Daily Devotional
Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.
The Wisdom of God
Verses for the Day:
9 It is better to
dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his
eyes.
Proverbs 21:9-10 (AMP):
9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop (on the flat oriental roof,
exposed to all kinds of weather) than in a house shared with a nagging,
quarrelsome and faultfinding woman.
10 The soul or life of the
wicked craves and seeks evil; his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.
Today's verses in
Proverbs are a strong admonition and warning to be careful about
relationships. Verse 9 warns that a man should be careful about choosing
a woman for a wife who is a brawler. The Amplified translation expands on
the definition of a brawler as one who is nagging, quarrelsome and faultfinding.
This scripture states that even if the woman owned a big house, it would not be
enough to compensate for the continual nagging and quarreling that she would
direct at her husband. It goes on to say that dwelling in a corner of the
housetop (outside on the flat roof, exposed to all kinds of weather) would be a
better fate than living with a woman who is a brawler.
This is one reason
why it is very important to be led of God when choosing a mate. It is
always better to marry for character than emotion. You will have to live with
good character or bad character day by day. Some people choose mates by physical
and emotional attraction and this is definitely not the way to go about choosing
a lifelong partner. As Christians, we should be led by the Spirit of God
in all of our decisions. We must not allow our emotions alone to rule us
in decision making. We should be led by the spirit, and then the emotions will
follow. The scripture tells us in Romans 8:14: For as many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Marriage is the second major choice we make in our
lives, and we should never enter into it without much prayer. To rush
into a marriage can be disastrous. The most important decision of our
lives, of course, is our decision to follow the Lord. This decision is
not a one-time declaration, but a daily determination to follow Jesus
above all. So many have failed the Lord because they chose a man or
woman over the Lord.
We find this true throughout the Bible, too. Solomon's
heathen wives led him into idolatry. Samson lost his eyes because of a
woman, Delilah. David committed murder because of passion for Bathsheba.
Our emotions need to be cleansed as they are not the
sign of love. The true definition of love is "God is love." If God is
not in a relationship it is not love, but lust. What this world calls
love is really lust since it is built on what the other person does for
me, not what I can do for him or her. If the other person fails to keep
up his end of the bargain, a divorce occurs because the offended mate is
no longer pleased. This is the attitude of the world's so-called "love."
God's love loves without receiving back; God's love is forgiving and
patient. God's love is gentle and kind. God's love waits. God's love
sacrifices. This is the character needed in both mates to make a
marriage work. None of us really know how to love until we experience
and practice God's love. 1 Corinthians 13 gives us a good definition for
real Christ-like love. The word "charity" is the King James
Version's term for "love." If we put out name in the place of
"charity" in this chapter we can see if we pass the test of true love.
When we are born again and become a child of God then
we seek to please Him by doing good. Verse 10 tells us that
wicked people seek just the opposite -- they seek to do evil. If you
happen to be a neighbor to a wicked person, they certainly will not find
favor in your eyes because there is no fellowship between darkness and
light, nor good and evil. We are called to pray for and witness to
those around us who are evil, so that they might come to know Jesus as
their Saviour.
Dear Heavenly Father: I am
grateful for all the guidelines you have given us in this wonderful book of
Proverbs. Help me to heed the warnings and apply the wisdom that I find in
these pages. Lord, I pray that I will walk as a godly woman so that I will
be a blessing to all of those around me. Forgive me when I fail to be
gracious or impatient with people. May I apply Your love, wisdom and
goodness to all of my daily affairs. Lord, draw the lost in our
neighborhood to Your saving grace. Use me to be a witness to them. I
am claiming their souls for Your kingdom. I ask these things in the name
of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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