God’s Wisdomfor aMother’s

-Patience-8-Day Reading

Plan

The greatest call for Christian moms is to know God and help others know Him, too.

The readings in this 8-day plan are selected from the Mom's Bible: God's Wisdom for

Mothers offering encouragement and a wise perspective as you seek to grow in the area

of patience and godly character.

Table of ContentsDay 1:Day 2:Day 3:Day 4:Day 5:Day 6:Day 7:Day 8:

What is Good GuiltOur RefugeGrow DownFitness FunFacing the Tests of LifeExercise for Your SoulWayward ChildrenBehind Bars

Day 1: What is Good Guilt

Are there days when you feel like a failure at everything you do? Your tongue lashes out in cruelty at the very children you love. You lose patience with co-workers. The envy you’ve fought so hard to control gets the best of you and your heart actually fills with bitterness toward a neighbor.When God shines the light of his Word down on our blunders, we cower in its brightness and dart away to find cover. It’s so hard to face up to our errors as guilt points its accusing finger.What good is guilt? It actually opens the door to healing. We have to see — really see — our sinfulness in order to receive God’s grace. We who deeply desire righteousness must turn our faces full into the light of God’s perfection. There we can see our sin as well as our need for his grace. And in that brightness we can see the love on God’s face and his desire to restore us to himself.Close your eyes and “see” your sin. Ask God for forgiveness. Then open your eyes to the light of his healing. Move past the guilt and live in restoration today.

*Scripture on next slide*

Day 1: Scripture

“‘These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy: 2 The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar. 3 All its fat shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the internal organs,4 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver,

which is to be removed with the kidneys. 5 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering presented to the LORD. It is a guilt offering. 6 Any male in a priest’s family may eat

it, but it must be eaten in the sanctuary area; it is most holy.7 “‘The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the

priest who makes atonement with them. 8 The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide for himself. 9 Every grain offering baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a

griddle belongs to the priest who offers it, 10 and every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.’”

Leviticus 7:1-10Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.

Psalm 38:2Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but

worldly sorrow brings death.2 Corinthians 7:10

Day 2: Our Refuge

Deuteronomy 19 describes cities of refuge, places where those who had killed someone could flee for protection. Such cities were set up for those who had killed someone accidentally or in self-defense, without malice or forethought.

Hmmm. Not a bad idea for moms.

Do moms need a refuge, not from murder, of course, but from frustration? Certainly! From lack of patience? Without a doubt! From lack of self-control? Yes!

How desperately we as moms need a refuge, a place of retreat and safety when we have failed. When we have lost our last shred of control and shouted at our treasured child. When we selfishly refused to help our husband because we wanted him to handle it.

God is that safe place in such moments. He has set himself apart for us so that he is available to meet our needs whenever, whatever they are.

What is it you need today? Forgiveness? Hope? Strength to begin again? Why not go to your refuge? Go to God.*Scripture on next

slide*

Day 2: ScriptureWhen the LORD your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven

them out and settled in their towns and houses, 2 then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess. 3 Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the

land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities.

4 This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought.5 For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That

man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he

did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. 7 This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.

8 If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he promised on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them, 9 because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love

the LORD your God and to walk always in obedience to him—then you are to set aside three more cities. 10 Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which theLORD your God is giving you as your

inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.11 But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor, and then flees to one of these

cities, 12 the killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die. 13 Show no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent

blood, so that it may go well with you.14 Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in

the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.Deuteronomy 19:1-14

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27:5

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.Psalm 32:7

Day 3: Grow DownHow honest and direct children are with their needs! If it feels good, they laugh. If it hurts, they cry. If they want it, they ask for it—or just take it.

In Luke 18:17 Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

These words about children actually preceded Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler who couldn’t admit his need for God and Jesus’ interaction with Zacchaeus, who scaled a tree — like a child — to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Jesus set the stage with a truth and then illustrated it both negatively and positively. By contrasting two men’s actions — one who couldn’t admit his needs and one who readily admitted his needs to the point of making himself look like a child — Jesus clearly teaches us how to approach God with our needs.

