Who Completes You?

           I started my morning feeling sorry for husbands. This doesn’t happen often so hear me out. I began feeling sorry for our mates because we wives put a lot of pressure on them. 

• We want them to be our knights in shining armor.

• We want them to jump every time we call.

• We want them to provide the bulk or all of the income.

• We want them to desire us in a romantic way.

• We want them to notice our accomplishments.

• We want them to solve our problems.

• We want them to fix our relationships.

• We want them to listen to every word.

            Does this sound about right?

            In her Bible study, Ever After, Vicki Courtney asks, “So what causes this deep sense of longing and disappointment in so many women? Why do so many women seem so unfulfilled, cynical, bitter and downright despondent over their relationship with their husband? Because we mistakenly think our husband should fulfill our heart’s desire and make our lives complete.

             So if our husbands aren’t the ones who are supposed to complete us? Who is?

            In Colossians 1:16–17, it says, For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him.

            I used to think my husband was created for me.  I really did. That’s because my husband was born two days after my father died, exactly two months before I was born.  I always say God began restoring my life just two days after tragedy struck in my family.

            While that may be true, it did not make my husband my savior, my God or my king. God does not allow perfection in marriage because if it were present, we’d never seek him.  Why would we need God to complete us?

            Our husbands were created through him and for him….and we were created for God as well, not for our husbands. It’s not about us.   

            In many ways, God uses our marital relationships to draw us closer to him. When we are disappointed where do we turn?

            God wants us to turn to him.  He wants to be our husband.  In the book, If I Only Had… that will be published in late spring, we talk about the concept of God as husband in our chapter, “If I Only Had…a Better Marriage.”  The Hebrew word for husband is “ish.”  He wants to fill that role we long for.  We came up with seven reasons why God is our perfect “ish.”:

 #1 God is never too busy for us.

#2 God listens to us.

#3 God encourages us.

#4 God is content with us.

#5 God protects us.

#6 God loves us.

#7 God will never abandon us.

            Those are promises you can go to the bank with.  Meanwhile, the Bible is God’s love letter to us.

            God is love.

            If God is love and you want to make the Word personal today, read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and insert “God” every time you see the word “love” and your name after each promise. An example: “God is patient with Lisa.  God is kind to Lisa.”

            God wants to be the one we long for.  He desires to complete us. He desires to be the king on the throne of our life. Yes, today I feel sorry for husbands because in many ways, we have tried to make them our God.  When we do that, they will always fall short.