The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (37 page)

May 17

Best Things in Life

Have you opened the newspaper the last few days and the front page had nothing but bad news? Our proverb for today is written “for such a time as this.” It’s all about looking on the bright side even when times are tough. It’s been said, “Suffering is inevitable, but misery is optional.” So read it carefully, dear child of God. This is good for our souls.

     
All the days of the oppressed are wretched,

          
but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

     
Better a little with the fear of the L
ORD

          
than great wealth with turmoil.

     
Better a meal of vegetables where there is love

          
than a fattened calf with hatred.

My friend just had a new grandbaby. I gave her a picture frame with the inscription “The best things in life are not things.”

Let me share a story that illustrates this. My husband grew up in a very poor home, but his mom had a big open-heart/open-door policy. Even though she had nine kids herself, there was always room at her table for somebody else. There were young Marines on weekends and neighbor kids after school.

George remembers eating oatmeal every single morning of his childhood, but to add variety, his mom occasionally put in food coloring. One day it was green. Another day it was orange. Their home was living proof that it is better to have a bowl of oatmeal where love is than to have bacon and eggs where love isn’t.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

“Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6,
NKJV
). Do you believe that? Even if your kids don’t have all the material things you would like to give them, do you believe they can still have a great childhood? They can. Invite your kids’ friends over for game night with popcorn and brownies. Guaranteed, they will have as much fun as they would on an expensive outing. Teen girls love to make crafts and cupcakes. And how about you? If your budget is too tight for dinner out, make a candlelight dinner for your husband after the kids are in bed. Or invite some girlfriends over for a soup-and-salad potluck and an old black-and-white, classic movie.

One Year Bible Reading

1 Samuel 20:1–21:15; John 9:1-41; Psalm 113:1–114:8; Proverbs 15:15-17

May 18

Patience Calms Quarrels

     
A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension,

          
but a patient man calms a quarrel.

Extended families really are a gift from God. I know some people that have nobody in this world—no cousins, or sisters, or Uncle Harrys. But as we know, wherever there is a mix of people, things sometimes get messy: misunderstanding, hurt feelings, petty jealousy.

In Genesis 37 we read the story of Joseph. He’s always been one of my favorite characters. He was young, handsome, and his father’s favorite, too. But sadly, the other brothers knew it. Then when their father Jacob made Joseph a beautiful new coat, it was insult added to injury. It was visual evidence that Dad loved Joseph more. One thing led to another. Their anger became more than a quarrel. It almost became murder.

Well, for 90 percent of this story Joseph is an amazing example of integrity, faithfulness, and patience, but I just wish in the beginning when they were all young, he had played things differently. I wish he had not flaunted his coat or his dream. I wish he had not brought his father a bad report about his brothers.

But then again, he was just seventeen years old. Twenty-two years later, when he had become older and wiser, he truly was a beautiful example that a patient man can calm even a very old quarrel.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Some relational storms do not die down quickly; they take patience—sometimes lots of patience. If we are in a hurry and force people to “get over it,” we just might make matters worse. We need to let people calm down. But at the same time, we need to stay calm, forgive, and keep the door open. Is someone you work with hot tempered? Or do you have a hot-tempered neighbor, teenage son, or brother-in-law? The important principle for us is,
keep calm
. Don’t get riled up too; that just contributes to the trouble. Keep calm, pray, be patient. Ten years from now no one will even remember what the quarrel was about.

One Year Bible Reading

1 Samuel 22:1–23:29; John 10:1-21; Psalm 115:1-18; Proverbs 15:18-19

May 19

Honor Father and Mother

     
A wise son brings joy to his father,

          
but a foolish man despises his mother.

A wise son is our topic today. Moms, if you’re raising a son right now, you have a wonderful and yet incredibly challenging responsibility. We cannot—we must not—raise our kids randomly. We must have well-defined, godly, and God-given objectives.

Most of us would like our kids to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. But if you could only choose one out of three, would wisdom be your first choice? I’m just asking.

Yes, of course, I know: we as moms cannot make our sons or daughters become anything. They have their own first choices. But we can create an atmosphere where wisdom is honored above athletic skill or even academic achievements, because it’s been said, “You can get all As and still flunk life.”

Do you teach your son to honor older people, to honor his grandparents, his pastor? Do you hold him accountable? Do you teach him to keep his word? Do you talk about integrity and honesty and noble behavior and purity?

And moms, do you pray for your sons? The world, the flesh, and the devil are seeking to destroy them. Will you stand in the gap by praying on your knees?

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the L
ORD
your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12,
NKJV
). God’s instruction is clear and universal. We as mothers, we as daughters, we as women of God need to honor God by taking this very seriously too. May your children never see you be rude or hateful to your parents, even when provoked. It erodes their sense of duty about honoring you. Teach your daughter to notice how her boyfriend treats his mother. It is a sign of how he values motherhood. And lastly, be a woman of honor in all areas: it will make it much easier for your children to honor you.

Let’s Pray

Lord, help me to be faithful to your command to honor my own parents. Help me not be irritated when they are needy or forgetful. May my honor of them be an honor to you.

One Year Bible Reading

1 Samuel 24:1–25:44; John 10:22-42; Psalm 116:1-19; Proverbs 15:20-21

May 20

Godly Advice

     
Plans go wrong for lack of advice;

          
many counselors bring success.

Ladies, this proverb tells us we need others. We need others to give us input, godly counsel, so we don’t get tunnel vision.

I’m going to apply this to two different areas: number one, mothering; number two, ministry.

1. Mothering. I have never met a mom who said, “I’ve got it. I have this mothering thing figured out.” Because just when you think you get the hang of navigating a strong-willed boy out of the terrible twos, your older daughter is entering preteen hypersensitivity. So we need friends. We need older, godly moms to give us insight. We need prayer partners. And ladies, we need to be these things for others too.
   
2. Ministry. Plans, including ministry plans, can go wrong for lack of advice. I love to work with a team. I love to have good, deep prayer before any planning is done. Then I love to sit around a table and hear other women’s input and insight. In business this is called participative management. In ministry this is called body life. When others have a say, there’s ownership. When there’s ownership, people feel they are included and needed. “Many counselors bring success.”
   

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Plans go wrong for lack of advice in lots of areas. There are times when we really need others to give us insight.

• When we are angry or hurt, we can make big decisions in a moment that cause us trouble for years.
  
• After a loss of someone we love, we sometimes don’t know what to do next. So we get frozen and put off important matters.
  
• We all need some long-range financial planning.
  

First of all, we need to make sure the first person we consult in all decisions and planning is God. Ask him to direct you. Then be discriminating and prayerful about advice you receive from others. Finally, ask these questions: Is this wise? Is it right? Is it fair to others? Does it line up with Scripture?

One Year Bible Reading

1 Samuel 26:1–28:25; John 11:1-54; Psalm 117:1-2; Proverbs 15:22-23