What do you need? Patience with a potty-training three-year-old? Wisdom with a truth-stretching six-year-old? Compassion with a troubled thirteen-year-old? Jesus reminds us that when we admit our needs with the honesty of a child, he’ll meet them.

Take a moment to pray today:

Dear God, I need _________. Today. Right now. Please provide for this need in a way that I can understand. Like a child, I’m asking, I’m reaching out, I’m standing on tiptoe to watch you work. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

*Scripture on next slide*

Day 3: Scripture

 

 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and

said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of

God like a little child will never enter it.”Luke 18:15-17

 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their

sin and will heal their land.2 Chronicles 7:14

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Luke 11:9

Day 4: Fitness Fun

Doctors, psychologists and other experts knowingly tout the benefits of physical fitness on general well-being. The bottom line is that when we’re out of shape, we don’t feel well and we tire easily.

The break many moms need is simply a walk around the block to feel the fresh air and get their blood flowing. Some mothers need better nutrition — something other than leftover peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, coffee and fast food. And others need to lie down for a nap. All these ingredients add up to physical fitness.

While it’s sometimes next to impossible to get that needed break, we can make it a priority to take advantage of odd moments here and there. We can get up early and go for a run while our husband is home and before we start our day. We can trade kids with a friend and take a walk in the neighborhood. We can go for a lunch with a co-worker on our lunch break. Many family sports centers and gyms offer free day care for children while parents work out. Weekends are a great time to begin a habit and continue it into the next week.

For many of us with overcrowded schedules, physical fitness is, unfortunately, one of the first things to go. We figure no one but us will notice. Wrong. Whether or not the lack of love for our bodies shows on the outside, we suffer on the inside. Eventually, the damage will be demonstrated in the form of impatience, irritability and general grouchiness. But when a woman feels good about herself, she’s more likely to treat others with goodness.

*Scripture on next slide*

Day 4: Scripture

 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought

at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.1 Corinthians 6:19-21

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit

of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.Romans 8:9

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

1 Corinthians 3:16

Day 5: Facing the Tests of Life

Unemployment. Divorce. Infertility. The death of a father. The illness of a child. The cruelty of an acquaintance. The betrayal of a friend.

There comes a time when our faith is tested deliberately by God—not so we will be overcome but so we might grasp the validity of our faith and know it to be real. From God’s hand comes the cumulative exam designed to reinforce our learning about him and his work in our lives.

Someone likened this process to the kite flyer who takes the string of a kite and runs until the kite ascends into the sky. The kite will not rise without the wind. Wind is necessary for a kite to fly, and kites rise not with the wind, but against it. So it is with us. We will not rise to patience and maturity unless we ascend against trials.

Scripture tells us that Job was a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil (see Job 1:1). At Satan’s challenge, God allowed Job’s faith to be put to the test — that Job might show himself to be faithful and God to be God.

God’s desire is that we meet our tests not with the bleary eyes of worried novices but with the confidence of students who are well acquainted with the words of their Professor. Layer upon layer, God is educating us about how he has worked in our lives and in the lives of those we love.

How are you doing on the “test” of today?

*Scripture on next slide*

Day 5: ScriptureOne day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “Where have

you come from?”Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.11 But now stretch out your hand and strike

everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”12 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.Job 1:6-12

2    Sing the glory of his name;    make his praise glorious.3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!    So great is your power    that your enemies cringe before you.4 All the earth bows down to you;    they sing praise to you,    they sing the praises of your name.”5 Come and see what God has done,    his awesome deeds for mankind!6 He turned the sea into dry land,    they passed through the waters on foot—    come, let us rejoice in him.7 He rules forever by his power,    his eyes watch the nations—    let not the rebellious rise up against him.8 Praise our God, all peoples,    let the sound of his praise be heard;9 he has preserved our lives    and kept our feet from slipping.10 For you, God, tested us;    you refined us like silver.11 You brought us into prison

    and laid burdens on our backs.12 You let people ride over our heads;    we went through fire and water,    but you brought us to a place of abundance.13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings    and fulfill my vows to you—14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke    when I was in trouble.15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you    and an offering of rams;    I will offer bulls and goats.16 Come and hear, all you who fear God;    let me tell you what he has done for me.17 I cried out to him with my mouth;    his praise was on my tongue.18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,    the Lord would not have listened;19 but God has surely listened    and has heard my prayer.20 Praise be to God,    who has not rejected my prayer    or withheld his love from me!

