P.M.S.ing

I love that initial verse for this chapter 10 lesson:

"If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn't much to you in the first place." Proverbs 24:10 MSG

or even better in the NLT "If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small."

That really was the heart of our lesson as we ventured through the various verses in the first section (pgs 73-75). We need to realize that it's in those moments of sudden frustrations, whether they come from monthly hormonal changes or from sudden circumstances that our hearts will reveal who we really are and what amount of God's strength we have built up over time.

Proverbs 27:19 (pg74, #2)states:
As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man. NASB


When you look into a still, clear watered pool you can see a perfect reflection of yourself but as soon as that water is disturbed by the smallest thing the picture becomes disrupted, distorted. The same is true of our hearts. As long as life is going along just fine with no ripples we are fine but the moment our little world gets jolted by even the simplest things of life, like someone cutting in front of you in traffic, the kids spilling milk at the dinner table or the checkbook not balancing we find ourselves disrupted and frustrated. Our words and actions become indicators of what lies in our hearts.

Jesus said this clearly to the pharisees in Matthew 12: 34-35 (pg 75 #4)
"You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. ESV

So the question we must ask ourselves is "What is my heart in abundance of?" What have I stored up in recent years in my heart? Is it the good things of the Lord by being in His Word, praying, spending time with other sisters in Christ, listening, watching and reading the things which are beneficial to me? Or have I become the world's student, taking in all the unhealthy ungodly teachings the world has to offer through various forms of media?

As Ezekiel 36:26-27 (pg 75, #5) states:

“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." NASB

Even though this passage is directed to the Israelites eventually becoming believers in the Messiah it is absolutely true of all people who give their hearts in trust to the Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas in many biblical passages the idea of a heart of flesh might be indicative of a sinful heart this particular passage's phrase heart of flesh is referring to a teachable, moldable heart. One that is no longer hard and rebellious toward God and His ways, but one that has been changed into a tender, appreciative and obedient heart toward the God who has saved them. It is a heart that continues to change or transform as one seeks to grow more like Christ everyday. This is where the heart is not only being transformed but being filled daily with the good things of God. This is where we as women of God want to be so that the words that flow from our mouths in those hormonal periods or the trying circumstances of life is truly an abundance of a God filled heart.

In the second part of our lesson (pgs 76-79) we see how our moods can leave us feeling blah or lackluster. You know, those days when you just don't want to do anything. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a time of resting your body and mind, however we need to be in tune to what is going on in our hearts and minds at various times whether they are due to our cycle or not. If we are not careful we can use our "time of the month" or other emotional or physical pain as an excuse to be lazy, grumpy or unkind to others. We as believers are without excuse. We have God's word to instruct us as well as God's Spirit dwelling within us.

Besides seeking God in prayer and study of His word, making the decision to serve another sister when you are in one of your down moods is a great way to beat those blah feelings. Something truly does happen when we decide to fore go our personal pity parties and get up off the couch and find someone to bless. Visit a friend, make a phone call, fix a meal or dessert for someone else. The possibilities are endless. And you will find that not only do you come away with your spirits uplifted but you have lifted someone else's spirit as well.

When we survey the passages in proverbs where Solomon spoke of women's behavior (pg77. #8) we find they are not very flattering. I especially found the Proverbs 24:25 in the New Living Translation interesting.
"It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic
than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home."

We as women spend a great deal of time making our homes and bodies lovely. We have to have the latest fashions and will spend all kinds of money, time and energy making these both as lovely as possible. (All very commendable if done in a balanced manner.) Yet how much time to we spend in working on our inner beauty, on letting Jesus transform us from the inside out by abiding in Him daily?

The Lovely Branches Ministries is based on this principle from John 15:4-5.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

As we fellowship with Christ (the Vine) through His Word and prayer and then seek to live in obedience to that word, the Holy Spirit, which is an example of the life giving sap which flows from the Vine to the branches (those who have put their trust in Christ), will help us grow into the likeness of that Vine. Overtime we begin to produce fruit, the kind of fruit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23:

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control.

This fruit has the potential to cause those around us to desire and hunger for that same fruit. As sisters abiding in Jesus Christ we want others to "taste and see that the Lord is good; to make God their refuge" just as we have. (Psalm 34:8)

So I encourage you sweet sisters seek to be a lovely branch of righteousness, one reflective of the mighty Branch of Righteousness, Christ Himself. (Isaiah 4:2 and Jeremiah 23:15)

We closed our lesson Thursday talking about the fear of God. We all agreed that the fear of God is not a cowering dreaded fear but a reverential fear. Fear of a God who is in loving authority over us. One who has our best interest in mind, always. Yet One who will, as any good parent would do, deliver to us a loving disciplinary action on occasion intended to grow us to maturity.

Consider Proverbs 31:30 -
"Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

Let's keep our focus on God and His work on our hearts so that the abundance of our hearts is one that reveals our fear and reverence for Him; that we might become over time, lovely women of Christ, from the inside out, even on those crummy hormonal days.