The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (58 page)

August 6

The Lord Directs Our Steps

     
The L
ORD
directs our steps,

          
so why try to understand everything along the way?

Life does sometimes seem like a mystery. Even in the course of a day we will have a neat little plan, and somewhere along the way interruptions and even disasters can come unexpectedly and quite uninvited. I am going to ask you an important question: When that happens, what happens to you? Honestly? Are you in the habit of responding with frustration or anger? I have to admit, I sometimes do. This is true when I have a tight grip on what we call “my life,” “my plan,” “my way,” “my will,” and “my timing.”

But then we come across the Scripture that says, “Trust in the L
ORD
with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5,
NKJV
).

James 1:2-3 says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (
NKJV
). And, of course, Romans 8:28 says that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (
NKJV
).

So I want to leave you with a challenge today. Maybe you have a situation that you don’t understand. Will you look up? Will you ask God to make this an adventure? Will you ask him to help you trust him completely and then to help you look for the treasures and lessons he has for you in this situation?

Always remember, we do not know what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

I love to hear testimonies, stories about people facing the curveballs and hardballs life throws at them. Sometimes it breaks my heart to hear of a tragedy or extreme hardship. However, a testimony is not a testimony until they share the “but God” part. This is when they tell how God used that very tragedy to place them in a position of being used to reach a soul, or to see his hand supply supernaturally, or to completely change the course of their previous path. Are you in the depths of a valley or facing a roadblock in life? God is writing your book. Will you trust? Will you yield? Will you follow his lead?

One Year Bible Reading

Ezra 3:1–4:23; 1 Corinthians 2:6–3:4; Psalm 28:1-9; Proverbs 20:24-25

August 7

The Searchlight of God

     
A wise king scatters the wicked like wheat,

          
then runs his threshing wheel over them.

     
The L
ORD
’s light penetrates the human spirit,

          
exposing every hidden motive.

This proverb describes getting to the bottom of things. A wise leader realizes that people do not always have pure motives. Even in a church or family there are sometimes hidden agendas that are not good or godly.

So how does this apply to you and me? Well, I have learned many times through the years that we as women are complicated. Sometimes we do things within friendships or ministries or families that are destructive, but we somehow mask them as right, even to ourselves. The Bible tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9,
NKJV
). Actually, when it comes to women, men are always complaining that they don’t understand us. The truth is, we women sometimes don’t understand ourselves.

Again, our proverb says, “The L
ORD
’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.” This might seem like bad news, but actually it’s good news. Why would we want to be blind, deceiving our own hearts? Let’s let the light of God’s Word shine deeply in us. Let’s let it show the truth to us and give us the grace to be honest before God, and then let’s ask him for the courage and strength to change.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

When the Lord’s searchlight shows you an attitude or action that is not right, how can you actually make that change? It’s easy to shrug it off until you are blind to it again. I find that I see the clearest as I read his Word in the morning. When he speaks to my heart, I write a note in my journal or the margin of my
One Year Bible
. Then, instead of just moving on in my reading, I quiet my heart and let him speak. Prayer must always include listening as well as speaking to God. Can you change in your own strength? No. ‘It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit,’ says the L
ORD
of Heaven’s Armies” (Zechariah 4:6).

Let’s Pray

Holy Spirit, Spirit of power, change me. Make my heart right, ready to walk in the light.

One Year Bible Reading

Ezra 4:24–6:22; 1 Corinthians 3:5-23; Psalm 29:1-11; Proverbs 20:26-27

August 8

The Power of Love

     
Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;

          
through love his throne is made secure.

Ladies, let’s apply this proverb to our own realm. No, we are not literal kings—or queens, for that matter. But we do have areas of influence that the Lord has entrusted to us, and we need to have God’s perspective on success and true security.

Love and faithfulness are given as the most important factors to make us safe and secure. That is not exactly how things are portrayed in the media. For a woman to be safe, it’s said she needs to look out after herself first. She must defend her rights at any cost. But we can look at all the broken homes and lonely lives to see this is a formula for disaster, not success.

In the Bible, Queen Esther is the perfect example of doing a risky thing for love’s sake. Her predecessor was Queen Vashti. She was beautiful and powerful, but she used her rights to defend her rights. This cost her both her position and her marriage. Later when Esther became queen, she faced a dilemma. The rights and even the lives of innocent people were threatened. She could remain silent and stay secure, or she could risk her position and speak out. Her cousin Mordecai challenged her that maybe she had attained her position “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14,
NIV
). Love compelled her to be faithful to a higher responsibility. God honored her and used her to save many. I have a feeling that by showing an inner beauty, she gained respect, not only from those she helped but from her husband, too.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

The theme of today’s proverb is “the power of love.” Amy Carmichael said, “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” Let’s let the words of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ignite our hearts with a passion to love: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. . . . Love will last forever!”

One Year Bible Reading

Ezra 7:1–8:20; l Corinthians 4:1-21; Psalm 30:1-12; Proverbs 20:28-30

August 9

Divine Intervention

     
The king’s heart is in the hand of the L
ORD
,

     
Like the rivers of water;

     
He turns it wherever He wishes.

     
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,

     
But the L
ORD
weighs the hearts.

The book of Esther (chapters 5 and 6) tells an intriguing story that illustrates this truth. Evil Haman hated all Jews, especially Esther’s cousin Mordecai. As the king’s trusted advisor, Haman was a dangerous foe. One day he went home from the palace to plot Mordecai’s death on a gallows. He planned to present the plan to the king the following morning for approval. “That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records, . . . and they were read before the king” (Esther 6:1,
NKJV
). As he listened, he learned that Mordecai had once saved his life by exposing a plot to kill him. The next morning he ordered Haman to honor Mordecai royally. Needless to say, the villain’s plot was foiled. Such a turn of events! Coincidence? No, it was divine intervention.

Jon Courson comments, “Because God is on the throne, we don’t have to panic about government policies. . . . We’re not to perspire, pout, panic, or plot. Instead, we’re to pray, knowing that God is in complete control. And as we do, we’ll be at peace.”

Has someone in power made decisions that make you feel powerless? As you look at the current economy and the government, are you worried? Are you discouraged? Are you fearful? Remember, always remember: God is on the throne, and his throne is called the “throne of grace.”

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

All of us can think of people we disagree with. We would love to change their minds. More important, we would love to change their hearts. But there are hearts that will never change. We see that with Pharaoh when Moses said, “Let my people go.” What do we do with the two realities: God changes hearts, but some refuse to be changed? We need to make sure we are not the latter, stubborn and stuck. Believe it or not, you and I are sometimes wrong. Sometimes we are the ones who need “divine intervention.”

Let’s Pray

Lord, here I am with an open heart. May it be like water in your hand.

One Year Bible Reading

Ezra 8:21–9:15; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; Psalm 31:1-8; Proverbs 21:1-2