Praise The Lord, Everyone!

Today, the Lord led me to read Genesis chapters 1 and 2. When I got to chapter 2, He gave me a couple of Scriptures and some lessons to learn from them. I am led to share these with you. I pray (and I'm sure it will) help someone today.

Gen 2:18(NIV)
The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

The first key word in this Scripture is "helper". God's PRIMARY reason for creating woman was so that she could be a helper to her husband. We are to be not just the one who keeps the house and clothes clean and cooks the food. We are to also be our husband's encourager, making him feel good about the effort he takes to provide for his home and family.

My husband is a good provider. He works hard everyday. When he comes home, many times he looks like he's about to fall out because he's so tired. I do appreciate him for this, and I often tell him so. Sometimes, I feel like he gets too wrapped up in this part of his role and doesn't make time to be with his family. I often tell him that I'm glad he provides for us, but that's not the only reason I married him. Sometimes, I want to just be with him. Who cares if we don't have money. I'll be happy just looking in his face. He's such a doer that he has a hard time relaxing and just being, so I feel that he doesn't really understand my feelings about this.

Another key word in this Scripture is "suitable". The Lord revealed to me that everyone has a mate that is perfectly suited to them and God knows who it is.

In my relationship with my husband, the Lord reminded me that my husband told me he prayed and said to the Lord that he wanted a wife who was suited to him. The Lord also reminded me that when I began to have feelings for my husband, I went and sought the Lord in prayer and fasting because I wanted to know for sure if this was the man that I was supposed to be with.

Now, the Lord had me in this passage for a reason. I have this nasty habit of wondering if my relationship with my husband is going to work whenever we have a misunderstanding, or when my husband does something that I don't like. In this passage, the Lord was reminding me that I have my special someone, and I shouldn't be entertaining thoughts of throwing him away just because I feel something's not right.

The other Scripture that the Lord pointed out to me was:

Gen 2:24 (NIV)
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

The Lord showed me here that the first relationship that was created between people was that of husband and wife. This is the greatest and most important relationship between two people that can exist. It is even greater than that of mother/daughter, father/son, etc. It is the relationship that we are supposed to spend our youth preparing for.

Our parents are primarily supposed to prepare us for this relationship. What we are taught in our preparation period will effect what we teach our children in their preparation period.

He also showed me that this is the reason that many relationships today don't work and why there are so many people who are missing their special someone-because they are not properly prepared for this covenant. The Lord will not bless us with someone so that we can mistreat them. There are many people who are mistreating their special someone by mentally or physically abusing them, or taking them for granted, or putting other people or the desire for money before them.

God has a rightful place in our relationship. He is the only one who belongs at the head of it. And when we have problems with our mate, we are supposed to take those problems to Him and trust that He will help us to solve them. Instead, there are many who just leave God at the altar after they get married and this is why their relationship is suffering so much. Sure, there will be misunderstandings, but if we trust the Lord, He will help us. He is the glue that holds us together in all we do, so how much more will He be there to help us through the difficulties that occur in this our most important covenant if we just trust Him and call on Him?

So, the lesson that I am learning today is to stop thinking about quitting and giving up, but to keep trusting in the Lord. He put us together and He'll help us through our difficulties if we trust Him and invite Him into our relationship through the good times and the bad.

I hope that this has helped someone today, and I pray that you will apply this lesson to your lives as I most certainly will to mine.

May the Lord bless you all in Jesus' Mighty Name!

Amen!

Kathy,

I thank God for the Holy Spirit that allows us to speak and share from our hearts. Kathy, This message is perfect timing. I thank God for teaching me to love my wife and my children with all my heart. From God's persperpective, life without love is worthless. Relationship, not things, are what really matters. I know the Lord blessed me with a wonderful wife that loves the Lord as much as I do. When we both made that commitment to each other we did it with full submmision with our Lord. Love is the secret of a lasting heritage.
I Thank God to allow me to Love the way I do. It's his Love for me that keeps my heart free from going cold.

The relationship between husband and wife is similar to that between Christ and the Church.
Eph. 5:25-31
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing[2] her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church-- 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."

Husbands must treat their wives with respect and exercise headship in love.
1Peter 3:7 7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Col 3:19 19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

It seems so right when we base our relationship on God's Word for our marriage. My wife also knows to submit to me as the church submits to Christ. EPH. 5:22-24 22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

I Pray that the Lord would continue to guide my life for the good of my wife and my three boys.

I also thank God for allowing me to work full time, and own my own business so my wife can stay at home and raise our toddlers. I also pray that we continue to stay in the word so we can train our children and that we would quickly pursue peace when trouble arises.
Matt. 5:23-24 23"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.


May the Lord continue to speak to your heart that you may encourage all that cross your path!

God Bless you and thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

Praise The Lord, John!

All of the Scriptures that you shared here are the same ones that our minister who presided over our wedding gave us. Thank you so much for sharing them.

Your situation is pretty similar to mine. My husband is self-employed. Actually, the Lord just blessed us to become the owners of a computer repair shop. This has been the dream that my husband has been working toward since he set out to be an entreprenuer. God is good!

I do pray that the Lord will bless you and your family in a mighty way!

In Jesus' Name!
Amen!

AMEN!

MAY THE LORD CONTINUE TO GIVE YOUR FAMILY STRENGTH, COURAGE AND PEACE.

MAY YOUR BUSINESS PROSPER IN ABUNDANCE.

IN JESUS NAME! AMEN!

I agree with keeping love for God and one another at the forefront of your marriage. I would just like to encourage any beleivers out there who are married to unbelievers, or spouses struggling with their walk with God.

Many of us got married before we knew the Lord, and our mates may not be that special person who's "just right" for us. This is no reason to throw your marriage away. Don't use that as an excuse to leave your spouse. God can work in a marriage even if only one partner knows Him.

In former times women were not even allowed to choose their husbands. Yet somehow God blessed many of those marriages too. I have been married to a nominal Christian for over twenty years. We chose each other before I ever knew Jesus as my saviour. He had accepted Christ as a boy, so he may actually be saved, but he has no desire to dedicate his life to the Lord. No church, Bible study, Christian movies, books or conferences, no prayer, no "fruit" of the Spirit at all that I have seen. Yet he respects my beliefs, endorses raising the kids in church, lets me go to church events and have Christian friends and even Bible studies in my home -- he just won't attend them.

We were on the verge of divorce at the time I got saved, and God restored our marriage when I gave my life to Jesus. It was a process of a year or more to restore the love and trust into our relationship, but we now have been happily married for over twenty years. I continue to pray for him, and even to talk to him about the Bible and what the Lord is doing in my life. But I am not waiting for him to serve God before I do.

One absolute rule my husband and I have (and this goes for our kids too): never utter the words "I hate you." Words can wound very deeply and the scars can last a lifetime. Most of all, these words wound the one who spoke them because as soon as you say them, you realize it isn't true and you feel bad for ever having said it. The Word of God says, "let each esteem others better than himself" Philippians 2:3. We do well to remember this applies to family members as well as fellow church members!

Sometimes I see Christian couples struggle and complain about their marriages and I think, they don't know how blessed they are! At least they can pray together, read the Bible together, and hear from the same God! I have never had that with my husband. Yet I love him and honor him as Christ commands me to. And I thank God for my "less than perfect" mate!