What makes a woman wise?

In the past few weeks, I’ve been studying Bible passages about wisdom.  As I seek to support my husband, parent our children, and grow as a Christian, I want to access the wisdom that only God can give.

Through my Scripture reading, I’ve found a list of at least ten traits that mark a wise woman.

1.  She fears the Lord.  The Bible is pretty direct in letting us know that this is the place to begin our quest for wisdom.  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)

2.  She is teachable.  “Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.” (Proverbs 8:33)  “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” (Proverbs 9:9)

Whether learning from God’s Word in our personal study or from pastors, Bible teachers or fellow Christians, a wise woman absorbs Biblical knowledge and applies it to her life.

3.  She controls her mouth.  Talk less.  “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” (Proverbs 10:19)

We also want our speech to be profitable and for our words to build up and encourage others.  “The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.” (Proverbs 15:2)

4.  She plans ahead.  “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.” (Proverbs 10:5)  Several verses in Proverbs 31 describe the virtuous woman as one who is organized and prepared.

5.  She is careful in her choice of friends. “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” (Proverbs 13:20)

6.  She fears the pull of sin and stays away from it.  “A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.” (Proverbs 14:16)  We want to recognize our weaknesses and keep ourselves out of situations that might tempt us to sin.

7.  She seeks the counsel of other wise people. When we don’t know how to handle a certain situation, we should seek the Lord in prayer and then, as appropriate, seek advice from those we know who are wise. “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:” (Proverbs 1:5)  “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” (Proverbs 12:15)

8.  She guides her heart.  “Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.” (Proverbs 23:19)  A wise woman guards her affections.  She monitors her activities so that she has time for the things of the Lord and isn’t focused on things of the world.  It’s wise for us as women to set guidelines to keep worldliness from slipping into our own personal lives or homes.

9.  She considers her latter end.  “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” (Deuteronomy 32:29)  This passage is talking about the children of Israel, but I think it can certainly apply to us.  We need to examine the many choices we make – whether small, daily decisions or bigger, potentially life-changing ones – and consider how will they impact our future here and in eternity.

10.  She knows that all that happens in her life is in God’s hands.  “For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God:” (Ecclesiastes 9:1a)  From Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, comes this reminder that every event in our life is under God’s control.

May the Holy Spirit help us to grow us in wisdom so that we can be the Christian women, wives, and mothers that He would have us to be!

What other traits would a wise woman have?

Source

 Elisabeth Elliot passed away on Monday.

As I’m sure is the case with many Christian women, I’ve been inspired by her testimony.  I’ve read many of her books including Through Gates of Splendor, Let Me Be a Woman, Passion and Purity, and The Shaping of a Christian Family.  I read her YWAM biography to my daughters.

I occasionally heard her on the radio and always appreciated the wisdom she shared.  Here are five of my favorite Elisabeth Elliot quotes.

• “The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of
  Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian makes me a different kind
  of woman.” 

• “Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy.
  Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to
  wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His
  hands.”

•  “God never withholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call
  good. God’s refusals are always merciful — “severe mercies” at times
  but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except
  to give us something better.”

•  “God has promised to supply our needs. What we don’t have now we don’t need now.” 

• “Teach me to treat all that comes to me with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all.” 

I’m sure it was a joyous time as she met face to face the Savior that she served so well!  May we live in such a way that we, too, will please the Lord and leave a testimony to encourage others.

Source

“And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee….”  II Corinthians 12:9

As I’ve studied Bible passages on grace this year, I focused in on one particular word in this oft-quoted verse.

Sufficient.

Sufficient means enough to meet the need.

So the question I ask is, “What do you need grace for today?”

• Patience to deal with a strong-willed child?

• Wisdom in dealing with a difficult situation at work?

• Strength to care for a sick family member?

• Sweetness in the midst of your own illness?

• Courage to face a financial difficulty?

• Power to overcome a temptation?

• Determination to finish a project?

Whatever our needs are today, the grace of God is enough.  Our own strength or fortitude or will power may not be sufficient to get us through, but God has promised that His grace is enough to meet our every need.

Source

“Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”  ~I Peter 5:5

Humility is the key to receiving God’s grace.

It begins with salvation.  I must recognize that I am a sinner and can’t save myself; only Jesus could meet the requirements of being my Savior and it’s only through Him that I can get to heaven.

