Day 9: Stay Planted in the Word of God

Scripture to Memorize:
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
Proverbs 31:12-13
Passage to Read:
Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mocfkers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3
Prayer:
Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for blessing me. Holy Spirit speak to my inner being and keep me from seeking guidance from the wicked (or the world but only from you). Keep me from associating with the ungodly and participating in their ungodly, worldly ways. Help me find my delight in the study of God's Word. Grant me insight and teachers, bring it to life as only you can. Teach me to meditate on Holy Scripture and guide me to the passages you want me to focus on. Holy One help me remain committed to the study of God's Word so that I might be like a tree that yields the fruit of the Spirit each in it's season. Help me to be fruitful for you. Help me . Lord! Amen.
Personal:
Donna's first comments under this section is to talk about the fact that if I am to become a "capable, dignified, and virtuous woman" it will require hard work, many years of hard work. I firmly believe that it is something that I will need to work on the rest of my through regular Bible Study, prayer, and devotion to following God.
She then shared a story about their three citrus trees not bearing any fruit not even a flower while all of her neighbors trees were loaded with blooms and then fruit. At first she felt it was unfair even bizarre until she discovered that six months earlier her husband had been working on the watering system and had turned it off and forgotten to turn it back on. Her next point was how we tend to look at other people's "blooms and fruit" and wonder why they are prospering when we are not. I want to label it as due to something beyond my control, something unfair, or bizarre; but if I am truthful I will have to admit that the cause is something I did or failed to do. It is a consequence of my own behavior. Cause and effect, actions and consequences of my actions.
Donna then went on to say that if I remain faithful and meditate on the Scripture I will prosper in season AND IN SEASON does not necessarily mean next week. I am not a very patient person, as most addicted people I want what I want and I wanted it yesterday. I want instant results. I live in a culture of instant. But God is not about instant. He is about the tree that takes years to mature and begin to produce fruit. Plus fruit trees only bear their fruit in the season when they bear fruit. Some may produce fruit in Spring, others in the Summer, and some in Fall.
To be blessed I need to stay planted in God's Words. Donna then urges the reader to become a more serious student of the Bible--to study, memorize, and meditate.
"The Proverbs 31 woman didn't become God's ideal woman overnight, and neither will we. But eventually she became the kind of woman everyone honored--a woman clothed with strength and dignity--ad so will we."
Affirmation: I study God's Word so my life is fruitful; everything I do prospers.
Personal:
Donna suggests using a page like the one below as a Bible Study tool.
Bible Study Worksheet
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Date: ___________________________
Passage: _______________________________
1. Summarize in a few sentences what the passage is about.

2. Is there an example for me to follow?

3. Is there an error I need to avoid?

4. Is there a command for me to obey?

5. Is there a sin I need to forsake?

6. What application of this passage can I make today?

Donna suggests that you begin a notebook to place several blank pages in this format, or to do it on a Word document to be printed off and kept in a notebook which you keep in your Bible Study/Time Alone With God place. I have done something like this in the past but find it difficult to remain diligent about it. I do better if the book in the Bible I'm studying is small. For me it works best under 10 chapters. I sometimes do this between studies. However, I still struggle with "Am I getting the message God wants me to get" even though I prayed before I began that day and asked the Holy Spirit to teach me and spend time after I finish with that days reading to just be quiet and wait on God's answer or guidance. I know this is partly the deceiver trying to discourage me but someone also suggested that I read smaller passages and really focus on grasping the message/lesson is a small passage keeping in mind the purpose of the book. Next time I do this possibly when I finish this study, or in the Summer I will take that suggestion and maybe incorporate some of the suggestions I have gleaned from Kay Arthur studies.