The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (6 page)

January 17

Have No Fear

     
Have no fear of sudden disaster

          
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

     
for the L
ORD
will be your confidence

          
and will keep your foot from being snared.

Have no fear. Many right now are living in constant fear. We are—no doubt about it—living in unstable times. I wish I could say, “Don’t worry—be happy! There is nothing to worry about,” but that would be naive.

What I can tell you is this: don’t worry—trust God. In times like this, we do have a safe harbor for our souls. “The L
ORD
[himself] will be your confidence.”

Let me suggest something. In the One Year Bible tomorrow we start reading the incredible story of Joseph (in Genesis 37). It is the perfect illustration of our proverb today. Why don’t you take the time to read it too?

Disaster—it did come into Joseph’s life through a series of unfair circumstances, but he was not ruined, for the Lord was his confidence.

Joseph’s foot was not snared by the jealousy of his brothers, not snared when he lost his home and was sent to slavery. His foot was not snared when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison. And the final wonderful test upon tests: by the grace of God, Joseph’s foot was not snared when his brothers became needy for food and he was in a position to send them away hungry. Truly, what man meant for evil, God used for great good. Good job, Joseph!

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Do you feel you are barely hanging on? Sometimes I feel like a half-drowned cat washed up on the shore. You too? But then I remember: the tender mercies of the Lord, they fail not. “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning” (Lamentations 3:23). Will you take a moment right now to still your heart? Picture the burdens that are weighting you down. Will you lift them up to our merciful and kind Father in heaven? Will you rest your heart with confidence in him? Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God.

One Year Bible Reading

Genesis 35:1–36:43; Matthew 12:1-21; Psalm 15:1-5; Proverbs 3:21-26

January 18

I Can Do Something

     
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,

          
when it is in your power to act.

     
Do not say to your neighbor,

          
“Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow”—

          
when you now have it with you.

The New Testament companion to this proverb is found in James 2:15-16, which says, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (
NIV
).

Good question: What good? I love that God cares about all of this. I think of some of the missed opportunities in the Bible. I think of the innkeeper who turned away Mary when she was about to give birth to the Son of God. I think about the people in Noah’s day who saw him build that huge boat with just his sons. They could have helped.

And so we are encouraged to not miss the many opportunities around us. Okay, let me just throw out some things to pray about. Do you have elderly neighbors? Why don’t you ask, next time you go to the store, if they need anything? Do you know a single mom? Why don’t you ask if her son or her daughter needs new tennis shoes? Do you know someone who is sick? What if you made some extra soup or an extra casserole this week and took it over to them? Do you know of a family whose dad has lost his job? What if you filled a grocery bag with cereal and milk and eggs and peanut butter? Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you did to one of the least of these My brethren, you did to Me” (Matthew 25:40,
NKJV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Let’s Pray

Lord, please show me one thing I can do today to meet a need or lift a burden.

One Year Bible Reading

Genesis 37:1–38:30; Matthew 12:22-45; Psalm 16:1-11; Proverbs 3:27-32

January 19

Grace to the Humble

     
The L
ORD
’s curse is on the house of the wicked,

          
but he blesses the home of the righteous.

     
He mocks proud mockers

          
but gives grace to the humble.

     
The wise inherit honor,

          
but fools he holds up to shame.

“Grace to the humble.” That’s our topic today. Many of us theoretically would like to be humble, but then we realize that to be humble might take the process of being humbled.

But let’s listen to what 1 Peter 5:5 tells us: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (
NIV
).

Here we see humility is a choice, and the context is in relationships. Pride and stubbornness build walls, but humility can melt them.

Let’s apply this first to marriage. Has your husband disappointed you? Have you then in your frustration struck back with words or actions? Now you have a standoff. No one wants to budge. Ladies, when families fight, nobody wins. You be the first to say the kind word. You be the first to say, “I’m sorry.” Mark my words. No matter how your husband responds, God will bless you because he promised that he would give grace to the humble. It’s been said, “Humility isn’t thinking meanly of yourself. It’s merely not thinking of yourself at all.”

So let’s humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God because he guarantees that he, God himself, will lift us up.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

I’ll be perfectly honest: it’s hard for me to humble myself when I think I am right or the other person is wrong. But God has taught me little steps that help me every time. (1) Try to step in the other person’s shoes to see his side. How does he feel? (2) Ask yourself,
Have I been thoughtless or unkind?
It is humbling, because I always see how I could have or should have done things better. (3) Take it to God; then (4) God himself will give you the next step.

One Year Bible Reading

Genesis 39:1–41:16; Matthew 12:46–13:23; Psalm 17:1-15; Proverbs 3:33-35

January 20

Fatherly Advice

     
My children, listen to me. Listen to your father’s instruction.

          
Pay attention and grow wise,

     
for I am giving you good guidance.

          
Don’t turn away from my teaching. . . .

     
My father told me,

     
“Take my words to heart.

          
Follow my instructions and you will live.

     
Learn to be wise, and develop good judgment.

          
Don’t forget or turn away from my words.

     
Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you.

          
Love her, and she will guard you.”

Maybe as you listened, this actually made you a little sad because you never had a father who talked with you and taught you wise things. Maybe you’re a single mom and you wish your children had a father who did that. Having a father is a very important thing. Listen to some tragic statistics: 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children and 71 percent of high school dropouts are from fatherless homes.

But although you may have lacked this kind of strong, wise input on a human level, God himself is able to make it up to you. He is willing and able to step into that role to father you and father your kids, giving them wise advice. He can stand beside you when you’re weak. He can comfort you when you’re lonely or afraid. He will be the Father you never had but always wanted.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

“Learn to be wise and develop good judgment” is your Father God’s advice for you today.
Learn
and
develop
are the key verbs. Wisdom does not just come overnight. We learn what is right as we read the book of Proverbs. Then we have a responsibility to apply what we learn. Each time we do what we know is right, we forge paths of obedience in our characters. Does that make sense? Wise choices and good judgment become your “new groove.” And that’s a good thing!

Let’s Pray

Lord, please teach me what is right and help me to apply what I learn.

One Year Bible Reading

Genesis 41:17–42:17; Matthew 13:24-46; Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 4:1-6