Psalm 66

Shout for joy to God, all the earth!

Day 6: Exercise for Your SoulCan you think of any other exercise that yields more results than prayer?

• We can converse with the God of the universe. When we bow our heads and utter God’s name, we have an audience with a king more powerful than the leader of any country on earth.

• We’re reminded that we’re not alone. Even after a terrible tragedy or trial, God waits to be with us in prayer. Our trust is stretched and we gradually gain perspective.

• We’re united to God and to other believers. When we pray for a sister, we’re joined with her and with others who have the same desire. Our bond with others is strengthened.

• We grow when we pray. By uniting our wills with God’s, we can see ourselves making progress toward becoming more like him. Our faith is flexed.

• We wee God answer. Friends are healed. Children begin a relationship with Jesus. Patience appears in the face of trials. Jobs are provided. Our spirits expand.

• We learn to wait. When answers are slim, we learn that God is still at work while we wait. Our patience develops.

There is no other exercise that yields more results in our souls than prayer. Want to get your soul in shape? How about bending those knees?

*Scripture on next slide*

Day 6: ScriptureIn the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom— 2 in the first

year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in

fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our

ancestors, and to all the people of the land.7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all

Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, LORD, because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he

gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us,

because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the LORD our God is righteous

in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people

an object of scorn to all those around us.17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate

sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and

act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”Daniel 9:1-9

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to

those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 7:7-12 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Day 7: Wayward Children

You held her on your knee, rocking her back and forth, holding the well-loved Bible storybook, singing her songs of Jesus at naptime. Today she slams her bedroom door in your face and ignores your pleas that she got to church with you.

He clapped his hands in time, mimicking the gestures to the words of the church school song, eagerly answering Bible questions, sincerely praying by his bed. Now he raises his eyebrow with a cynical smirk at the idea of praying over meals.

What happened? And what do we do now?

When our children stray, when they doubt, when they live a life that seems to exclude God, we can do what God does with us. We can follow the example of his patience and discipline with wayward Israel, with wayward sinners and with wayward you and wayward me.

In our children’s rebellion against God, we often see our own detours of faith. Perhaps the only sane path to take is the one God takes with us. He waits. While we worry, he waits. While we wonder, he waits. While we wander, he waits. With love and patience, with undeniable consequences and with unwavering willingness to take us back, he waits.

*Scripture on next slide*

Day 7: Scripture

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.2 But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. They

sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did

not realize it was I who healed them.4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like

one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.Hosea 11:1-4

 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from

heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.2 Chronicles 7:14

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 3:9

Day 8: Behind Bars

Did you know that the most prolific writer of the New Testament was a jailbird? Paul was imprisoned on several occasions because he persisted in preaching the gospel. While serving time both under house arrest and in a cell, Paul learned patience and resourcefulness, which carried God’s message through the bars of his prison and out into the world.

How did it happen? First, Paul focused on the needs close at hand. While he was captive, he captivated his caretakers with stories of Jesus. Rather than pining about those he couldn’t reach, he touched with God’s love those at his elbow.

Second, Paul kept problems and persecutions in his short-term memory and God’s purposes in his long-term memory. He accepted God’s plan for his days, even if that meant he spent them in prison. He focused on the eternal picture.

Most of us feel at some time like we’re stuck in prison — stuck behind bars. In the days when we’re mothering babies and stuck inside a house or buckled into the chauffeur position in the car or cemented into the roles of provider and nurturer, it’s easy to feel incarcerated! But in the midst of “captivity,” God can use us to captivate others. *Scripture on next

slide*

Day 8: ScriptureThree days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My

brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18 They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. 19 The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people. 20 For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the

hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”21 They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from

there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.”

23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from

the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit

spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:26 “‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never

perceiving.”27 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

28 “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” [29] 

30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

Acts 28:17-31

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the

more to proclaim the gospel without fear.15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love,

knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in

every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus

Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is

better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting

in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of

the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to

believe in him, but also to suffer for him,Philippians 1:12-29

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