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Monday, October 16, 2006

Help Meet Ch. 5


Help Meet Ch. 5
The Gift of Wisdom
"Do you have enough fear of God not to question His Word?"

Wisdom comes from God and is available to all Christians for the asking. In fact, God desires that we be wise, and we are specifically told to ask Him for wisdom.

"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." James 1:5

Throughout the Bible, wisdom is linked to the fear of the Lord.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." Prov. 9:10

This chapter opens with a lady questioning how to behave when her husband is harsh, lazy, inconsiderate, and selfish. Debi answers by presenting 2 choices:

  1. This lady can decide that her unhappy circumstances excuse her from obeying God's Word regarding honoring her husband, or...
  2. She can ask God to help her to fulfill her role as He has set forth.

Debi states: "God has made you to fulfill this eternal vision [of honoring and serving her husband]. Until you embrace that divine plan for your life, your life will never make sense. You will always be struggling. ... Ask God for wisdom to become the very best help meet." She goes on to declare that if there is little or nothing in your husband to make you desire to serve and help him, you need to focus on serving CHRIST by serving your undeserving husband. She also says that for many women, it will take a miracle for them to be merry, joyful, and thankful as they serve their husbands.

"Women who have difficulties in their marriages usually follow their feelings and just react. But you must stop trusting your hurt responses or the advice you receive from the world, for today's media communicates a worldview that is skewed at best. You are not thinking from God's perspective, but the good news is that God is prepared to give you divine wisdom, just for the asking."

Oh, how true, even in my most-definitely-happy marriage! At times I catch myself feeling, "He didn't do [fill in the blank] so why should I serve him and try to make him happy?" What a STINKING, rotten attitude! It certainly is not an example of the wise woman building her house and does nothing to promote even my own happiness, let alone that of the rest of my household!

"A woman's calling is not easy. To allow someone else to control your life is much harder than taking control of it yourself."

Amen to that! Everyone has some kind of authority figure in their life. Try doing exactly what that person wants you to do, even at the cost of denying your wants; in fact, do everything in your power to help and please that person; strive to anticipate his wishes. Make that your life's goal. After you have tried it for a while, come back and tell me how weak you had to be to achieve that goal. My failures in submission come not because I was "too strong to obey" but rather because I was too weak to deny self.

Debi also addresses the issues raised in connection with the Bible's stated roles for women. Many people, including preachers, say that these roles were cultural issues, have been misinterpreted in our English Bible, or have been misapplied. These assertions leave many Christians with the idea that God did not really mean what He appears to have said. Debi directs such people to Titus 2:3-5. There, the aged women are commanded to teach the young women specific things, including obedience to their husbands. This passage is abundantly clear, even if the other Scriptures could be explained away.

Also referenced is Eph. 5:22-24 where God lays out the authority structure for the home: God, Christ, husband, wife. God tells the woman to submit to and be subject to her husband. The husband is directed to love his wife. Neither command is contingent upon the other. Whether or not I am sumissive, Mr. Incredible is to love me. Whether or not he loves me, I am to submit to him. Such commands always require God's wisdom, but never more than when I am in a situation where my "rights" have been violated by the very one to whom I am to submit!

"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."

From the devotional-style end of the chapter comes this:

"Today, as you read this, you have two choices open to you. You can excuse yourself from 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. ... To commit your way unto the Lord is to say, 'Not my will, but Thine, be done.' "

photo from allposters.com

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