The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (35 page)

May 9

An Eternal Perspective

     
The wicked are crushed by their sins,

          
but the godly have a refuge when they die.

Life sometimes gets so hard, we can be tempted to ask, is it worth it? Is it worth it to resist evil and seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? If you are feeling weary right now, let’s take a peek into the wonderful promises that God gives us of our future.

Paul said in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (
NKJV
). As our proverb says, when they die, the godly have a refuge. In John 14:3 Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you, . . . that where I am, there you may be also” (
NKJV
).

The apostle John reported, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. . . . [God] will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. . . . God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4,
NKJV
).

As the old gospel hymn says, “Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace. I’m gonna see my Savior’s face, ’cause heaven is a wonderful place.”

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

An eternal perspective is not a picture of “pie in the sky” or wishful thinking. Heaven is a real place. The joys that await us there will indeed far outweigh the hardships and sorrow we face on this earth. As Amy Carmichael said, we have all eternity to enjoy our rewards, and only a few short years to win them.

Let’s Pray

O Lord God, help me to redeem the time and to be a good steward of all you have given me here on earth. Let my troubles remind me to cling loosely to this world and long for the day of your return to take me home to be with you.

One Year Bible Reading

1 Samuel 5:1–7:17; John 6:1-21; Psalm 106:13-31; Proverbs 14:32-33

May 10

Sin Disgraces a Nation

     
Righteousness exalts a nation,

          
but sin is a disgrace to any people.

My first trip to a former communist nation was to Bulgaria in 1993. I was surprised at how receptive the people were and how happy they were to meet Americans. But I also remember how sad I was to see that posters of Madonna and pornographic magazines were the newest imports from the United States. I was ashamed. It was a disgrace to a nation that was once founded on godly principles.

So, what is going to happen to us as a nation? You can’t look at even one facet of our society that is not in trouble with one big bottom line: sin.

Dr. Ironside said it so clearly in his commentary on this proverb: “History is but the perpetual illustration of what is here declared. Nations, like individuals, are judged according to their ways. No country has prospered long that forsook the path of national righteousness. When pride and vanity, coupled with greed and cruelty, have been in the ascendant, the hour of humbling was not far away.”

Righteousness exalts a nation; so personally let’s follow God’s clear and simple path to restoration: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14,
NKJV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Economic solutions, political maneuvering, and social programs are not the answer to the woes of a nation in crisis. Never have been, never will be. In today’s
One Year Bible
reading from 1 Samuel, the people came to the prophet Samuel and said, “Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5,
NIV
). God gave them a tall, handsome man, Saul. But Saul was weak spiritually and ethically. The nation suffered. Will you shift your hope and energy to the only program that can make our nation great again? Will you humble yourself, seek God’s face, truly repent and pray? Will you pray with your family? Will you pray with your friends? Will you pray to our great God to heal our great land?

One Year Bible Reading

1 Samuel 8:1–9:27; John 6:22-42; Psalm 106:32-48; Proverbs 14:34-35

May 11

A Soft Answer

     
A soft answer turns away wrath,

     
But a harsh word stirs up anger.

I really, really love this proverb. It’s just brilliant! It’s one of those truths that, once you get it, can help you for the rest of your life.

A
soft answer
is a gentle answer. Peter Marshall prayed, “O God, when I’m wrong, make me easy to change, and when I am right, make me easy to live with.” That’s a very good prayer for us.

My grandmother used to say, “You can draw more bees with honey than with vinegar.”

A soft answer, I think, is in most cases a short answer. In an awkward or tense situation, less is more. It’s kind of like the statement, “What if they waged a war, and nobody showed up?” When someone says something that could stir you up, don’t bite the bait. Send up an arrow prayer: quickly ask the Lord to give you grace and wisdom and gentleness to navigate and not agitate.
Lord, help me be an instrument of your peace, and help me bite my lip and hold my tongue.

I made a list of four soft answers. Try them out. Say them softly and sincerely and just see if they help.

• Say, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
  
• Say, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
  
• Say, “How can I help? What can I do?”
  
• People love it when you ask, “Tell me, what do you think?”
  

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

I just got a very unkind e-mail. Awwww! My first reaction was to hit the reply button and write back exactly what I thought. But before I sent it, I stopped and prayed, “O Lord, this hurts. I need to answer these harsh words, don’t I? Shouldn’t I try explain my side?” I could sense a simple, direct answer to my heart: “No, it won’t help. They don’t want to listen right now.” I know it’s true. So, by the grace of God, I will leave it in his hands. How about you? Next time you feel in a hurry to answer a critical e-mail, will you wait and pray before you hit the send button? You won’t regret harsh words if you do not write them.

One Year Bible Reading

1 Samuel 10:1–11:15; John 6:43-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 15:1-3

May 12

Words of Healing

     
The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life.

We live in a hurting, wounded world. Jesus lived surrounded by a world of hurt too. I just love that day that he walked in the synagogue, picked up the scroll of Isaiah, and read these words: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor . . . [and] proclaim freedom for the prisoners” (Luke 4:18,
NIV
).

This is our message too. We do have the words of hope for a lost and dying world. We do.

We have been given the ministry of reconciliation. So we need to speak it out. I’m over sixty now, and you know what? I love it. I feel that I can, without reservation, go up to someone—a total stranger who looks sad—and tell them with full confidence God loves them. I can give them a Gospel of John and tell them with full confidence it can change their life. I can talk to a young woman struggling with sin and with full confidence tell her that sin will destroy her life. With surrender, Christ can set them free. Words do have power.

In our ministry we began to go to orphanages in Russia. We love to take gifts and crafts and have fun with the children. But also I feel it’s vital to talk to them about the wonderful promises of God found in the Word of God. Because “the tongue that brings healing is a tree of life.”

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Do you need healing? Life can be very painful. You need words that bring you comfort and hope. Let me recommend three books that will give you insight and encouragement. The first is written by Philip Yancey:
Where Is God When It Hurts?
Another book I recently discovered is
Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love
, by Raymond R. Mitsch and Lynn Brookside. The third, of course, is the book of Psalms.

One Year Bible Reading

1 Samuel 12:1–13:23; John 7:1-30; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 15:4