Encouragement for Today - April 28, 2005

4/28/05

Encouragement for Today

“ATTENTION: Helpers Needed!”

Sharon Jaynes, Vice President of Proverbs 31 Ministries Radio, Proverbs 31 Speaker Team Member

Key Verse:

Genesis 2:20-22, “But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of man, and he brought her to the man.” (NIV)

Devotion:

I never cease to wonder at the marvelous beginning of the book of Genesis. It is the story of the creation of the life of mankind. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Before the creation of the world, there was nothing. Try to think of nothing. It’s hard to do. Then God spoke the world into existence; decorated the sky with the sun, moon, and stars; scattered seed of every kind in the soil; and released flocks of birds into the sky, swarms of insects into the air, and schools of fish into the sea. On the sixth day, God created all the creeping animals, and then He created man in His own image. After each masterpiece was completed, God said, “It is good.” The only time God said “It is not good” was when He said, “It isn’t good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)

The New American Standard Bible says God “fashioned” Eve. He took extra special care when He created you. As a matter of fact, woman was God’s grand finale! Up to this point in the Genesis recording of creation, Adam had remained silent. However, when he saw the fair Eve, I imagine he said, “Whoa! Now that is good!” We don’t know for sure, but we do know that his first recorded words after laying eyes on God’s magnificent gift to him were: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:23) Eve was created to complete man like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together. The word “complete” means “to fill up; that which is required to supply a deficiency; one or two mutually completing parts.”

Let’s look at Genesis 2:18 from several different translations of the Bible:

And the Lord God said, “It isn’t good for man to be alone. I will make a companion for him, a helper suited to his needs.” (TLB)

Now the Lord God said, “It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper meet (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him.” (AMP)

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (NIV)

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” (RSV)

And the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” (KJV)

While each translation of the Bible uses a different combination of words, they each contain the word “helper.” The man was not better than the woman (he was lacking without her). The woman was not better than the man (she was lacking without him). Paul wrote, “However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.” (1 Corinthians 11:11, NASB) We are designed to depend on and complement each other. The Greek word for “helper” can also be translated “partner.” “Just as the rib is found at the side of the man and is attached to him, even so the good wife, the rib of her husband, stands at his side to be his helper-counterpart, and her soul is bound up with his.”

While some may bristle at the thought of being called a mere “helper,” we need only to look at the pages of Scripture to see that a helper holds a place of great honor. The word for “helper” that is used for woman (ezer) is derived from the Hebrew word used of God and the Holy Spirit (azar). Both mean “helper” – one who comes alongside to aid or assist. In the New Testament, Jesus told the disciples that when He ascended to heaven, His Father would send them another Helper, the Holy Spirit. (John 14:16, NASB) When we consider that the same title is used for both God and woman, we can see “helper” is a position of honor.

Interestingly, studies of the prison population show that a large majority of inmates are single men. “It isn’t good for man to be alone.” My husband also told me about a study that showed men drove more safely when their wives were in the car, and had fewer wrecks and speeding tickets. “It isn’t good for man to be alone.” We are called to come alongside and help. So, whether you are actually doing something to help your husband or not, your very presence in his life is helping him become what God intended when He made that grand declaration!

My Prayer for Today:

Lord, help me to be the “help meet” that my husband needs. Above all things, I pray that he will see me as his chief cheerleader who desires to rejoice with him in his victories, both big and small. I pray that he will see me as one who longs to protect our marriage and our love. Help me to create a warm and loving environment in which he feels safe, wanted, and revered. I pray that You will give me endurance when things get tough. I thank you from the bottom of my heart that love never fails and that You never fail. Help me to live with that same commitment as I serve alongside my spouse in oneness.

Application Steps:

How to Be Your Husband’s Helper:

Help through prayer – We must first and foremost begin by being prayer warriors for our husbands, interceding and acknowledging that God is the true source of their strength as men.

Help through encouragement – Be your man’s cheerleader. Build him up, challenge him to use his gifts, and climb on board with his visions and desires.

Help through submission – Sometimes the best way to help is to submit. To lay down your rights to yourself as a woman and agree to see things his way. As One, your dreams, goals, body, and soul are not yours alone, but your husbands as well. Your lives should not be lived independently from one another, but as One, even if it means laying yourself aside at times.

Help through helping – If there are things to be done around the home, with the finances, in the yard, or with the kids…do them. If you know that he is pressed for time and energy, take on an extra task or two to relieve his stress. You may find that in the future he will reciprocate the favor.

Reflection Points:

Here are some thoughts on being a guy’s dream gal, given by men I interviewed when writing my newest book, Becoming the Woman of His Dreams:

“The wife of my dreams is one that shows her love for her husband through respect and honor, building him up and supporting him as the world seeks to grind him down.”

- Brian

“The woman of my dreams believes in me and prays for me to succeed.” - Bob

“My wife is the woman of my dreams. She prioritizes caring for our family, which is easy for her because she enjoys and values being a wife and mother. The way she manages our home makes each person feel like the most important person in the world. She is great at homemeaking skills and saving money. She takes great care of herself physically. She prods me to work less and spend more time doing stuff I like, which makes me feel as though she really wants me to be happy. She maintains a fun, youthful excitement about simple pleasures like walks in the country, trips to the beach, and visits to the local farms to buy fresh vegetables. She doesn’t want a fancy house or car but appreciates a simple lifestyle, which relieves me of the pressure to make more money than I do.” - Gene

Power Verses:

Psalm 118:7, “The Lord is with me; he is my helper.”

Additional Resources:

Becoming the Woman of His Dreams, by Sharon Jaynes

http://www.gospelcom.net/p31/resources/womandreams.html

Capture His Heart, by Lysa TerKeurst

http://www.gospelcom.net/p31/resources/capturehis.html

P31 Woman Magazine

http://www.gospelcom.net/p31/woman.htm