Biblical Portrait....series

 

 

"Every wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down."

Proverbs 14:1

 

Few women are aware of how much influence they have on their surroundings.

 

Regardless of our marital status or living arrangements, all of us as women have some type of "house." That "house" may be our immediate family, or neighborhood, our workplace, our school, our church, or our nation.

 

Through our attitudes, our words, and our behavior, we have the power to bless and build the lives of those around us; we also have the power to tear them down and destroy them.

 

On the following pages, you will find a series of contrasting statements that suggest specific ways we can built up or tear down our homes. Check the statements that best describe your attitudes, words, and actions towards those that God has place in your life.

 

Ask God to reveal whether  you are wisely helping others by building them up, or foolishly hurting and hindering them by tearing them down.

 

DO not let the enemy discourage you by what you may see. Rather, as you become aware of attitudes, words, or actions that are tearing down your home, agree with God, confessing your foolishness. Then, in each of those areas, ask Him to make you a wise woman and to help you build a home that will bring great glory to Him.

Do my Attitudes "build up"....or "tear down"?

 

• I am committed to give to meet the needs of others, regardless of whether or not I get anything in return(Act 20:35)
• My willingness to meet the needs of others in determined by the love and appreciation they show me.
• I have a grateful spirit toward God and others for the blessings and benefits I have received (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
• I chain people to my expectations and get hurt when those expectations are not fulfilled. 
•  I "esteem all others better" than myself ad demonstrate it by putting their needs and desires ahead of my own (Philippians 2:3, KJV).
• I often selfishly insist on having my way, and seek to meet my own needs, ahead of the needs of others.
• I have yielded all my "rights" to God and therefore can respond with meekness and forgiveness when other wrong me (Colossians 3:12-13).
• I am easily angered when I feel my rights have been violated.
• I realize that God is the "Blessed Controller of all things," so I can respond to difficult circumstances with a spirit of meekness and trust (Romans 8:28).
• I often resent and resist the circumstances that come into my life.
• I trust God to work through the authorities He has placed in my life (Proverbs 21:1; 1 Peter 3:5).
• I struggle with responding properly to authority because I don't really believe that God is big enough to change the heart of "the king."   
• I have a submissive spirit towards the authorities God has placed over my life. I am quick to yield and to follow direction that is given, even when it crosses my own will (Hebrews 13:17).
• I have a resistant, stubborn spirit toward authority, and seek to manipulate or maintain control over my life, my circumstances, and those around me.
• My life radiates joy, peace, and contentment, because I know God loves me and is in control of every detail of my life. (Romans 8:37-39)
• I often communicate a spirit of discontentment, bitterness, or fear regarding my circumstances.
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