Made for Relationship

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper 

suitable for him."

Genesis 2:18

I grew up in the generation that tight-rolled blue jeans, watched the A-Team on TV, and put 

Shrinky-Dinks in the oven. We were also the kids who witnessed the beginnings of growing up in divorced homes. Something that was nearly unheard of in generations prior had now 

become commonplace.

Now my generation has become helicopter moms and nutrition gurus. Many of my 

generation and the next do not want their kids to grow up with divorced parents as they did. BUT, we do not have the tools to gut out marriage without the life-changing power of Jesus.

God created marriage so that a man and a woman could walk through this life together. But 

it is also much deeper than that. It is a metaphor for our relationship with God. It is a 

covenant relationship. A covenant is not merely a contract, which protects my selfish 

desires. A covenant places the needs of the other before my own. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves (Philippians 

2:3).

Marriage can be hard. It is an ever-changing relationship throughout the circumstances of 

life. My goal here is not to provide marriage counseling for every situation, but to offer 

helpful hints to improve the state of our marriages.

Without a doubt, you cannot change your spouse. Your comments, complaints, or 

commands will only serve to push your husband away. What can you change? YOU. You 

can change how you respond, how you act, how you love. When you allow God's grace to 

flow through you, God will soften the receiving heart. This week we will discuss ways we 

can build up our spouses and be the encourager God wants us to be.

Lord, open my eyes to see how I treat the most important human in my life, my spouse. 

Show me how I can allow Your grace to dominate my life and move me to act out of Your 

love and power.

Julie Smith