It's not quite a quiver full, but it's a start!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Wife Calling

In the Beginning God had created man with His own hands, in His own image, and brought man to life with His very own Spirit. Then He appointed man over every living thing on earth. In Genesis 2:18-22 when God took the rib from Adam's side to create Eve, He also designed her with a purpose. God called woman to be man's "suitable helper" (literally translated "a helper like man"). Woman was called to be man's life mate. "Helper" is not a demeaning term. In fact, Psalm 33:20, Psalm 70:5 , and Psalm 115:9 all use the term "help" to refer to God Himself. Woman, just like man, was created in God's own image and has a plan and a purpose just as great.

Perhaps it was man's very own desire for a mate that is what gave woman such power in our calling. Man was not complete without woman in spite of all God had given him and appointed him over. Think about that in terms of our "modern" situations. No matter how successful our husbands are, no matter how much power they have been given in their positions at work, no matter how great everyone else thinks they are, it is ultimately their mate who determines their feeling of "completeness." It is us, their wives, who determine whether our husbands feel truly satisfied.

As a woman our greatest gift is the gift of influence. It all started in the garden...why do you think Satan approached Eve? He knew she would be able to convince Adam to eat of the fruit because of her influence over him. Women are life givers, called to cultivate emotional and spiritual well-being in our families. This starts with our husbands! If Satan can influence a marriage, he can destroy a family. If he can destroy a family, he can destroy the future.

Our husbands have a divine calling and it is our responsibility as wives to make sure they are equipped and confident in this calling. It is our job to give them godly encouragement to lead them in the direction of their calling. Our men point us in the direction we are to be headed, but as wives we are the ones who do the steering of our families! The importance of a good wife is stated clearly in Proverbs 31:10-31. "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life...honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." And this is just a portion!

A godly wife of the Bible is successful, respected, well educated, and blessed. What a great calling! She is her husband's supporter and business partner, and in return her husband has full confidence in her and praises her works. But what happens to our husbands if we instead use our powers of influence to tear down and harm them? Our powers of influence have the ability to destroy our husband's spirit, to remove all of his confidence, to build up walls around his heart.

If we want a husband who is the leader of our family, who is a godly partner, and who is loving and kind in all he does it is our job to cultivate these things in him. This is not about manipulation. This is not about turning our husbands into the man we want them to be. It is about seeing our husbands the way God sees them. It is about seeing our husbands as God's sons, the princes of the Kingdom of God. It is about recognizing in our husbands the call God has placed on their life, then using the call God has placed on us to bring it to fullfillment! What an amazing responsibility we have been given as wives! Don't forget to join me in my wife challenge!

It is no wonder a noble wife is worth more than rubies. Wives, you are a priceless gift to your husband.

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