The Wife We are Called To Be

I've been doing a devotional about being a better wife for Steve. There is always room for improvement in all areas of life, including our marriage and relationship with our husbands.

Did you know that we were called to be a certain type of wife to our husbands? God created Eve to be a help-mate to Adam. He created her to walk beside him. Some of you might not like what I'm about to write, but God even called us to submit to our husbands. In 1 Peter 3 it says that we, wives, need to accept the authority of our husbands. In 1 Corinthians 11:3 it even says, "...The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." It also says in 1 Corinthians 11:9, "And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man." Basically, husbands are the head of us, and we are to submit to their authority. 

Woah, wait, what!? That might be a hard pill to swallow, but let's look at what the word "submit" really means. The main definition is to "yield oneself to the authority or will of another." Does this mean to let your husband walk all over you, abuse you, and put you down? Of course not! What this is saying is that there are going to be times when your husband is going to make a decision that we just need to accept. We might need to let our husbands lead us down a path we aren't to sure about. Examples could be location of a new job and/or a new home. Maybe it is a tough decision that needs to happen with a love one. Letting your husband be the leader in the home is not a bad thing - in fact it's a good thing since that's what God called them to be - Leaders. We are his help-mate. We are there to support him, encourage him, and be by his side, even if the decision he decided on wasn't the right choice. 

Now, some of you might be thinking, "Well, what about my needs?" God addresses this as well. In Ephesians 5:28 it says, "In the same way," (this is talking about how God loves the church and his people), "husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself." What man doesn't feed, clothe, and take care of his body? None. All men will eat, drink, and care of his body. God is saying that just like they love their own bodies and care for them, they are to care and love us (their wife). It also says in Colossians 3:19, "Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly." Here God addresses abuse, whether it be physical, emotional, or verbal. So when we submit to our husbands, does this mean to let our husbands walk all of us? No way because even God called them not to and to a higher standard.

I love what it says in Hosea 2:19, "I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion." The back story to Hosea (for those that don't know the Bible) he is told by God to marry a prostitute. He is taking this lady that has been around the block as his wife and says that he is going to love her and have compassion for her. How amazing is that!? Despite her flaws, her past, and her imperfections, Hosea is going to love her beyond measure.

We need to work as a team with our husbands. We need to be there to support him, encourage him, and love him. The flip side of this is he needs to love us as he loves himself. What are you doing to be your husbands help-mate? Are you honoring him, lifting him up, supporting his decisions, and encouraging him? Let's be the wife God has called us to be.