Proverbs 31 Devotionals

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Seasons 

I have found that many women are plagued with guilt because they don’t have large chunks of time to read the Word.  I want to share some things with you that I hope will encourage you if you are in that group.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that there is a time for everything – a season for every activity.  We all have seasons when our lives are excessively busy, and there really isn’t much we can do about it.  Perhaps you are the mother of an infant.  Your life is filled with interrupted sleep, feedings every two hours, colic, plus all of the other responsibilities of being a wife and manager of your home.  Yes, you are very busy!

Perhaps you are the care-giver for an elderly parent and it requires much of your time to visit your parent.  That can quickly take several hours from your already-busy schedule, not to mention it can zap your energy quickly.

Perhaps you are a single mom who is working two or three jobs to support your children and keep food on the table.  You are overloaded with responsibility, and guilt over your lack of time in God’s Word is the last thing you need to deal with.

I’m sure some of you can think of other scenarios that would fit this quite well, but rather than focus on how busy we are, I want to give you some hope and, in turn, refresh your spirit.

Ecclesiastes 3:5 says there is a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.  I want to look at the stones as being the Word of God.  In those overly-busy seasons of our lives, we don’t have lots of time to sit and “gather stones.”  It is time for us to scatter them.  Find some verses that speak to your heart and write them on index cards and scatter them throughout the house, in your car, on your desk at work, etc.  While it may only be one verse, if you get that one verse deep in your spirit, it is better than reading for an hour and not remembering anything you read.

One thing I did as a new mother was try to read one Proverb a day.  Often, I would find a verse or two early in the chapter that resonated with me, so I would stop reading, write those verses down, and I would meditate on them for several days.  I would keep an index card on the table next to where I would nurse the baby.  I also kept one by her changing table since I was in there several times a day. 

I also kept a topical book in the bathroom.  If I needed a verse on God’s faithfulness, I would look up “faithfulness” in the index and read a couple of verses to encourage me.  If I needed to read about how to combat worry, I would focus on that section.  It would only be a few minutes of time, but it was life to my spirit!

Jesus said that we are to come to Him when we are weary.  We are to give Him our burdens and let Him give us rest.  We are to take His yoke upon us for His yoke will fit us perfectly, and the burden He gives us is light.  When a farmer yokes a new ox, he puts it with a more experienced ox.  The more experienced ox carries the heavier burden, making it much easier for the younger ox to follow along.  It is the same with Jesus – He carries our heavy burdens so that we can follow Him. 

If you are burdened with guilt over your lack of time in the Word, it is time to let Jesus put a new yoke on you.  Take His yoke and find rest for your weary soul.

© 2008, Stacy R Miller

Unappreciated

A common thing experienced by women is feeling unappreciated as a wife and mom. Yet God still sees EVERYTHING you do. He sees your faithfulness in serving your family, and He sees the loving way in which you do it. Though it may often go unnoticed by others, it will NEVER go unnoticed by your Father.

While you may get weary and worn in your daily duties, many of which can be very mundane, God sees your perseverance, even on those days when you are absolutely exhausted.

He sees you when you are up all night with a sick child. He sees you on your knees in prayer over a wayward child.

He sees when you wash that load of laundry you would rather leave undone. He sees when you wash that load of dishes when you would prefer to be reading a book or taking a nap. He sees you cleaning the house when you would rather eat a good candy bar while chatting with a friend. He sees you on those days when you feel so lonely, lost in the myriad of tasks which are part of motherhood. In those times, He reaches out to you, saying, “My precious daughter, I am here. Listen for my voice, for I am always trying to express my deep love for you.”

 © 2007, Stacy R. Miller

The Rescue Inhaler

There is a new policy being put into place at the hospital where I work. Those of us who work on the financial side will be required to start wearing dress clothes to work. Being that my closet is full of scrubs, I needed to start shopping.

As a woman who tries to live frugally, I headed to the local Goodwill for their half price day. As I walked into the store, I was clearly a woman on a mission. However, as an asthmatic, I quickly realized I had entered a dangerous place. While I was going through the racks of clothing, it was becoming increasingly harder to breathe. The scents of the numerous laundry soaps which had been used on the clothing, along with the body scents of the previous owners was overpowering. I quickly reached for my rescue inhaler to ease my discomfort.

I saw some spiritual insights to be gained from this experience. In a spiritual sense, we can be overwhelmed by the “scents” of this world. For instance, we can watch television shows that portray murder, violence, and immorality. We can watch as Hollywood mocks Christianity. The music we listen to can get deep into our spirit. If we aren’t careful about what we listen to, we will find that it can deeply affect our thinking. As an asthmatic struggles to breathe in an unhealthy environment, Christians can struggle to have the breath of God breathing through us when we aren’t faithful to be in His Word.

While at Goodwill, I was seeking to find clothing that had been worn by someone else. In a spiritual sense, if we aren’t careful to nurture our spirits, we will find that we are dressing ourselves in the dirty, stinky clothing of this world. Some examples of this clothing are anger, rage, bitterness, envy, lust, selfishness, greed, and jealousy.

When we find we’ve taken on the clothing of this world, just as I reached for my rescue inhaler, we can reach for Jesus. He is our Rescue Inhaler. As we inhale on Him and His Word, our spiritual breath will become refreshed, renewed, and restored.

Do you need to reach for your spiritual Rescue Inhaler?

© 2012, Stacy R. Miller