Marriage

God's design and calling for you as a wife
This material appears courtesy of Covenant Keepers

Be a Helper
The very first thing the Bible teaches concerning the role of a wife is that she is to be her husband's helper. After God created Adam He said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him" (Gen. 2:18). This word helper means one who is sent to support and aid another. It is important to note that if God says you are to be a helper, then it stands to reason that your husband needs help. From the beginning, God knew that man alone was incomplete in his abilities to parent and raise a family. He needed the help of another to reproduce and ultimately fulfill all the responsibilities within the family. Woman was created to be his perfect helper to fulfill a special design that only she could accomplish. God created woman with unique emotional, intellectual, and physical abilities to enable her to fulfill her husband's need for help. But, does this role as your husband's helper mean that you are inferior to him? Doesn't this role as a helper imply a second-class position in the marriage relationship? Not at all! The Scripture reveals that God is our "Helper" and has sent "another Helper" in the person of the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever. (Ps. 54:4) and (John 14:16) Obviously, God isn't inferior to man simply because He wants to help us. Therefore, neither should you consider your position as helper degrading to your person in any way. On the contrary, you should see your role as one who has come along side of your husband to work with him to meet the needs of your family. Therefore, your marriage should be viewed as if you were participating in a team sport. You must always remember that to be a part of a winning team you need the help of every player or the entire team fails. This is also what makes a winning marriage.

You should also notice that the Father declared that the woman would be comparable to man. God didn't create Eve better than Adam nor did he make her to be inferior to him, but one comparable and equal to him. The word comparable means one who is a counterpart or the other side of a matched pair. Therefore, the woman was created to be the perfect complement to her husband, like two matched gloves, one the counterpart of the other.

To fulfill God's design for you as a wife will entail understanding where and how you can become a complement to your husband. To determine this, you must find out where your husband needs help, support, or your team effort. Finding this need and meeting it is fundamental to experiencing the satisfaction God intends for you as a wife.This need will most likely change from day to day, but God wants to give you eyes to see the need and a heart to fulfill it. Does your husband need your spiritual encouragement because of some personal struggle occurring at this time in his life? Could he use your counsel over a difficult decision that he is about to make regarding his job or business? Is your husband in need of help with organization at home? You are the best one to help him with this need because you know him better than anyone else, which enables you to be his greatest helper. Remember, Solomon said "Two are better than one...woe to him who is alone" (Ecc. 4:9.10).

• Be a virtuous wife
  
• Be a prudent wife
  
• Be a submissive wife
  
• Be a companion