Genesis 2:18
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him an help meet for him.
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him an help meet for him.
The Gift of Wisdom
Do you have enough fear of God not to question His Word?
God's Blueprint for Marriage
Ephesians 5:22-24- "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing."
Colossians 3:18 - "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 11:3 - "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the head of Christ [is] God."
God commands wives to submit to their OWN husbands.
God informs men that they are the head of the wife.
God tells the wives to be subject to their husbands in everything, every decision, every move, every plan, and all everyday affairs.
There will be times in your marriage when it will take faith and wisdom to believe that God is good, kind, and just in His command for you to submit to your husband in everything. Note that what God commands a woman to do does not hinge on the man loving his wife as Christ loved the Church. If it did, there is not one single husband who ever lived and breathed who would be worthy of his wife's submission or reverence. Each of them, the man and the woman, has been given their own directive from God with a model or pattern to attain to. What God said stands, regardless of the man's goodness or the apparent lack thereof. You were given your blueprints with words like honor, submit, and reverence. This is God's will and way, His directive and pattern for you to model. It is up to us to believe and obey God.
Just knowing God's will from His written Word will help you become that kind of person. There is peace and joy in knowing that you are right where you were created to be. The more you seek to obey God by being a good help meet to your man, so much the more you will come to know God; and the more you know Him, the more you will care about the things He values.
You Think I'm Some Kind of Spiritual Giant?
It has taken wisdom for me to understand a man, his ego, his tender heart, and his strong needs. It was nothing short of divine wisdom that enabled me to understand the destructiveness of taking personal offense when my husband did things that seemed unfair, selfish, or harsh. It has been the gift of wisdom that has helped me to understand that God is delighted in me when I want to delight and please my man.
A gift is something you receive that has not been earned or merited. God wants to give you the gift of wisdom. It is this precious gift of wisdom that has enabled me to see beyond the piles of dumped trash bags. Do you think I am some kind of super-spiritual giant? I am just like you, flesh and blood. I can pitch a hissy fit just as well as the next woman. I can get stone-cold and freeze my man down to cracked ice. Thankfully, God has offered us women wisdom that allows me daily to choose what my future will be. I thank God that wisdom is not earned; it is a gift.
Your lift will be full of dumped-trash-bag situations. Your husband will be selfish. He will be unkind. He will not respect your rights. He will be foolish. He may be cruel, and that son of Adam may actually walk in sin. But he cannot victimize you unless you react outside of the wisdom of God. You can decide to be in a constant state of anger and bitterness, or you can ask God for the wisdom to live each day in a state of honoring your man for God's sake. You need the precious gift of wisdom to be able to hold your tongue and be thankful when your flesh would strike back in anger. You need wisdom to see how feeling sorry for yourself is far from the heart of God. You need the gift of wisdom as a constant reminder of the limitations of your female understanding. The gift of wisdom will remind you that God's rules are not there to put you in bondage, but to help you make a man want to cherish, protect, and love you. Most of all, the gift of wisdom will enable you to serve and honor your husband because you are serving and honoring God. You will find fulfillment in your nature as a woman.
James 1:5 - "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
God gives us wisdom liberally, like a gift, but first we must ask for it.
Today, as you read this, you have two choices open to you. You can excuse yourself from the responsibility by mentally assigning various excuses to your situation, or you can choose to believe God and become a 100% help meet regardless of anything that would stand in your way. Which will it be?
Answer these questions:
What is the key to understanding our roles as wives?
Where are peace and joy found?
If your husband does not love you, does that negate your responsibility or prevent you from fulfilling your role?
What is the gift that God gives that will help you in your pursuit of becoming a help meet?
List three words that are part of the blueprint for help meets.
What can you do that will cause you to know God more and cause you to care about the things he cares about?
Are you committed to a heavenly marriage?
To commit your way unto the Lord is to say, "Not my will, but thine, be done."
Psalm 37:3-8 - "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil."
The Beginning of Wisdom
The Beginning of Wisdom
Wisdom is conceived in a strange place. It is fathered by fear. If our choices can bring us to miserable ends, then fear is the healthiest deterrent we can have. It is the beginning of wisdom. Life without fear is a fool's paradise. What physical pain is to the preservation of the human body, fear is to the preservation of the soul. A Christian life without fear is a religious life without a living God.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..." - Psalm 111:10
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..." - Proverbs 9:10
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge..." - Proverbs 1:7
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..." - Proverbs 9:10
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge..." - Proverbs 1:7
Anything God says three times is worth heeding.
Make a new habit.
Make a new habit.
When you feel yourself beginning to have a critical spirit, stop, take a deep breath, silently ask for wisdom, then think of something that is on your thankful list. This is remolding a habit, and, in time, practice makes perfect.
Getting Serious with God
Find the definition of the word odious. Learn to hate the idea of ever being guilty of such a thing. Any time you are showing irritation and blame toward others, keep in mind that the earth is disquieted due to your being an odious, married woman.
Proverbs 30:21-23 - "For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat; For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress."
Look up in Scripture (KJV) the fear of God. How many times does it appear? What do you think God is trying to teach us? How differently would we react to our daily challenges if we truly feared God...?
Running With You,
No comments:
Post a Comment