The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (69 page)

September 18

The Way to Rags

     
My child, listen and be wise:

          
Keep your heart on the right course.

     
Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons,

          
for they are on their way to poverty,

          
and too much sleep clothes them in rags.

This proverb addresses us as: my child. Jesus said we are to be childlike. But that doesn’t mean childish. Look around. We live in a society that will not grow up. Sadly, I have been dealing with a single mom who hasn’t. After her divorce she plunged into the party lifestyle. Her new set of friends were loud and obnoxious. Her children have not only suffered, but they are embarrassed by her. Her house is dirty and shabby. Her kids wish she would shape up and grow up.

One alcoholic writes, “I had over forty jobs. I’d work like mad for weeks without a drink, pay a few bills, and then reward myself with alcohol. Then I’d be broke again, hiding out in cheap hotels all over the country.”

Is there an antidote? The best antidote for addiction is preventive medicine. “Listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course.” Stay away from the group at the office who invite you to go out for a few drinks. Those few drinks lead to a few more drinks.

If you have been compromising—whether it’s with alcohol, street drugs, or prescription drugs—will you ask the Lord to help you wake up and grow up? You can’t keep blaming it on things and people in the past. The mercies of God are “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23,
NIV
). God himself is ready to help.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

One of Satan’s tactics is to make you feel too ashamed or too hopeless to admit you need help. But admitting that we are in over our heads and that our flesh is stronger than us is always the first step to turning to God in desperation. “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t” (Romans 7:18).

Let’s Pray

God, I come to you weary and weak. Please be my strength and mighty Savior. One day at a time, walk me to wholeness and restoration.

One Year Bible Reading

Isaiah 28:14–30:11; Galatians 3:23–4:31; Psalm 62:1-12; Proverbs 23:19-21

September 19

Be Kind to Your Parents

     
Listen to your father who begot you,

     
And do not despise your mother when she is old.

Many women who are reading today wince when they see these words. Maybe you grew up without a father or with one who was harsh, or cold, or cruel. Maybe you’ve always struggled with your mother. You just cannot stand to be around her. To you this proverb doesn’t sound logical or doable, at least for you in your situation. So what should we do, and how can we apply it?

My own father grew up with a dad who was a drunk. He was not mean, but he was not there. This left his family desperately poor. But it’s a credit to my dad that he chose not to be bitter. He loved his dad. Later his dad sobered up and became a kind and caring grandfather. I was blessed that my father chose to honor his father and give him a second chance.

And for those of you who have a chip on your shoulder about your mom, this proverb is the Word of God; therefore, it’s God who is looking you in the eye and saying, “Get over it.” When you’re short tempered or disdainful of your mom, it’s just plain wrong. It causes your own character to be eroded.

In Ephesians 4:32 the Lord instructs us to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (
NKJV
).

One final note to moms: our kids are watching and taking their cues from us. How you treat your mom or your mother-in-law, or even how you treat your ex-mother-in-law, is all a lesson to them. When we treat our family members with honor, it teaches them it’s an honor to be honorable.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Are your parents getting older? Even when we know that we are to care for them, the process can be complicated.
Caring for Aging Loved Ones
by Focus on the Family is a wonderful resource. Topics include burnout; physical, emotional, and mental changes in aging; medical, financial, and legal help; elder abuse; choosing a care facility; and end-of-life decisions. It looks at what the Bible says about caregiving and the keys to effectively fulfilling that role. May God bless you and give you grace.

One Year Bible Reading

Isaiah 30:12–33:9; Galatians 5:1-12; Psalm 63:1-11; Proverbs 23:22

September 20

Lesson by Lesson

     
Get the truth and never sell it;

          
also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment.

It doesn’t matter how much money or education you have, every one of us has to buy wisdom on the installment plan, lesson by lesson, truth by truth. Each time we seek God’s wisdom, he gives us more. Each time we trust God’s wisdom, he gives us more.

Bible Study Fellowship, founded in 1959 by A. Wetherell Johnson, is the perfect illustration that God’s wisdom is sometimes delivered to us in unusual packages. Ms. Johnson was a British missionary serving in China until 1950, when Mao Tse-tung’s communist regime forced missionaries to leave. She loved China deeply. With a torn heart she moved to the States. Five ladies in San Bernardino, California, asked her to teach a Bible study. Here are her words: “My heart fell! What had I come to? . . . In China there are millions who have not even heard His name.
Am I to give more to those who already have so much?
” Reluctantly she promised to pray. Dashed hopes are often the breeding ground for God’s wise ways to birth great things. She did say yes, but told them she would not spoon-feed them the Bible. She prepared lesson questions to help them dig deeper using the inductive study method. Bible Study Fellowship has now grown to over one thousand classes with over two hundred thousand members in thirty-eight nations across six continents.

Has one door shut in your life, leaving you confused and sorrowful? Ask God for wisdom. “Trust in the L
ORD
with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5,
NKJV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Our proverb for the day comes from
The One Year Bible
. This Bible arranges a daily reading in which you read a portion of the Old Testament, New Testament, a Psalm, and a Proverb every day. I have to tell you, there is nothing I look forward to more in the morning than taking my cup of coffee, my Bible, and my notebook and sitting in a secret place with the Lord. I love to take notes. I love to stop and ponder and pray, asking the Lord to teach me and show me how to apply his truth. Will you join me reading along this journey?

One Year Bible Reading

Isaiah 33:10–36:22; Galatians 5:13-26; Psalm 64:1-10; Proverbs 23:23

September 21

A Father’s Child

     
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,

     
And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.

The family is in trouble. People are giving up on lasting relationships, and the fallout is dramatically affecting children. Children often end up as pawns in divorce court and child-custody battles. Are you struggling in your marriage? Please, don’t give up. The quick fix of divorce is far from a quick fix.

Let me now speak to single women. When you consider a man to marry, be careful and prayerful. Are his attitudes and priorities the stuff that great fathers are made of? Is he a man of his word, is he kind, is he faithful, is he growing and desiring to become a godly man? I’m not talking about a perfect man—Adam was the last one, and that only lasted for a while. Take an honest look at his character flaws. Is he a drinker, is he selfish, does he get angry easily? Not only do all of these things affect your safety and happiness, but they will dramatically affect your children.

Consider what studies are now finding regarding the importance of a father to a daughter. Dr. Meg Meeker, author of the book
Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know
, explains that the most important factor for girls growing up into confident, well-adjusted women is a strong father with conservative values. To have one is the best protection against eating disorders, failure in school, STDs, unwed pregnancy, and drug or alcohol abuse; and the best predictor of academic achievement, successful marriage, and a satisfying emotional life.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

What if your kids do not have a father in the home? Do you, as a woman, have a “father-shaped hole” in your own life? Are you destined to be just the product of a broken society? The truth is, ever since Adam and Eve fell, families have been at least somewhat dysfunctional. In Isaiah 49:15-16 God responds to your deep questions when you feel he has forgotten you. He says, “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.”

One Year Bible Reading

Isaiah 37:1–38:22; Galatians 6:1-18; Psalm 65:1-13; Proverbs 23:24