The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (73 page)

October 3

People Problems

     
Do not gloat when your enemy falls;

          
when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,

     
or the L
ORD
will see and disapprove

          
and turn his wrath away from him.

     
Do not fret because of evil men

          
or be envious of the wicked,

     
for the evil man has no future hope,

          
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

This world is full of people who do evil things. Sometimes we feel threatened. Sometimes we are jealous when they win and get away scot-free. It’s natural to be glad when they suffer for a change, but God wants us to live on a higher plane.

Joseph is a remarkable example of how to walk through unfair, cruel circumstances with honor and trust in the Lord and with integrity. His brothers ganged up on him, stripped him of his treasured coat, threw him in a pit, and then sold him as a slave. His hardship lasted thirteen long years. But then famine came. And he became a person who could call the shots—whether they starved to death or lived. One of the most beautiful moments in all of the Bible is when his brothers realized he could take revenge. Instead, he comforted them and said, “Don’t be afraid. . . . Although you meant this for evil, God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:19-20, paraphrased).

So, ladies, do you have a situation where someone is unfair, harsh, or cruel to you? Bitterness, fear, or envy is not the answer. That keeps you under their thumb. Be aware. God has not forgotten. What goes around, truly does come around.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Difficult people come in all shapes and sizes. Toddlers throw tantrums, teens vent, bosses blame, sisters criticize. Difficult people test both our patience and our faith. As you read the encouragement found in James 1:2-4, may you discover fresh strength and motivation to endure with confidence. “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

One Year Bible Reading

Jeremiah 1:1–2:30; Philippians 4:1-23; Psalm 75:1-10; Proverbs 24:17-20

October 4

Change Agents

     
Fear the L
ORD
and the king, my son,

          
and do not join with the rebellious,

     
for those two will send sudden destruction upon them,

          
and who knows what calamities they can bring?

So warning, do not join the rebellious. Some versions use the term, “Those given to change.” Ladies, let’s apply this proverb to our actions and attitudes within our church. There is no perfect church, and honestly, at times we do see things we’d like to change. There are three ways we can respond.

1. We can ignore it.
   
2. We can rebel and resent, or
   
3. We can pray.
   

Don’t ignore the problem. Be aware; sometimes it’s the Lord who is showing you an area of need to stir you up to be part of the solution.

Don’t rebel or resent. Sadly, many times in churches or ministries people get impatient, and instead of trusting the Lord, they take matters in their own hands, resorting to ungodly means. They start a subversive campaign, inciting others to undermine the pastor or leaders. God will not honor actions that are dishonorable.

Pray. This is the truest and most fruitful way to bring about right changes because, first of all, it honors the Lord. It sometimes surprises me when I pray about a situation that I do feel needs changing, in prayer the Lord often changes me. He changes my perspective, and then he can show me a fresh way to play a positive and constructive role.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

You are a change agent. Every day, in every way, you can live your life as part of the problem or part of the solution. It’s really as simple as that. You wouldn’t be reading this book if you didn’t want to grow and give and make your life count for good in this world. That is your destiny, you know. Even though our lives feel small and insignificant, God can use us. Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” God supplies the opportunity. All we need is the desire and willingness to respond.

One Year Bible Reading

Jeremiah 2:31–4:18; Colossians 1:1-17; Psalm 76:1-12; Proverbs 24:21-22

October 5

Justice and Mercy

     
To show partiality in judging is not good:

          
Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent”—

     
peoples will curse him and nations denounce him.

          
But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,

     
and rich blessing will come upon them.

As we know, God is a kind and a merciful God, but he is also just and righteous. When he created man, he hardwired into our souls a desire for things to be right and true. Even a hardened criminal is outraged when there is no justice against someone who has done him wrong.

For there to be justice, it must be impartial. Let’s apply this. As mothers, we can sometimes hold different standards for each of our children. This is not fair, and this is really not good for their souls either. Lenience is not the same as mercy. Too much lenience can cause a child to feel he or she is excused from doing the right thing when it’s hard or inconvenient. So when your child has cheated on a test, or lied about Internet use, or stolen, and you know it, now both of you are accountable. If you both pretend that all is well, it’s like leaving an elephant in the room and pretending it will not make a mess.

Here’s a Scripture from 1 John1:8-9 that applies: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [But] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify [cleanse] us from all unrighteousness” (
NIV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Justice is one side of the coin, mercy is the other. When there has been a wrong done, are we always supposed to mete out the penalty? In most cases, no. We need to be careful, lest we play the role of traffic cop looking for what Jesus called the “speck in our brother’s eye.” There are many times when grace is the appropriate response. Mercy does triumph over judgment, and love covers a multitude of sins.

One Year Bible Reading

Jeremiah 4:19–6:15; Colossians 1:18–2:7; Psalm 77:1-20; Proverbs 24:23-25

October 6

Be Honest

     
An honest answer

          
is like a kiss on the lips.

A truly honest answer—the contrast would be a dishonest answer or a half-honest answer. The Bible exhorts us to “speak the truth in love,” and yet we sometimes don’t.

Honesty
—actually, this is a word that we really don’t hear very often. As I read the dictionary definitions, they were so beautiful and the meaning so excellent, I felt it would stir us to read them.

Honesty
means

• Honorable in principles, intentions, and actions.
  
• Sincere and frank, like an honest face.
  
• Gained fairly, like honest wealth.
  
• Genuine, truthful, and creditable. And when it applies to an honest person, it means “worthy of being trusted, truthful.” An honest witness gives truthful testimony.
  

Since contrasts reinforce our understanding, let’s look at words that describe the concept of
dishonesty
. It means “dishonorable, unjust, unfair, tricky, deceptive, deceitful, misleading, elusive, false, and hypocritical.”

An honest answer, as our proverb says, “is like a kiss on the lips.”

In a world so full of the false, may the Lord enable us to live and speak the truth. “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17,
NKJV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

As Christians, we sometimes put on a veneer. We never let others know we are weak, that we’re hurting, that we make mistakes. This is dishonest. No, I don’t think we should go around airing our dirty laundry, but pretending that you have it all together isn’t good or necessary. It can make someone else feel that she is the only loser around. If she were a good Christian like you, she would never struggle. It can be a huge comfort to someone going through hard times that we are honest and let them know we’ve gone through similar trials without flying colors. Then you can pray with them, going together to the Cross, to be honest with God.

One Year Bible Reading

Jeremiah 6:16–8:7; Colossians 2:8-23; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 24:26