In my daily Christian walk, I know that I can only live for Him through His power.  When I think I can make it on my own, I will certainly fall.

Proverbs 3:34 puts it in a similar way. “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.”

Isn’t pride what began man’s downfall?  Eve, seeing the fruit, desiring to be made wise, to be “as gods,” made the choice to disobey.  So I tend to make choices that put my own wishes in the forefront rather than submitting myself to God’s desires for me.

Yet I long for God’s grace, know that I must have it to be the wife and mom that I want to be for my family today.  

So let me be humble, let my heart see my need for God so that I can be a recipient of His grace today.

Source

“Great people don’t do great things.  God does great things with surrendered people.  And surrender happens every day in one thousand small moments.”  ~Jennie Allen in Restless:  Because You Were Made for More

Life is made up of small moments, the nearly non-stop choices of whether I will follow God’s way or my own.

There’s the moment when I choose between….

• kind words or a snappy retort
• patience or impatience
• a selfish action or sacrificing my way
• gratitude or discontentment
• puffing myself up with pride or allowing humility to rule
• worry or prayer
• faith or unbelief

If I want to become all that God can make me as a wife, a mom, a friend, and His child, then I must have His help in those moments, in making the right “little” choices that will add up to a surrendered life.

These verses encourage me in this struggle.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” ~Galatians 5:1

“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”  ~Romans 6:13

“Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”  ~I Thessalonians 5:24

Let’s ask for God’s help in surrendering to Him in our choices today!

“Lord, I repent of it all:  the expectations that kill relationships and the entitlement that steals all joy.”  ~Ann Voskamp in One Thousand Gifts Devotional: Reflections on Finding Everyday Graces

Expectations.  Entitlement.  I certainly struggle with one or both of these frequently!

It’s easy to build up expectations in our mind, things that we assume others will do or say, or a certain way that we think events will unfold.  When we expect something that doesn’t happen, we get disappointed and perhaps become disgruntled.

Sometimes our expectations are unrealistic.  I think as women we often put expectations on our poor husbands that they don’t even know about!  Rather than explaining to them what we’d like, we just expect them to know how to please us.  It could happen with friends or family members as well – we expect certain behavior and when it doesn’t happen, we let that affect the relationship.

Who will never let us down?  Only one person can meet our every expectation.  “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.”  Psalm 62:5

Let’s let go of our expectations of other people and seek instead to serve and give to them.

Living with an attitude of entitlement is another pitfall.  If I’m always looking to receive what I think I’m due or worthy of, always wanting to make sure I get “mine,” I can’t be content.  I easily lose my joy because I don’t feel like I’m getting the good things I deserve.

The antidote for entitlement begins with gratitude.  Let me be grateful for what I have.  Whether it’s material gain or public recognition or a promotion at work, I should realize that these things will never bring lasting joy and that God is enough.  “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.”  Psalm 16:8-9

Let’s ask the Lord to help us let go of expectations and entitlement and focus our minds on Him and all of His blessings!

“It seems odd, but usually our greatest trial is what molds and shapes us.  It gives us character, backbone, courage, wisdom, discernment, and friendships that are not shallow.”  ~Randy Alcorn in If God is Good

Trials come to all of us.  There’s your every day, garden-variety trial – not enough money at the end of the month, an afternoon headache, an irritating person, a job you don’t like.

Then there are what we might consider larger trials – the loss of a loved one, facing a chronic illness, a child who’s away from the Lord, a job loss.

Yet I’ve found that it truly is through our trials that we grow the most, that we find ourselves becoming more conformed to His image.  When my husband had back surgery last year, I learned more about prayer and trusting God than I had in a long time.  Losing our first child due to anencephaly taught me amazing lessons about God’s goodness, His grace, His peace, His perfect timing, and His love and care for me.

I love the phrase Alcorn uses – “friendships that are not shallow.”  Whether it’s family members or friends or church members, once they’ve walked with you through a deep valley, the relationship is forever sweeter and closer.

In the same book I mentioned above, Alcorn says, “God never wastes our pain.”  Whether that’s physical or emotional pain, I believe that there’s always a purpose to it.  Even when we can’t see it, He is always, always working for our good and His glory

So whatever trials you and I are facing today, I pray that we will recognize that God is developing in us those traits that will make us more like His Son and that, by His grace, we can come through our trial a stronger, more trusting Christian.

