book, the most wonderful publi cation which gives us practical illustrations for life, is the Word of God itself. In the 31st chapter of the book of Proverbs, verses 10-31, there are 20 verses, forming a He brew acrostic which illustrate just how important a woman's attitude is in a home before her loved ones. In verse six, the Apostle Peter calls to mind the wife of the great patriarch of old. He says, "Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord; whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement." Someone might argue, "Yes, but who wants to be like Sara? She must have been old and wrinkled." Actually, as far as we can deter- imine, Sara must have been a very beautiful woman in her day. Down in Egypt, the king of the land, a man who presumably could have had any woman in all of Egypt, wanted her. Pharaoh rebuked Ab raham when the patriarch sinfully disavowed his intimate relation ship with her. He called her his sister. Now, he was right that she was a sister, but at the same time, in a more important relationship, she was also his wife. Sara obeyed Abraham and we likewise are not to be fearful with any amazement. That word "amazement" means that we need have no fluttering alarm; not fear ing any fear. When you feel frus tration, resentment, hatred, jeal ousy, stop and take an objective look. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the necessary help. Do not have any fluttering alarm as a re sult of the problem. The second step, of course, and they really go hand-in-hand, is to pray about it. Ask God's forgiveness for grieving Page 43
spirit." I know, it is very easy to flare up, even blasting someone else with criticism. If your hus band does not know Christ as his personal Saviour, chances are he gets enough criticism and fault finding somewhere else, probably at work. Be willing to be a good listener. That is the secret and you will soon find that your husband will tell you things he never would have shared otherwise. To those of you who by now have thrown up your hands and said, "That is absolutely impos sible — no one can live that way," here is how it is done. There are five words which make all the dif ference between success and fail ure. They are: "in the sight of God." When you get right down to it, we are never out of His sight. When things seem to be entirely impossible, then what we need to do is to look heavenward. Realize what God has already done in your behalf. With Him, all things are possible. You are in His sight and you are trying to please Him, not someone else. Ultimately, in suc cessful marriages, as well as in life itself, that is the whole name of the game. Now in verse five we are given some practical illustrations. The Apostle says, "For after this man ner in the old time the holy wo men also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in sub jection unto their own husbands." There is a truthful old adage that declares that the more things change, the more they have a ten dency to remain the same. Cer tainly, if anything is learned from the book of Ecclesiastes it is the fact that there is nothing new un der the sun. God's best picture
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