Choose Wisdom, Part 4

Do you have trouble forgiving others for wrong things they’ve done to you? Or perhaps you have trouble forgiving those who have hurt or offended, not you personally, but someone you love. Refusing to forgive causes broken relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, sons and daughters, friends and extended family members. The list goes on and on.

Unforgiveness causes all sorts of health problems, such as stomach ulcers, and brings you into Satan’s bondage. The person you’re not forgiving may not be affected by your unforgiveness – it’s you who is suffering. Let your pride go and forgive as God forgives you.

“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.” Proverbs 14:1

A wise woman readily forgives a wrong when it happens to her or to those she loves. She knows that God will take care of the matter if she gives it to Him. She follows Jesus’ example when He hung on the cross and said, “Father, forgive them for they don’t realize what they’re doing.” Because of her forgiving spirit, she is loved by everyone.

A foolish woman is offended easily and holds grudges against those who hurt her. She is bitter and people avoid her. She gossips about those who have offended her and she lashes out in anger at the smallest thing. Pride is more important to her than anything else.

A Word to the Wise - Jesus commands us to forgive, but it’s easier said than done, isn’t it? If you have trouble forgiving, remember this: Forgiving is not saying that the wrong is okay - It’s realizing that you’ve made a lot of mistakes and you choose to forgive the person and let it go so that God can forgive you. Matthew 18:32-35

Choose Wisdom, Part 3

Faith is interesting. It’s not believing that God can, but knowing that He will. When we pray and ask God for something, we must add faith to our prayers and have an expectation that He will answer them.

“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.” Proverbs 14:1

A wise woman prays and expects God to answer. She looks and waits for His answer with excitement, but she’s not surprised because she was expecting it.

A foolish woman may pray, but she really doesn’t expect God to do what she asks. When the answer comes she wonders if it was just a coincidence.

A Word to the Wise - Allow God to answer your prayers not according to your will, but His will. His answers may be packaged differently than you would expect. Romans 8:28

Choose Wisdom, Part 2

Baby birds aren’t very quiet about it when they’re hungry. In baby bird talk, they squeal and holler until their parents feed them. While they’re still young, the parents begin teaching them where to hunt for their food and how to feed themselves. If the baby birds don’t learn this, they will starve.

Like baby birds, we must learn to feed ourselves spiritually from God’s Word and not expect others to do it for us. We are each responsible under God for our life and how we care for ourselves spiritually.

“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.” Proverbs 14:1

As wise women, we must feed ourselves from God’s Word, and not expect others to do it for us. We must spend time in the Bible regularly, thinking and meditating on it. Our wisdom will be increased as we fill our hearts and minds with spiritual food. If we eat regularly from His Word, our wisdom will increase and we will be able to rightly judge situations that present themselves daily in our lives. Only by taking in spiritual food can we grow spiritually.

A foolish woman neglects the reading of God’s Word. She searches her own mind for the answers to life’s problems. She doesn’t know the Word of God and she thinks she doesn’t have time to read and learn from it. She justifies her busy schedule as the reason she can’t make time for learning spiritual things. A foolish woman lacks discretion because she pours into her heart and mind the things of the world. What pours forth from her lacks wisdom.

A Word to the Wise – Take a moment and open God’s Word to 1 John, chapter 1. Spend 5 minutes reading, and then ask God to help you read 5 minutes more tomorrow, and the next day and the next day, etc. Just 5 minutes reading God’s Word every day will change your life forever!