Every day, I need God’s grace.  Whether I’m on top of the mountain or down in the valley, He is the one who can provide what I lack.

As we go through our days, here are several types of grace we might need.

1.  Saving grace.  If you’ve never accepted Jesus as your Savior, you need the grace that God offers for salvation.  Recognizing you’re a sinner and putting your faith and trust in Jesus as the only way to heaven is the greatest gift of grace ever given.  “For by grace are ye saved through faith….”  (Ephesians 2:8,9)

2.  Giving grace.  To overcome our selfish nature, we need grace to give of ourselves and whatever we have in order to help and serve others  “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.  As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”  (I Peter 4:9,10) 

3.  Growing grace.  To grow in our prayer life or in studying our Bible, we need grace.  Becoming more like Christ on a daily basis will only happen through His grace. “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ….”  (II Peter 3:18)

4.  Sustaining grace.  Dark days and trials will come.  Whether it’s a physical illness, an emotional situation, or a spiritual struggle, God can give grace to make it through.  “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness….”  (II Corinthians 12:9)

5.  Forbearing grace.  If I continually battle sins of the tongue, God’s grace can bring me deliverance.  No matter what sin besets me, God has the grace to overcome it. “…But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 5:20,21) 

What kind of grace do you need today?

The gratitude journal I started a couple of years ago has 3,465 entries.

That’s not because I’m great; it’s because God is great and, by His grace and with His help, I can recognize the blessings that surround me.

There are days when it’s harder to think of gifts to list, when the problems may seem greater than the blessings.  But that’s when I need the list most, to bring my focus back to where it should be.

While maintaining this journal isn’t on my goal list like it was last year, I’m still adding to it nearly every day.  It’s a practical way to highlight God’s grace.

While I don’t list this many items every day, I wanted to share just a sample of entries from yesterday of things for which I’m thankful.

• sweet texts from my husband who’s out of town

• a Christian hairstylist with whom I can talk about God and His Word

• remembering to be thankful even when I slopped a big blotch of coconut oil on a favorite jacket, which will now be reduced to “around-the-house” wear

• sharing Sweet Frog frozen yogurt with my younger daughter, using a gift card she won in Awana

• a piano book we’d ordered for my older daughter arriving in near-record time

• an encouraging phone conversation with my mom

• safety while driving on a drizzly day

• a young lady coming forward in last night’s revival service and the opportunity to share with her the gospel and hear her pray for salvation

Eight gifts from an ordinary day, made extraordinary because of His grace.

What’s on your gratitude list today?

In 2014 my word was trust.

That word was very important to me as the year went by.  We trusted God for wisdom in several decisions that had to be made for our family.  When I wanted to worry or work my will on a situation, I sought instead to trust God.  I tried to embrace Proverbs 3:5-6, which says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

In this new year, the word that I haven’t been able to get away from is grace.

I’d already been considering this as the word for my spiritual focus in 2015 when we attended the church my dad pastors on the Sunday after Christmas.  One of the hymns we sang that morning cemented this word in my heart.

Grace Greater than Our Sin
Julia H. Johnston

As I sat down on my pew after we finished singing, I thought of the grace of God evidenced in my life at that very moment.  My entire family – parents, siblings, siblings’ spouses and children – was all together in church worshiping God.  There for my noticing was one of the many evidences of grace in my life that I never want to take for granted.

What will this year teach me about grace?  I have no idea.  I know that I’m saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8,9); He promises that “His grace is sufficient” (II Corinthians 12:9); and grace allows me to have victory over sin in my life (Romans 6:14).  I hope that by focusing on God’s grace, I’ll continue to cultivate gratitude in my life as well.

Not only do I want to be attentive to God’s grace in my life, but I also want to be prepared to extend grace to others.  I am just a saved sinner, seeking to serve God through His Holy Spirit’s power.  Whether I’m interacting with unsaved people or fellow Christians, I want grace to characterize my relationships with others.

God’s grace is free, it’s infinite, and it comes straight from the Father’s hand to my heart.

My salvation began with the grace of God and it is only by His grace that I can continue to live the Christian life.  May I be a testimony of His grace this year.