The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (63 page)

August 26

God Is Our Maker

     
The rich and the poor have this in common,

     
The L
ORD
is the maker of them all.

Solomon was a king, and he was the son of a king. But before his father was a king, he was a shepherd. His great-grandmother was a poor widow from a foreign country, and his great-grandfather was a farmer. This gave him insight that people are people, rich or poor. As Job said, “Naked I came into this world, and naked I will return” (Job 1:21, paraphrased). The truth is, we are not human bodies with a soul. We are souls temporarily in a human body.

But our society has become very shallow. We measure people by how they dress or what they drive. Sadly, sometimes we even do this at church.

Listen to how James addressed this matter. “Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing . . . fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, . . . ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated . . . and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised to those who love him?” (James 2:2-5,
NIV
).

The Bible tells us, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the L
ORD
looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7,
NKJV
). And so should we. Because God loves all people. God loves the rough-around-the-edges teenager. God loves the waitress who is weary and forgot your order. God loves the old woman who is slow in the line ahead of you. God loves them, and so should we.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

I have a hobby. I love to watch people at the mall, at Disneyland, in airports. I like to ponder who they are, what is going on in their lives. Our Father in heaven watches too. His loving eye is on each one; he knows the number of the hairs on their heads. Doesn’t this truth make you love God even more? His heart is so big. Doesn’t this make you want to be more like him? If the answer is yes, then I say, “Me too!”

One Year Bible Reading

Job 20:1–22:30; 2 Corinthians 1:1-11; Psalm 40:11-17; Proverbs 22:2-4

August 27

Guard Your Heart and Soul

     
Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;

     
He [or she] who guards his soul will be far from them.

If you look at the world around you, there are so many dangers for women, both emotionally and spiritually. Thorns and snares are meant to harm and trap. Often they are hidden. Just the bait is seen that lures us into danger. Ladies, whether you are fifteen or fifty-five, it is foolish and dangerous to be naive or careless. We must be aware and diligent to guard our hearts and our minds and our souls.

First Peter 5:8-9 gives us a strong warning: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith” (
NKJV
).

To devour means “to swallow up as in a dark pit.” Haven’t you seen women cross that line of sexual temptation and end up in a dark, life-destroying place? And when we as women fall, we take others with us—our children, our friends, and those we love.

I will leave you with a strong urging. Do not think you can watch an R-rated movie without it planting seeds and images in your mind that linger. Do not think you can read trashy novels or watch sleazy TV without causing real life to look boring and dull. Do not think you can play with an emotional affair or flirt with someone at work. It is a thorn and a snare. Remember, she who guards her soul will be safe.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23).

This is a sobering and yet insightful word from the Lord. He knows how we are wired. He knows that our emotions can be stirred dangerously. But God gave us emotions; they can move us to noble and compassionate purposes. We can cry with others and carry their burdens on our hearts. How do you guard your heart and soul? Be about your Father’s business. If your heart is full of godly occupation, there is no room for temptation and trashy, destructive motives and interests. Amen? Amen!

One Year Bible Reading

Job 23:1–27:23; 2 Corinthians 1:12–2:11; Psalm 41:1-13; Proverbs 22:5-6

August 28

The Bondage of Debt

     
The rich rules over the poor,

     
And the borrower is servant to the lender.

Oh, the ball and chain of debt. It amazes me how many offers we get in the mail for credit cards, preapproved. It’s easy to get the loan and easy to spend the money, but the hard part is paying it back. It’s a burden. It starts out seeming that the loan company is doing you a big favor, serving you. But you end up serving the lender—sometimes for years. Oh, the ball and chain of debt. Dear sisters, we need to be wise stewards of our money. Even as Christians we can get caught up in the spend-now, pay-later syndrome.

On TV there’s a commercial that asks, “What’s in your wallet?” The first step to freedom is to take those cards out of your wallet and cut them up. The second step is to double up on your payments. Each month pay more than is due. This might mean that for a year you have to cut out going out to dinner or buying something new, but you’ll see it will be so worth it in the long run. Then you need to cut yourself off from the sources of temptation. Stop watching the shopping channel, stop cruising the Internet, stay away from the mall. If you don’t see it, you just won’t even think you need it.

But the greatest antidote, as a woman of God, is to ask the Lord to fill you with new desires for things that the world isn’t selling and money can’t buy. “Delight yourself also in the L
ORD
, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4,
NKJV
). Instead of buying a new pair of shoes this week, find a promise in the Bible. Memorize it and take it to heart and then share it with someone else. Now, that’s living rich.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Okay, admission time. I love to shop; I do. Although I’m a bargain shopper, a bargain shopper sometimes buys things just because they’re cheap, not because she needs them. Guilty! I know my weakness, so I’ve developed a stopgap habit to curb foolish spending. Before I pay at the checkout, I ask myself,
Do I really need this?
If not, I put it back.

One Year Bible Reading

Job 28:1–30:31; 2 Corinthians 2:12-17; Psalm 42:1-11; Proverbs 22:7

August 29

The Joy of Generosity

     
He who sows wickedness reaps trouble,

          
and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

     
A generous man will himself be blessed,

          
for he shares his food with the poor.

Galatians 6:7 tells us, “A man reaps what he sows” (
NIV
).

The longer I live, the more I see that all the behavior the Lord warns against causes us more trouble than it ever causes anyone else. Things like bitterness, jealousy, selfishness—they all come back to haunt us and bring trouble to our own lives.

What a refreshing picture we see in contrast. “A generous man [or woman] will himself be blessed, for he shares . . . with the poor.” Who wouldn’t want to be blessed? This should be our goal every day. The definition of
generous
is “liberal in giving or sharing; unselfish; free from meanness or smallness of mind or character; magnanimous.” Wow! We need a lot more of that in this dog-eat-dog world, don’t we?

So how can we be generous and magnanimous? Be aware. Being generous is not limited to sharing money. We can be generous in extending forgiveness quickly. We can be generous in being friendly to the lonely. We can be generous doing small, random acts of kindness. We can be generous sending a card or letting someone know we care about her burden or sorrow and are praying. We can be generous just by being a blessing.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Let’s not just talk about generosity; let’s activate it. Surely if we ask the Lord to give us one opportunity to give today, the sun will not go down before he shows us who or where and how, be it small or great.

Let’s Pray

Lord, change my heart and give me a passion to be generous. Please open my eyes and open my hand to give to someone who is needy today. Stretch me in this. Touch my heart so when I see the need, I give joyfully and gently, without making them feel humiliated or indebted. If possible, may I give secretly so the praise and thanks will go to you. I thank you in advance for the joy that will then fill my heart.

One Year Bible Reading

Job 31:1–33:33; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18; Psalm 43:1-5; Proverbs 22:8-9