How Do You Find Joy In Serving?

Biblical Answer: God wants you to serve your wife. As Christ has loved the church so we are to love our wives (Ephesians 5:25). A way to lead her and love her immensely is by serving her.

Since finding out 4 months ago that my wife is pregnant, I have had to put some things in my life on hold in order to help her and take care of her. For you guys who do not understand what I am talking about, along with being pregnant comes nausea, fatigue, loss/change of appetite, loss of sleep and the list goes on. There has been a change of pace around our home. Having said that, how do you find joy in dropping what appears to be a list of important tasks in order to care for someone else, namely your wife?

As godly men, we are called to be good stewards of all that He has given to us. This includes our wives. We must understand, first and foremost, that our wives belong to God. With that, you and I have the biblical responsibility to care for our wives by leading them in a way that honors and pleases the Lord. Because serving is biblical, we are to lead our God-given wives by serving them. Lead by serving.

But how do we actually do that?? How about something as simple as...doing things without complaining? Or...helping with something that she would not normally expect you to help with, like the dishes. Better yet...tell her to go relax while you take care of the kids or cook a meal or clean the house. Do something that will bless her!

Also, reevaluate your relationship with your wife. How are you doing with loving her? Does she know that you still love her? When was the last time you told her? When was the last time you showed her? I am extremely thankful that I can show my love instead of just telling my wife that I love her. Love is not just a feeling/thought/idea, but rather, it is an action verb! Love does not sit still, but instead, it DOES SOMETHING. My wife hears it and sees it. She fully knows that she is loved by me. She fully knows that she is taken care of by me. I have the desire to serve my wife. Do you?

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to serve my wife. We babysat for some friends of ours and while there, Michelle passed out. She was taking a nap on the couch and jumped up when the doorbell rang. With this increased blood flow in her body, she passed out. On the way home, she threw up and did so later that Saturday afternoon. Needless to say, she was sick most of the day on Saturday and some of the day on Sunday. We were not sure if this was due to her pregnancy or her having a stomach bug. During this time, I had to drop everything that I wanted to do in order to cook, clean and buy groceries for her. This gave her the time that she needed to relax and recuperate. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to serve my wife!

Sometimes it may be hard to know how to serve your wife. The main gist of this article is the need for men to have a servant's heart when it comes to interacting with their wives. Make sure she knows that you are willing to help her in the home and outside the home (kids going crazy in public). This is such a huge support structure for your marriage and your relationship with your wife.

Jesus gave us the greatest example of a servant's heart in John 13:1-17. In particular, verse 17 struck me as the key to the servant's heart. You can know all about serving and how to do so, but until you sacrifice to serve someone, you'll have a hard time grasping it. What are you giving up in order to serve?

Does it humble a man to serve his wife? Yes, but didn't the King of Glory humble himself and take on the form of a man in order to be the Suffering Servant found in Isaiah 53? Since Jesus left the glories of heaven to have a servant's heart, is it too much to ask of a husband to serve his wife?

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