The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (55 page)

July 26

Stop Striving

     
The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;

     
Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.

     
It is honorable for a man to stop striving,

     
Since any fool can start a quarrel.

Six volatile words stand out:
wrath
,
roaring
,
provokes
,
anger
,
striving
, and
quarrel
. They paint a picture of the kind of troubling atmosphere many of us can sometimes find ourselves in. It is true, we cannot always avoid the fact that people around us and people who have authority over us are sometimes grumpy. They are sometimes even dangerously agitated. We can’t always change them, but we do have the power of choice for ourselves. We can choose not to growl back. God calls this honorable. I like the blunt comment: “Any fool can start a quarrel.” It’s been said, “He who angers you, conquers you.”

Gary Smalley, in his book
The DNA of Relationships
, says, “In every power struggle, people become instant adversaries; they take up opposing positions and try to crush their opponent. And do you know what? Every time that happens, Satan is very pleased.”

Well then, if you are a child of God, pleasing Satan by fueling strife should just not be an option. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9,
KJV
). And in Philippians 4:5 we have this good word: “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” (
NIV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Ever hear the expression “don’t tangle with a bear robbed of her cubs”? Most angry people are upset because they feel robbed of something called “happiness.” They might be taking their frustration out on you, but it often isn’t about you at all. They are just venting. What they really are lacking is joy.

Joy comes from the Lord. So how’s your joy quotient? Have you thanked the Lord for his love yet today? Did you remember your name is written in heaven, your sins are forgiven, and God’s thoughts toward you are as numerous as the sands of the sea? If so, rejoice. Let the joy of the Lord be your shield and your strength.

One Year Bible Reading

2 Chronicles 17:1–18:34; Romans 9:25–10:13; Psalm 20:1-9; Proverbs 20:2-3

July 27

Are You Lazy?

     
The lazy man will not plow because of winter;

     
He will beg during harvest and have nothing.

The New Living Translation puts it this way, “Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.”

And so today, the topic of wisdom has to do with diligence and timeliness. Solomon said these famous words about the importance of timing:

     
[There is] a time to plant, and a time to [reap]; . . .

     
A time to break down, and a time to build up;

     
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

     
A time to mourn, and a time to dance; . . .

     
A time to gain, and a time to lose;

     
A time to keep, and a time to throw away; . . .

     
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.

The important lesson for us as women is not to let the opportunity to do the right and important thing pass by. There are certain moments that just don’t come again. In planting a crop, if you don’t plow, you can’t plant the seeds. If you don’t plant, nothing will grow. This applies to every area of our lives. It applies to relationships. We need to invest in them. It applies to being faithful in the small things you are responsible for. Moms, this applies to paying attention to those teachable moments with your kids, and it applies to your spiritual life, too. A diligent seeking after the things of God will never leave you empty handed or empty hearted.

To help you, I have put some exciting resources on my website that will help you invest in your spiritual life. The address is BibleBusStop.com.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Diligence brings a crop of good things, but neglect brings only regrets. Begin today! Plant faith seeds in your soul. Romans 10:17 tells us, “Faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” Here’s a great exercise that will bear good fruit. Think of a quality you need in your life, such as joy, peace, faith, or purity. Then go to the concordance in the back of your Bible and look up five Scriptures on that topic and write them out. Read them often, and you will see the seeds grow and bear fruit.

One Year Bible Reading

2 Chronicles 19:1–20:37; Romans 10:14–11:12; Psalm 21:1-13; Proverbs 20:4-6

July 28

A Living Legacy

     
The godly walk with integrity;

          
blessed are their children who follow them.

Integrity.
Integrity
means completeness, rightness, and uprightness. This is living right with God and right with man. What a rare but wonderful thing this is to behold. Those around us—children, families, neighbors, and even strangers—are blessed by a life that is a blessing.

Let me tell you a little story from the book
Our Daily Bread
.

Newsman Clarence Hall followed American troops around Okinawa in 1945. He came upon a small town that stood out as a beautiful example of a Christian community. He wrote, “We had seen other Okinawan villages, uniformly down-at-the-heels and despairing; by contrast, this one shone like a diamond in a dung heap. Everywhere we were greeted by smiles and dignified bows. Proudly the two old men showed us their spotless homes, their terraced fields . . . and granaries.”

Hall saw no jails and no drunkenness, and divorce was unknown. He learned that an American missionary had come there thirty years earlier. While he was in the village, he’d led two elderly townspeople to Christ and had left them with a Japanese Bible. These new believers studied the Scriptures and started leading their fellow villagers to Jesus. Hall’s jeep driver said he was amazed at the difference between this village and the others around it. He remarked, “So this is what comes out of only a Bible and a couple of old guys who wanted to live like Jesus.”

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Do you ever think, What is my legacy? When you leave a room, or leave a job, or eventually leave this earthly life, what effect will you leave behind? Will others remember unselfish acts of thoughtfulness and service? Will they remember that they saw Jesus in you?

Second Corinthians 2:14 says, “Thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.”

Let’s Pray

Lord, this really makes me think. I have a Bible, but do the words on the pages truly live in my life? I want to make a difference for good. Today, may my life reflect yours, expressing the sweet fragrance of Christ.

One Year Bible Reading

2 Chronicles 21:1–23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7

July 29

A Pure Heart

     
Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;

          
I am clean and without sin”?

Horace Smith said, “When a proud man thinks best of himself, then God and man think worst of him.”

I remember J. Vernon McGee talking about one of his roommates in college. He came home one day and said, “J. Vernon, I have attained sinless perfection.” The problem was that from then on when anything went wrong, he would consider it everyone else’s fault.

Jesus spoke in Luke 18:11-14 about those who trusted in themselves, thought that they were righteous, and despised others. So he told the story of two men in the Temple, a Pharisee and a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you, [said Jesus] that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (
NIV
).

Whenever I read this story, I’m embarrassed for the Pharisee. How could he be so full of himself that he doesn’t see how ridiculous this looks to God? Then I remember Jesus didn’t tell this story just so that the Pharisee would get it. He told it so I would.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

We can be very much like the Pharisee in this story. David went to the Lord with a deep desire to be like an open book, longing for him to cleanse and change him. Will you pray these words, and then still your heart, asking God to be completely honest with you? “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24).

One Year Bible Reading

2 Chronicles 24:1–25:28; Romans 12:1-21; Psalm 22:19-31; Proverbs 20:8-10