Ever wonder what kind of people are given special treatment by God? Well,
verse 25 of Proverbs 15 gives us our answer, for it says:
"The Lord will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the
border of the widow."
There is evidently a contrast here between the kind of people that God
helps and the kind of people He doesn't help. The proud definitely do
not get any help from God, in fact, He destroys the very foundation their
life is built upon, for it is built upon pride. His face is forever set
against those who exalt themselves and live independently of Him. The
widow however, is the type of person who God will come to the aid of.
Let's think for a moment of the characteristics of a widow...
In Matthew, Mark & Luke, the Bible refers to the man of the house as "the
strong man". So then, we could say a woman who is widowed is one who has
been stripped of a large percentage of her strength, in a manner of speaking.
She has lost a big portion of herself to death, she is desolate, completely
alone. Hence, a widow is one who is utterly dependent upon others for
help and protection in many different ways. If she had any, she was naturally
taken care of by family first, or her local church when her husband, her
strong man died. Both parties were commanded by God to willingly accept
this care for her as you'll see in the verses below...
1 Timothy 5:3, "Honour widows that are widows indeed."
1 Timothy 5:16, "If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them
relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them
that are widows indeed."
1 Timothy Chapter 5 speaks in depth about widows and how to care for them.
It is only right that the local church show compassion to these women
who were in need. However, there are some guidelines the Bible gives in
this chapter as to how this assistance should be carried out. Before the
church was expected to help a widow, she had to truly be deprived, meaning
without any family around to care for her so that the church was not wasting
it's resources. Believers were encouraged to fulfill their responsibilities
to one another, especially to any widows within their family so that the
church's resources could be used on people who really were in need. In
fact, he who provided not for his own was regarded as worse than an unbeliever!
Whether we like to admit it or not, there are many kinds of individuals,
and whole families who prey on churches for hand-outs needlessly, having
no interest to improve their own situation with hard work. Hence, the
reason for Biblical guidelines. So then, we find then in 1 Timothy 5:5
the guidelines for which widows the church did help:
"Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth
in supplications and prayers day and night."
It is confirmed here again that a widow the church helps is one who has
no other support system. She should not be a self-indulgent person, a
pleasure seeker, but a godly woman with holy affections, one who hopes
in God and completely trusts in Him. Though she has experienced hardship
in her life through the death of her beloved, she has learned to have
a heart for people and intercedes for them with her ministry of prayer.
The widow humbly accepts the help of others and does not stubbornly or
pridefully resist assistance... This is who the church is to come to the
aid of, and that my friend, is the very same attitude God comes to the
aid of when He sees it present in our hearts!! Remember - our verse for
the day says, He establishes the border of the widow. Who wouldn't want
to attract the Lord's assistance, amen?
Now, you may not be a widow, but do you have a widow's attitude today,
dear lady? Or do you have some other support system going on in your life
besides trusting in God?? Do you understand how poverty stricken you are
apart from Christ? Maybe you still don't think you need the Lord yet or
the help of the local church, or even your brothers and sisters in the
Lord... Maybe you're insulted when others try to help you spiritually
and encourage you to do right. Are you living independently as a member
of your church by coming if and when you "feel" like it or whenever a
tragedy hits your home? Are you a self-indulgent person, busy seeking
personal pleasure rather than seeking God? If and when you do pray, is
your prayer life one that is filled with begging God for hand-outs for
yourself, or do you include prayer for others? Are you driven by compassion
to reach out to those you've come to recognize are hurting and strive
to help meet their needs, or can't you see past your own problems yet?
In verse 13-15 of 1 Timothy 5, many of the younger widows fell to the
temptation of misusing their idle time. As their love for God grew cold,
they began to fill their time with wandering about from house to house
tattling and being busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. Some
even turned aside after Satan...
Psalm 146:9 says, "The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the
fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down."
Ladies, sweet relief is promised to those who humbly recognize their deep
need for the Lord. We need to adopt a widow's attitude, amen? Only eternity
will reveal the value and enormous importance godly widows have played
in the ministries of God around the world! They have been some of the
greatest assets among the churches, spiritual powerhouses and the backbone
of prayer meetings because of their great faith in their Lord. Remember
the story of the widow's mite? Mark 12:42-44 says:
"And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which
make a farthing. And he called unto his disciples, and said unto them,
Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all
they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their
abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all
her living."
No wonder God establishes the border of the widow, no wonder He comes
to her aid! What a precious, personal relationship this woman had with
her Lord! What faith is demonstrated by the consecration of her whole
life seen in this very act of sacrificial giving. What total trust she
has placed in her God.... In spite of her personal grief, in spite of
the loving memories
that linger on her heart, in spite of the loneliness and isolation she
may now be battling, in spite of her tears or fears, in spite of the changes
she is facing, in spite of her weaknesses that are ever before her, she
still serves the Lord! She has learned that Christ alone can make her
complete.... Have you done the same?
Ladies, you and I can either bring judgement upon ourselves and wax wanton
against Christ as the younger widows we read about did, or we can bring
God's special treatment into our lives simply by having a godly widow's
attitude. Think about it... How would your relationship with God change
if your husband died? Would you learn to trust in the Lord then, talk
to Him more then, depend upon and rest in His help then? If so, why wait
until you are a widow for this behavior to come about! I daresay the godly
widow's heart was right BEFORE she became a widow...
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
