learn and eager to grow.

One Year Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 7:1–8:20; Luke 7:36–8:3; Psalm 69:1-18; Proverbs 12:1