The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (50 page)

July 6

Two Sides to the Story

     
The first to present his case seems right,

          
till another comes forward and questions him.

Let’s always remember there are two sides to a story. Moms, when one of your kids comes running in crying his eyes out and blaming his brother, there are two sides to the story.

When someone at church gets mad at the pastor or a Sunday school teacher or a Bible study leader, there are two sides to the story. When your newlywed daughter calls and wants to vent about her new husband, there are two sides to the story.

So here are some tips to help us sort out facts from fiction.

• Consider the source. The other day I heard someone go on and on about someone. It was critical and unfair, but I considered the source. That person is often critical and unfair, so I took it with a grain of salt.
  
• Consider the motive. Do you detect a pang of jealousy, or bitterness, or malice? Malice has a way of twisting the truth.
  

And lastly, when you are telling your side of the story, be honest. Don’t slant the details in your favor. I’m saying this to me as much as to you. We can all be guilty of this. But a little trick that helps me keep right is to try to tell the story as if the other person were present. Let’s not say something behind someone’s back that we wouldn’t say to their face.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

It’s been said that “a half-truth is a whole lie.” Sometimes we listen to the half-truths of our own inner voices and feelings. Don’t trust your emotions; they often lie to you. Once the disciples were crossing over the Sea of Galilee with Jesus when a huge storm hit their boat. Jesus remained peacefully sleeping. They woke him with the words, “Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” (Mark 4:38). Do you wonder that today? Do you look at the pieces of your life and wonder if God knows or cares? The disciples forgot that Jesus was right there with them in the storm. This is the whole truth. Will you call out to him and ask him to calm the waves of fear and turmoil, not just around you, but in you?

One Year Bible Reading

1 Chronicles 2:18–4:4; Acts 24:1-27; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 18:16-18

July 7

Build a Bridge

     
An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city.

          
Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.

Today we’re going to talk about the offended friend. I feel confident that someone reading today has a serious rift with someone whom you used to be close to. I can see you now. You have your emotional arms folded like a fortified city.

William Blake once said, “It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” I think he must have spoken from experience. So how do we forgive and forget with someone we trusted and loved so deeply? They say, “The wounds that come from the closest, wound the deepest.”

Such rifts are as old as humanity. Esau was angry with Jacob. Joseph’s brothers were angry with Joseph. Even Paul and Barnabas had a serious disagreement and separation. And in the fourth chapter of the book of Philippians, Paul addressed two women, Euodia and Syntyche. Who knows how their problem got started, but when Paul writes, they are stuck. He reminds them that their names are written in the Book of Life. Maybe he was hinting that their mansions in heaven might be next door to each other, so they’d better make up now. What is so serious that we can’t just build a bridge and get over it?

First John 4:20-21 challenges us. “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother [or sister], he is a liar. . . . And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” (
NKJV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

What is the secret to restoring broken relationships? First, stop being so stubborn. Begin to surrender your own hurt feelings. Let go of your pride; hang on to love. Be tenacious! Never give up on love. Never stop remembering the good that is in the other person. “No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us” (1 John 4:12). So keep going back to Jesus, asking him to fill you with his compassion and grace. Then, walk it out. Ask him to give you a tangible action to build a bridge of kindness. Then, do it, because “love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8,
NKJV
).

One Year Bible Reading

1 Chronicles 4:5–5:17; Acts 25:1-27; Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 18:19

July 8

Words to Remember

     
The tongue has the power of life and death,

          
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Today, let’s talk about the amazing power of words for good.

I will never get tired of remembering what is said in Proverbs 31:26 about the godly woman: that “on her tongue is the law of kindness” (
NKJV
). Let’s make that our personal motto. Let’s be proactive in this.

I read a story about a teacher who asked her students to write down the nicest thing they could think of about each of the other students in their class. She compiled the lists and gave each of them the comments others had written about them. Many were surprised; all were smiling as they read them. A few years later, Mark, one of the students, was killed in Vietnam. His teacher and many of those same students attended the funeral. His father had Mark’s wallet. He carefully removed a worn piece of paper. “We thought you might recognize this,” he said. It was the very list Mark had received in her classroom. Other students gathered around. Charlie sheepishly smiled, “I still have my list; it’s in my desk drawer.” Marilyn said, “Mine is in my diary.” Vicki opened her purse and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. “I carry it at all times. I think we all saved our lists.”

It seems like such a small thing, to speak kind words into another’s life. But this story reminds us that these are the words we are all starving to hear. They are like seeds that go deep and change our lives for good.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

You cannot do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late.

I’m going to ask you to join me today in declaring this day a day of kind, encouraging, loving, and thoughtful words. For the next twenty-four hours, I challenge all of us to be on a mission.

Let’s Pray

Lord, please bring people to mind and people in my path who need to know they are valued. Use my words as weapons of hope to defeat discouragement. Use my words to build up those who feel weary and torn down.

One Year Bible Reading

1 Chronicles 5:18–6:81; Acts 26:1-32; Psalm 6:1-10; Proverbs 18:20-21

July 9

She Does Him Good

     
He who finds a wife finds a good thing,

     
And obtains favor from the L
ORD
.

Clearly, God’s design for the role of a wife is for her to bring good to his life. The definition of
good
is “pleasant, excellent, valuable, kind, right, a benefit.”

In the account of Creation (see Genesis 1 and 2) each time God created something, he said, “It is good.” But then, after he created Adam, the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Genesis 2:18,
NKJV
).

Dear ladies, I’m talking to all of us: whether you’re single or married, God’s original plan was for us is to be a blessing, that our presence in any situation would be helpful. I’m afraid that many women look for a man to fill their missing gaps, never realizing they were created to be givers, not just takers.

Proverbs 31:10-12 says, “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life” (
NKJV
).

My good friend Jeanette is a great example. Let me tell her story. Jeanette has several grown children, but her husband Ken longed for a son. Then the opportunity arose for them to adopt a little baby boy. What should she do? This meant a big lifestyle change for her. But Jeanette said yes. She chose to honor her husband, and their little boy Ben has been a blessing to them both. Good job, Jeanette!

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

There are a lot of miserable women in the world. They are dissatisfied with what they have, dissatisfied with their situations, dissatisfied with how people treat them. You can see it on their faces. If they are married, their husbands are miserable too. They make sure of it. Misery loves company. If you have fallen into the “poor me” hole, it’s time to climb out. Let change begin with you. Today is the day to ask God how you can “do good” to your husband. If that’s not been your goal lately, it might shock him. Pray for him, cook his favorite dinner, “do him good.”

One Year Bible Reading

1 Chronicles 7:1–8:40; Acts 27:1-20; Psalm 7:1-17; Proverbs 18:22